62 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



thrives best when receiving a portion in the form of hay or 

 fodder Aside from the nutriment they contain, the effect 

 of roots on the condition of the animal is so salutary, that 

 this alone would repay the farmer for never attempting to 

 winter his stock without roots sufficient to supply his ani- 

 mals with frequent meals of from one to three pecks of cut 

 roots each. And, if such an allowance was given them every 

 day, their owner would be amply rewarded. 



Though I fear the statement conflicts with some generally 

 received ideas, I am convinced, that, if not carried to excess, 

 roots are the most profitable winter food for cattle ; that 

 among them the sugar-beet stands first ; next to it comes the 

 mangel-wurzel ; and for feeding-purposes the potato, even 

 were it not visited by blight, rot, or Colorado beetle, could 

 never be profitably grown. It is a fact beyond controversy, 

 that the most successful agricultural districts are those where 

 the most attention is given to these products. Though our 

 farmers are giving the subject more thought every year, I 

 believe that a vastly increased acreage is essential to their 

 greatest success, and that the cultivation of this crop is a 

 necessary accompaniment to high and successful farming. 



