IMMVri;' ,1i/i! II I HOIS ROOT CROPS ' FOR STOCK FEEDING, AND HOW TO GROW THEM. COMPILED FROM THE PRIZE ESSAYS AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. EDITED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE. 1895. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., Seed Growers, Nos. 475 and 477 North Fifth Street, Nos. 47G and 478 York Avenue, PHILADELPHIA. VI: / t: C i .1 fiMMi.Uryji n v; li V II! u Copyrighted, 1888, B Y W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO.» PHILADELPHIA, PA. Press of Wm. F. Fell & Co. 1220-24 Sansom Sr., PHILADELPHIA. CONTENTS. PAGE 4 0 c /) \o O OJ % cc LU r ; 4U- -X 1 r* Preface, ........... v Root Crops for Stock Feeding, and How to Grow Them, . 9 The Soiling System in Relation to Winter Feeding, . .10 The Value of Roots in Fattening Cattle, Swine, etc., . 11 How Root Crops Increase the Value of the Farm, . . 12 Advantages of Raising Farm-Garden Crops in Connection with the Dairy or Cattle Farm, 12 Increase of Profits and Decrease of Expenses Attending the Growing and Feeding of Root Crops, . . .13 Advantages of Roots over Dry Fodder, . . . . 15 Relative Value of the Different Varieties of Roots for Feeding, ......... 17 How to Manure and Prepare the Ground, . . . .18 Sowing the Seeds of Carrots, Beets, etc., .... 22 Cultivation, .......... 24 Thinning, ......... 25 Carrots, ........... 26 Varieties of Roots Grown for Stock Feeding, . . 28 Carrots, 28 Coreless Half-Long, ....... 28 Corelees Long Red, . . ..... 29 Burpee’s Improved Long Orange, .... 29 Danvers Half-Long Orange, ...... 30 Long Red Altringham, ...... 30 Large White Vosges, ....... 31 Large Yellow Belgian, . . . . 31 Large White Belgian, ....... 32 Ox-Heart, or Guerande, ...... 33 Saint Vallery, 34 iii 44988 0 iv CONTENTS. PAGE Sugar Beets and Mangel Wurzels, ..... 35 Varieties of Beets for Stock Feeding, . . .37 Burpee’s Improved Blood Turnip, .... 37 Long Smooth, Blood-Red ...... 37 Bastian’s Half-Long, . . . . . . 38 Varieties of Sugar Beets, 38 White Silesian, ........ 38 Red-Top, ......... 39 Lane’s Improved Imperial, ..... 40 Varieties of Mangel Wurzels, . . . .41 Golden Tankard Yellow-Fleshed, .... 41 New Kinver Yellow Globe, .42 Large Yellow Oberndorf, ...... 43 Yellow or Orange Globe, . . . . . .44 Red Globe, ......... 44 Yellow Ovoid, ........ 45 Mammoth Prize Long Red, ..... 46 Parsnips, 47 Varieties of Parsnips, 47 Improved Guernsey, ....... 47 Long Smooth, or Hollow Crown, .... 48 Ruta Bagas, 48 Varieties of Ruta Bagas, 49 Large White, 49 Laing’s Improved Strap-Leaved, .... 50 Burpee’s Improved Purple Top Yellow, . . .50 Imperial Hardy, . . . . . . . 51 Turnips, 51 Varieties of Turnips for Stock Feeding, . . 54 Extra Early Purple-Top Milan, . . . . .54 Large Yellow, or Amber Globe, .... 55 Yellow Aberdeen, ........ 56 CONTENTS. V PAGE Robertson's Golden Ball, or Orange Jelly, ... 56 Pomeranian White Globe, . . . .56 Red Top Strap-Leaved, ...... 57 Early White Flat Dutch, ...... 57 White Globe Strap -Leaved, ..... 58 Red Top White Globe, ....... 58 White Egg, ........ 60 Jersey Navet, ........ 60 Long White, or Cowhorn, ...... 51 Sweet German, ........ 61 Selecting the Varieties to Grow, 62 Harvesting, .......... 64 Storing the Roots, ........ 66 Storing the Tops, 69 Feeding, 70 PREFACE. In Burpee’s Farm Annual for 1887 we offered a series of cash prizes for the best and second- best essays on four subjects of importance in garden and farm topics ; among these was “ Root Crops for Stock Feeding, and How to Grow Them.” While we received in all one hundred and twelve essays in competition, but seven of these were on root crops. This fact confirmed our belief that the value of these crops is compara- tively but little known. It is our object in pub- lishing this treatise to furnish the needed informa- tion in a concise and practical form, showing both the advantages of raising roots for feeding purposes and also how to grow, store and feed them. For the best essays on this subject the first prize was awarded to Mr. I). H. Stuart, Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia, and the second prize to Mr. F. E. Carlile, Little York, Washing- ton County, Indiana. Although these essays were both good, they did not cover the subject as fully in detail as we desired, and hence are not pub- lished in their original forms, with only additional vii Vlll PREFACE. foot-notes, as are the prize essays on onions, and cabbages, and cauliflowers, in our books on those subjects. This little book has been carefully com- piled, however, embracing all the important points of the prize essays, together with considerable other information. As the subject will be new to many of our readers, we have also added an illustrated descriptive list of the different varieties of roots suitable for stock feeding. W. Atlee Burpee. Philadelphia, January 11th, 1888. ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING, AND HOW TO GROW THEM. The rapid settling of the cheap and fertile lands of the West, and the low rates of transportation, have so reduced the price of cereals, that our farmers in the Eastern States can no longer grow them on their farms at a profit, without heavy and expensive manuring, the natural fertility of the soil having been exhausted many years ago. The amount of capital invested in the farm also re- quires that the eastern farmer shall have a larger return per acre than the farmer on virgin prairie soil, where the land is obtained for from one-tenth to one-quarter the amount required to purchase land in the older and more thickly populated States. The new land requires but to be plowed and planted, and the crops to be harvested, in most cases being thrashed and marketed at once, thus doing away with the expense of storage barns, which enables a farmer to clear a profit on a crop of from ten to fifteen bushels of wheat per acre, while on the older and higher-priced farms in the Eastern States, a crop of twenty bushels per acre will barely pay the expenses of raising it. In the 9 10 HOW TO GROW report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, for 1886, the average yield of wheat per acre for the last six years has been a small fraction over twelve bushels per acre ; we believe that fifteen bushels per acre would be the average yield for the Middle and New England States. It will be seen that the farmer who grows wheat on land worth from sixty to one hundred dollars per acre, is losing money on this standard crop. Of course, this cannot long continue, and our farmers are largely turning their attention to increasing their bank account and the fertility of their land by the fattening of stock and by dairy farming, by this means selling the crop in a concentrated and higher-priced form, and still retaining the bulk of it to return to the land, in the shape of manure. Since dairy farming has grown to be one of our most important industries, all subjects pertaining to it are of interest and importance, and it is our object in presenting this treatise to call attention to what we believe to be one of the greatest helps to profitable farming — the growing and feeding of roots. THE SOILING SYSTEM IN RELATION TO WINTER FEEDING. All works on farming, and the leading agricultural papers, continually set forth the advantages of the soiling system, that is, the grow- ing of heavy crops of green food of various sorts and feeding the same to the milch cows or cattle ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING 11 in the barn, thus greatly increasing the number of animals that can be kept on a given number of acres, and likewise increasing the quantity of manure that can be returned to the soil, so that a larger crop can be raised the next season, increas- ing the richness of the soil each year until the highest state of fertility is attained. When cattle, dairy stock, swine and poultry are supplied with roots in winter, their general health and appearance is much better than when supplied with dry foods alone. The roots aid them in digesting the dry meals and fodder, and impart a fre$, natural action to the bowels ; this tends to keep the skin loose and the coat smooth and glossy. THE VALUE OF ROOTS IN FATTENING CATTLE, SWINE, ETC. While cattle and swine fed wholly on roots will not take on much flesh, they can be wintered in good condition when fed on these alone. When the roots are fed with grain or the rich dry meals, their value is about three to one, as compared with the same weight of hay. Five tons of hay per acre is probably as heavy a crop in proportion as twenty tons of carrots or forty tons of man- gels per acre, and the expense per ton of grow- ing the roots is less than the cost of the hay, thus refuting the argument of many writers against the use of roots, “ that they are too expensive to raise.” The greatly-increased amount of food that 12 HOW TO GROW can be raised per acre, and the superior richness of it, can readily be seen from this statement, but the root par excellence for cattle, etc., is the turnip, an enormous crop of which can be raised as a second crop on ground that has been well ma- nured, at a cost of about five cents per bushel. HOW ROOT CROPS INCREASE THE VALUE OF THE FARM. While the manure from animals fed solely on root crops is of low value, the raising and feeding of them in connection with grain in various forms enable the farmer to keep the largest number of cattle possible on a given number of acres, and, by keeping the cattle in the best of health, enable them to assimilate the largest quantities of rich grain food possible, and in both these ways add largely to the bulk and value of the manure pile, which will assist in the growing of larger crops of grains and roots in the succeeding years. This increased supply of manure, not only enables the farmer to raise large crops of the regular farm products, but also makes it possible for him to engage in the profitable raising of farm-garden crops, when situated within reach of transportation to the large cities. ADVANTAGES OF RAISING FARM-GARDEN CROPS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DAIRY OR CATTLE FARM. We believe that the raising of what are known as Farm-Garden crops, such as onions, cauli- ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 13 flower, cabbages, melons, beans, etc., in connection with dairy farming, is one of the most profit- able forms of agriculture at the present time. An important gain in the union of root-fed cattle with the growing of farm-garden crops is, that not only the supply of manure is largely increased, but that the land in w T hich the roots have been grown is in the very best condition for growing the mar- ket vegetables. It is conceded by all growers, that roots, especially carrots, are the best crop to prepare the soil for a crop of onions. To ensure a large crop of roots the ground must be heavily manured and thoroughly cultivated throughout the season, and the roots and tops are carefully gathered, leaving the ground free from weeds or litter, while the deep cultivation of the crop and the action of the roots have left the soil in a fine, friable condition. In respect to leaving the soil in a fine, loose texture, carrots are nearly, if not quite, equal to clover. INCREASE OF PROFITS AND DECREASE OF EXPENSES ATTENDING THE GROWING AND FEED- ING OF ROOT CROPS. While nearly all farmers are aware of the value of ropts for feeding, most of them hesitate to raise them, partly because the idea is new to them, and they do not take readily to novelties of their own accord, waiting, rather, for them to be forced upon their attention by some agent or by the success- ful practice of some progressive neighbor. The idea prevails in the minds of most farmers who 14 HOW TO GROW are not conversant with the subject, that root crops are expensive and laborious to raise, but when the large amount of food that can be raised per acre, as compared with other crops, is taken into account, we think the balance in favor of the roots will readily be seen. We trust, also, that the directions for culture, given with the different kinds of roots, will prove that it is not such a laborious matter to raise a crop of roots as it is often thought to be. Where the farms are large, the market distant, and the price of land, consequently, low, we have no doubt it would be cheaper to raise large quanti- ties of hay to feed than to depend on roots ; but where the farm is of moderate size, and it is desired to stock it as heavily as possible, the advantages of raising roots is apparent. The average crop of mangels is from fifteen to twenty tons on good land, with a good coat of manure ; by doubling the manure applied, the crop can be doubled, thus largely decreasing the price per bushel, the sole increase for the second half of the crop being the value of the manure and the labor of harvesting the roots. The same rule applies to the other varieties of roots for feeding, and the moral we would draw is, only to plant so large a patch of roots as you can manure and cultivate well, if you wish to raise them cheaply. To those who have never fed roots we would suggest that two tons is ample to carry a cow throughout the winter, and that by taking this in conjunction ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 15 with the preceding figures, the cost of the winter supply and the amount of land that should be planted can easily be calculated. ADVANTAGES OF ROOTS OVER DRY FODDER. Some writers on agricultural topics deny, in the first place, that the roots have any medicinal properties, and claim that even if they do possess such properties, acting to keep the bowels in a free and healthy state, the same result can be obtained by the use of the rich cake meals, when added to the regular dry feed. We think this reasoning is weak and not sustained by the facts. First, there is the natural craving of all animals for green food. It is well known that, to obtain the most profitable results from cows, they must be kept quiet and contented as well as healthy and well fed. How can this be done better than by giving them such food as they naturally crave? We do not recommend the feeding of roots alone, but feeding them in conjunction with the grain, meals and rich oil cake, so as to produce the best results. The roots not only give the bulk required in a fresh, green state, but also aid greatly in the digestion of the grain or meals. By feeding the cow on the rich, dry, concentrated food alone, she is forced to the highest production in an unnatural manner, and is much more liable to disease, especially the “ milk fever,” which carries off so many of the best-bred cows, than 16 HOW TO GROW when the same result is obtained by a mixture of fresh feed in her daily rations. Secondly, to buy the cake or corn meals neces- sitates a greater or less outlay of cash, which must be subtracted from the profits, together with the interest of the purchase money, while in feeding the roots the outlay is the interest of the invest- ment in the land, the manure applied, and the labor of cultivation. A very small part of the out- lay is in actual money, and as for time and ma- nure, these are the farmer’s working capital, and must be employed in some profitable manner. Can they be more profitably employed than when engaged in raising, on his own land, the food which he will require for the winter feeding of his stock ? This need of fresh food for winter use is becom- ing more strongly felt each season, and many pro- gressive farmers have tried to produce it by the use of ensilage. This requires not only large and expensive pits for storage, but requires also con- siderable skill and experience on the part of the farmer, to preserve it in just the right condition; so we think that the use of roots for this purpose will be much more satisfactory to the average farmer. Again, many of our creameries refuse to receive the milk from cows fed on ensilage, while the feeding of carrots and ruta bagas increases the richness of the milk and butter very perceptibly. ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 17 RELATIVE VALUE OF THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF ROOTS FOR FEEDING. Taking the value of good hay at one dollar per hundred pounds as the basis of our calculations, and the average value of the roots from the Gov- ernment analytical tests, together with the figures of practical farmers, we find that — Carrots, Parsnips and Mangels are worth from . 20 to 30 cts. per bus. Ruta bagas or Swedes are worth from 20 “25 “ “ For feeding to Cattle or Swine, Turnips are worth from 12 “ 15 “ “ The different kinds possessing different values, the question at once arises, why not confine our- selves to the most valuable? There are several reasons for not doing so: first, all the different roots mentioned have each some particular merit, suiting it, above the others, to a peculiar condition of soil and climate. Second, the desire to furnish a variety of food, and to feed it at the time when it is in the best condition, that the relish of the animal may be kept up to the highest point, and so result in the largest yield of milk. Third, carrots are ready for use early in the fall, as soon as the green soiling crops have been destroyed by frost, and they are not good keepers, being liable to sprout and grow. Mangels should hardly be fed before the middle of January, but if carefully stored, will keep in good condition throughout the winter, while if the parsnip is left in the ground until spring it acquires a stronger saccharine 2 18 HOW TO GROW quality, and is more valuable for feeding than in the fall. HOW TO MANURE AND PREPARE THE GROUND. The plot to be planted in roots should be as nearly level as possible, so that there will be no danger of washing the young plants out by heavy rains, but at the same time it should be high enough or have sufficient slope to be well drained. The soil should be of a loose, loamy texture, though mangels and turnips can be grown on a sandy soil that would not be at all suitable for carrots. The heavier the texture of the loam the better it will hold and retain the large quanti- ties of manure which are required to produce the heaviest crops. The surface should be free from stones or litter that will be in the way of bringing the seed bed to a proper state of fineness, or that would damage the young plants in subsequent cultiva- tion. The better the ground has been manured and the more thoroughly it has been cultivated for the preceding crop, the larger will be the crop of roots. With the exception of turnips, root crops can be grown on the same ground several years in succession if the supply of manure is kept up, so that what might seem an expensive preparation of the land for a single crop, becomes much less when the cost is divided by the num- ber of years for which the crop can be grown on the same ground ; not only this, but the stones ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 19 once removed, the ground is in better condition for all succeeding years. The amount of manure applied and the weight of the crop are in direct proportion to each other : thus, on fairly good land, manuring with twenty large two-horse loads of good rich manure will result in a crop of about twenty tons of mangels per acre, while an application of twice the quantity would result in a crop of forty tons, or even more, in a favorable season. In Scotland, where the summer is cool and moist and season longer than with us, crops of sixty to eighty tons per acre are frequently grown, and as the tops are carefully gathered and fed there, this results in the enormous amount of seventy to eighty tons of food raised to the acre. While this rule of the heavy manuring increas- ing the bulk of the crop is everywhere true, the manure must be applied with judgment, as if applied too heavily on poorly-drained land, or in a wet season, the beets would continue to grow too late in the fall, and would not be sufficiently ripened, thus greatly diminishing their keeping and feeding value. Where the soil is in good rich condition to the depth of ten or twelve inches, it should be plowed as deeply as possible, and if some very long-rooted variety of beet or carrot is to be grown, it will be of advantage to loosen and turn over the sub- soil, without raising any of it to the surface. The ground should then be rolled with a heavy 20 HOW TO GROW roller or gone over with a good clod crusher, to break up all lumps that may be on the surface. The land is now ready for the manure, which should be in as fine and well-rotted condition as it is possible to have it. The finer the manure is, the better it will be for inducing a quick, strong growth in the roots early in the season, and by the time that it is exhausted the further growth of the roots will be toward ripening and devel- oping their rich feeding qualities in a proper manner. If the manure is forked over once or twice in the barnyard, and spread with one of the new patent spreading wagons, it will reach the ground in the best possible condition. The manure being evenly spread over the sur- face, the ground is cross-plowed to the depth of from four to five inches, and the surface alternately rolled until it is as fine as a hand-raked garden bed. This can easily be accomplished if the soil is worked at just the right state of dampness to crumble up easily ; if worked when either too wet or too dry to do this, it will be almost impossible to bring it to the right condition without hand raking. If mangels are the crop to be grown, and the seed is not to be sown at once, a thousand pounds of coarse or refuse salt should be sown on the freshly-plowed ground and harrowed in, as it has a wonderful effect in producing a large crop of these roots; if the seed is to be sown at once, the salt should not be applied until the young plants ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 21 are from three to four inches in height, and should then be broadcasted and worked in with the culti- vator. The use of salt gives a quick growth and large crop. If the ground can be prepared two or three weeks in advance of the proper time for sowing, and then harrowed once a week until wanted, it will bring the surface into still finer condition, and will destroy any weeds that may be in the surface soil. In plowing the land and turning under the manure, the depth to which the roots of the vari- ety to be raised penetrate the soil must be taken into account, or it may happen that the manure will be placed so far under the surface as to put it out of reach until late in the season ; whereas, it is desirable that they should be fed in the early stages of their growth and checked in time to become well ripened. The land for turnips should be prepared in the same manner and kept well harrowed until wanted for planting, though the first plowing should not be over six or eight inches in depth, and where they are to be raised as a second crop, if the ground is plowed and made from five to six inches deep, it will be sufficient, unless the manure for the first crop was buried deeper, in which case it should be returned to the surface. Where the supply of barnyard manure is not large enough to admit of such heavy manuring, commercial fertilizers may be used instead. These can be used to the best advantage in raising car- 22 HOW TO GROW rots and beets, and can be applied at the rate of one thousand to fifteen hundred pounds per acre, and of the least advantage when applied to the turnip crop, when not over two or three hundred pounds per acre should be used. If it is desired to use both manures in connection with the crop, the long, coarse barnyard manure could be spread and plowed down in the fall and returned to the surface in the spring plowing, and enough phos- phate applied to bring the ground up to the proper state of richness to ensure a heavy crop. The use of commercial fertilizers in connection with the root crops has the advantage of quickly freeing the elements in the soil needed by the plant to perfect its growth, so that the root attains a large size early in the season and is well ripened by the time that they should be harvested and stored. SOWING THE SEED OF CARROTS, BEETS, ETC. For this purpose, every farmer who plants over half an acre of roots should have a small-sized drill, as it will about save its cost in a single season. It should be a simple seed sower, and not a drill combined with a hoeing and plowing ma- chine; not only is the plain style much cheaper, but it works much more reliably, and is not so apt to break or get out of order. These machines need only to run the first row by the line, as an arm marks off the second row as the first one is sown. The drill should be entrusted to a careful ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 23 hand who can be depended on to see that the rows are exactly straight and at even distances apart, that no places are missed by the machine getting choked, and that the rows are covered at an even and proper depth. Where the patch is small, or for some other reason the sowing is to be done by hand, the seed can be sown in continuous drills, as is done in the garden ; but we think a better way would be to stretch a line where the row is to be, and run a wooden wheel along it, having projecting knobs or teeth on its circumference at the proper distance apart for the roots to grow. This implement could easily be made by any farmer, and would save a great deal of time not only in the sowing of the seed, but in the subsequent thinning of the crop, and not nearly so much seed would be used as in sowing in the open drill; the projecting teeth should be just as long as the seed is to be buried in depth, and four or five seeds of parsnip or carrot should be dropped in each place, while one or two beet seed would be sufficient to each place. When the seed has been dropped for the whole row it can be covered with a hand roller, or can be trodden in with the foot as dropped. Sowing the seed with a good drill will take the following quantities of seed per acre, when planted in drills sufficiently far apart to admit of horse culture— that is, two and one-half feet apart. Beets G lbs. of seed per acre. Carrots 4 “ u “ Parsnips 5 u u “ Turnips 2 u “ u 24 HOW TO GROW Where the crop is to be worked with wheel hoes, and the rows to be from eighteen to twenty- four inches apart, about one-third more seed will be required. In planting the seed the size the vari- ety of root sown attains must be taken into account, and to produce the best results they should stand as thickly in the row as they can be grown, about three inches apart for small carrots, five to six for the larger-growing kinds and for parsnips, while beets and large turnips should be about eight inches apart. Larger roots can be grown if more room is given, but are not nearly so valuable for feeding purpose as those of medium and small size. It has frequently been proven by analytical as well as practical tests, that the medium-size beet contains nearly twice the per- centage of sugar that the large, overgrown one does. CULTIVATION. Cultivation should begin as soon as the young plants are large enough to permit the row to be seen, and should be kept up until it is time for the roots to be ripened off. As the roots grow in size and take a firm hold of the soil, the cultivator must be run deeper and deeper, working the soil up fine and loose deeply as possible and letting the air down to the roots. Where the cultivation is done with wheel hoes, the soil can be loosened to a much greater depth if it is first gone over with a hand plow, but we would not advise the planting of the deep-growing kinds, except where they are ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 25 to be cultivated by horse power, as the soil cannot be stirred deeply enough to produce the best growth in them with the wheel hoe. Some years ago carrots and beets were exten- sively sown on ridges ; that is, two furrows were cast together and the seed sown in a drill on top of this ridge. This was deemed of advantage for several reasons, one of which was that the young seedlings were in a well-drained situation, but it frequently happened, if they were planted a little late, the soil was too dry for them to germinate quickly and the young seedlings sometimes burned up ; the main advantage of the ridges was, that horse cultivation could be done at once without danger to the young roots, as they were safely elevated and w~ere worked with the hand hoe until well started ; another advantage was, that in har- vesting the long-rooted varieties the dirt could be plowed away from one side, and they could easily be pulled, as the ridge prevented them from pene- trating the ground so deeply. This method of planting has almost entirely disappeared, as the labor involved was much more than was compen- sated by the advantages gained. THINNING. This should be done as soon as the young plants have made the third or fourth leaf, and only one plant should be left in a place ; where the seed is in clumps or hills, all but the best one must be pulled out by hand. When the seed is in continu- 26 HOW TO GROW ous drills it can be clumped to the proper distance apart with a sharp, narrow-bladed hoe, and the balance pulled out by hand a week or so later. The use of the hoe in clumping will save a great deal of hand labor. CARROTS. These rank high among the most nutritious roots for feeding, and are especially valuable for feeding to milking cows. Not only do they greatly increase the quantity and richness of the milk, but they impart that rich color to the butter which it now requires to make it salable at the best figures, and for which the creameries and many farmers depend on artificial colorings that are more or less injurious to the health of the con- sumer. The greatest disadvantage in raising car- rots for winter feeding is that, without they are stored in well-ventilated cellars where they can be well aired whenever the state of the weather will permit, they do not keep well. Where they can- not be kept in this manner, we would advise the raising of a sufficient supply to feed until the first or fifteenth of January, and depending on the mangels and other roots after that date. Unlike the other roots, carrots will keep better if the roots are in a comparatively green and growing state when harvested, and if a slice of the crown is cut off when they are topped, it will keep them from sprouting, which they are very apt to do when the top is left on. As will be readily seen from the ROOT CROPS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 27 above statement, it is a matter of policy not to sow the crop too soon, so that while we would advise the preparation of the ground early, and the keep- ing of it worked until needed for planting, we would not sow the seed before the first of June, for the large-growing varieties, and even later for the small, early kinds. Carrots can be grown so closely together that the roots become flattened against each other when matured, but for our own use we would thin out to three inches apart for the medium-sized varie- ties and to four and five inches apart in the row for large kinds. The carrot delights in a rich, light loam, but can be well grown in almost any of the heavier soils, providing the soil is not too wet; where this is the case, it returns to a root nearly resembling its original parent and becomes of small size, woody and worthless for feeding purposes. VARIETIES OF ROOTS, GROWN FOR STOCK FEEDING. CARROTS. CORELESS HALF-LONG. CORELESS HALF-LONG CARROT. CORELESS LONG RED CARROT. This is a very early carrot of fine quality ; the skin is smooth, and both the skin and the flesh are 28 CARROTS FOR STOCK FEEDING. 29 very rich colored. The flesh is fine grained, of excellent flavor, and entirely without core. In the young or early state it is of fine quality for table use. CORELESS LONG RED. A very handsome variety, growing from twelve to sixteen inches in length, and from two to three inches in diameter. It is a stump-rooted variety, being of large diameter throughout its length, giv- ing a large bulk of roots for the amount of land occupied. It is of perfect form, has a very rich coloring, and is of excellent quality for table use. It imparts richness to the milk of cows fed on this variety, and greatly improves the color of the butter. BURPEE’S IMPROVED LONG ORANGE. This is a greatly-improved strain of the long orange, the quality of the new strain being much superior to the old sort, which was generally grown as a field variety for feeding purposes only. The roots grow remarkably smooth and uniform in shape, being always well formed and average of a larger size than the old variety. The length of the root is about six times its diameter, and though it penetrates the soil deeply, it also grows about one-quarter of its entire length above ground, forming a good handle by which to pull it up when harvesting. It is a good keeper, and forms a highly-nutritious food for stock. 30 VARIETIES OF DANVERS HALF-LONG ORANGE. This variety originated among the market gardeners of Danvers, Mass., from the same source as the widely- known and popular yellow onion, which also bears the name of “ Danvers.” In that locality the raising of carrots is a special feature, and twenty to thirty tons per acre is not considered as an unusu- ally large crop. The smooth, symmetrical form of this va- riety is well shown in the illustration, and it is claimed by the Danvers growers that SM DANVERS J ° Ip— half-long ft w j]] yield the greatest bulk sly per acre, with the shortest W' length of root, of any carrot now in culti- E vation. The root is of rich dark orange \ color, and is especially valuable to the dairy farmer who makes butter and cheese * from his milk, adding greatly to their ^Yoved rich coloring. This variety does well, 0R L ™