White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-11-26

Dairymen of both Eastern and
Western Washington are overlooking
an excellent source of succulence
when they fail to grow root crops for
their COWS. The experience of a
Clallam county dairyman in growing
mangels, and of a Stevens county
dairyman in growing carrots shows
that big yields of root crops may be
profitably grown in Washington.
The cool summers of the western
portion of this state are probably bet
ter adapted to the growing of large
crops of roots than to corn. Records
of fifty to sixty tons of mangels to
the acre are not uncommon and rec
ords of seventy-five to eighty tons
have been made on the moist lands
of the coast.
One of the essentials to high pro
duction which is rather lacking
through large portion of the year,
is succulence. Roots furnish succu.
lence of the best sort. They are not
to be considered as roughage, but
as a watered concentrate, for investi-
cations have shown that the dry mat
ter in roots is pound for pound as
valuable as that in the common
grains.
James Dick, of Clallam county, says
that mangels are the best and cheap
est feed that can be raised for domes-
tic animals, and that he doesn't see
how any farmer can afford to be with
out them. He feeds Is pounds to
each COW twice a day and finds that
it cuts his grain bill one-half and
makes a material saving on the hay.
His yield is fifty to sixty tons to the
acre and he credits his success to
thorough and frequent surface cult
walton in the spring to get rid Of all
the weeds possible. Seeding is done
the fore part of May.
The roots should be harvested and
stored in pits or cellar for at least
two or three weeks before starting to
feed. Unless cured out in this way
they are apt to cause securing in the
cattle. The tops can be fed while the
roots are curing.
They are especially valuable to
breeding females as they seem to pro
duce beneficial tonic effect and to
keep them in prime breeding condi
ton. At Michigan, investigators
found an increased yield of butterfat
of nearly per cent when roots were
added to a well-balanced ration, con.
tanning good corn silage.
Many dairymen feed the roots
but it is usually considered better
whole and let the COWS work them up,
practice to cut them up into small
pieces and feed the grain on the
chopped roots. In Scotland, the com
mon practice is to pulp the roots and
spread them out in a layer on the
floor; then top them with layer of
cut hay or straw then another layer
of roots; then more hay, etc. This
is then shoveled over and allowed to
stand for several hours before feed
ing, to allow the hay to soften UP.
Professor Harcher, of Minnesota
found that eleven pounds of mangels
or nine pounds of rutabagas had the
same value for milk production as one
pound of grain. This verifies Mr.
Dicks statement made earlier in this
article, that roots would replace hall
the grain. The fifty pounds of roots
he feeds would be equivalent to about
four and half pounds of grain and 8
COW giving around 35 pounds of milk
per day could get along nicely on foul
and half to five pounds of grain il
addition to the roots. This would be
allowing the equivalent to one pound
of grain to " to A pounds of milk.
Mr.. Dick plans on an acre of roots
to every ten cows and is able to feet
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