566 Bulletin 317 



to sprout the seed and keep the plants growing, they should be sown as 

 a catch crop late in July after removing an early cultivated crop such as 

 potatoes, or on land plowed late and freed from weeds by harrowing. 

 They are sometimes sown in cornfields after the last cultivation, and 

 a crop obtained. One pound of seed to an acre, sown broadcast on 

 freshly cultivated soil, will be ample if moisture conditions are favorable. 

 No thinning nor weeding should be required for such late-sown turnips. 

 They may be harvested and stored the same as swedes. 



SUMMARY 



1. Previous studies with root crops at this experiment station have 

 indicated what varieties may be successfully grown, their cultural require- 

 ments, the effects of fertilizers on mangels, and the value of mangels as 

 a substitute for part of the grain ration fed to milch cows. This bulletin 

 describes further studies in the economy of growing the best varieties 

 of mangels in competition with corn for the silo. 



2. Mangels proved to be a more reliable crop than did rutabagas or 

 carrots, and were less influenced by climate than was com. 



3. The cost of producing mangels, both at the experiment station and 

 in cooperative experiments with farmers in other localities, was low enough 

 to allow of their profitable substitution for grain in rations for milch cows. 



4. The cost of dry matter in mangel crops was more than twice as much 

 as the cost of dry matter in com crops on the university farms. In similar 

 cooperative experiments, the cost in labor and fertilizers of a ton of 

 mangels was nearly twice as great as the cost of a ton of com fodder. 



5. Brief directions are given for growing crops of mangels, carrots, 

 rutabagas, and turnips. 



