26 agriculture; of maine. 



to the home grown foods. They thrive best in the heated por- 

 tion of the season, taking their food when nitrification is most 

 rapid. They may be used to supplement the hay crop, or as a 

 partial insurance against drought, and for a short period they 

 make a valuable soiling crop. Not differing particularly in kind 

 or proportion of food nutrients from Timothy, because of their 

 palatability, when well cured, they take a place in dairy feeding 

 that the latter can never, fill. 



ROOTS AND TUBERS. 



We are now approaching what may, in New England, almost 

 be said to be an unknown quantity in dairj' feeding, but which 

 I believe may be made to play an important part in the dairy 

 ration of the future. I am inclined to the opinion that, here, 

 the practical feeder has been too prone to follow, blindly, the 

 results of chemical analyses and the teachings of those who 

 value food by its content of nutrient alone. That any article 

 may have an indirect value, over and above its true feeding 

 value, when used with other feeds, has long been a settled fact ; 

 that palatability and ease of digestion may bring results from 

 it when fed alone that no chemist can measure, seems certain. 

 A study of the rations of those who are feeding for records, 

 discloses the almost entire absence of heavy concentrates, and 

 the presence of succulence in roots, silage and other home grown 

 articles. Neither is it to be assumed for a moment that the 

 presence of roots in a dairy ration lessens the amount of milk 

 solids or injures the flavor, or that butter made from cows so 

 fed is in any way inferior in flavor, color or texture. With 

 these principles settled, it may be well to treat each of the com- 

 mon roots and tubers briefly, in detail. 



The potato has the greatest proportion of dry matter, and the 

 largest amount of digestible nutrients, and because of the prom- 

 inence of potato growing as a specialty in Maine, it assumes 

 special importance. It compares favorably with good corn 

 silage, although it contains slightly more nutrients. The small 

 and generally unmarketable potatoes may be made to be worth 

 more, fed on a dairy farm, than they bring on an average, at 

 starch factories. This is particularly true on farms where corn 

 is not raised extensively. They may be fed to cattle when tied 



