90 



Bulletin 243. 



The yield of dry matter. 



One of the objections to roots as a food product lies in the fact of 

 their high water content. This hmits the quantity which may be fed 

 and becomes of special importance where they are fed in connection with 

 silage. On account of this high water content it will not be practicable 

 to feed a sufficient amount entirely to take the place of the cereals, even 

 should this be desirable for other reasons. The trend of experimental 

 evidence is that the feeding value of the different types and varieties of 

 root-crops depends more largely on the percentage of dry matter than 

 any other factor; for example, the percentage of dry matter apparently 

 modifies their feeding value more largely than the percentage of sugar. 



The problem in New York State is whether we can afford to raise 

 roots, and if so, what kind. The following table shows the minimum, 

 average and maximum number of pounds of dry matter per acre which 

 was obtained at the Cornell Experiment Station in 1904, 1905 and 1906 

 from sowings made in May: 



Mangels 



Half-sugar mangels 



Sugar-beets 



Rutabagas 



Hybrid Turnips. . . 

 Common Turnips. . 



Kohlrabi 



Cabbages 



Carrots 



Parsnips 



The estimated yield of grain from flint corn the same seasons at 

 this station was approximately 2,000 pounds, while the yield of dry 

 matter in silage from dent corn was about 4,000 pounds. It is probable 

 that the season of 1904 was relatively favorable to the production of roots 

 as compared with the Indian corn, but this was not true of 1905 and 

 1906. In the latter years the average yields from roots were better than 

 in 1904, although the land used was conceded by all interested to be less 

 favorable than that used in 1904. 



