THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



513 



THE USE AND ABUSE OF MANGOLD WURZEL. 



BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. 



What we should do without the " mangold wurzel," 

 " mangold wurtzel,"" mangel wurzel/'orasitisnow com- 

 monly designated — indeed Anglisised as — "mangolds," 

 i. e. " mangold crop," I cannot divine. On all good 

 loams it has become the staple root-crop : immense quan- 

 tities have tbis year been grown in these favoured dis- 

 tricts, and the crops are exceedingly good, very few crops 

 averaging less than thirty tons per acre, many yielding 

 forty, and some select ones nearly fifty tons an acre. The 

 varieties now cultivated are also decided proofs of the pro- 

 gress of this invaluable root. We have now most superior 

 stocks of long reds and long yellows, red globes and yellow 

 globes, all vying with each other for the predominance 

 in quantity and quality. We have also many sub- 

 varieties of these stocks. The long reds, for instance, 

 comprize the long straight root, rising from twelve to 

 twenty-two inches above the surface, with rather too 

 strong hold upon the soil ; and the long bugle or cow's- 

 horn sort, which loll about the ridge in every conceiva- 

 ble way and shape of root : they are of equal size to the 

 other, and have such slight hold of the soil as to be 

 easily taken up by hand to be cast into the cart. Then 

 we have the short and straight variety, which rises about 

 twelve inches above the ridge, and buries its root and 

 fangs so deeply as to be with difficulty taken up, and 

 is of tough and fibrous character. The long yellows are 

 less divided into different stocks, and the care recently 

 bestowed upon their culture has so improved them, that 

 they are now equal in growth and weight of crop to the 

 reds, and are said to possess more nutritive value : cer- 

 tainly many extraordinary crops have this year been 

 produced. The red and yellow globes have each a dis- 

 tinctive character — the one partaking of the true globu- 

 lar form, of great diameter and substance; the other of an 

 oval or oblong shape, also of great diameter and consi- 

 derable height. Both sorts yield astonishing crops under 

 good culture. I have grown each variety under pre- 

 cisely similar culture, and I am free to confess that my 

 old predilection for the long bugle variety has received a 

 check. If the parent stocks are equally genuine and good, 

 I know not which I should prefer upon my occupation ; 

 but on thin soils the globes are preferable, besides being 

 the best keepers. A crop of yellow globes grown upon 

 the farm of one of my neighbours has this year produced 

 above forty-eight tons to the acre ; whilst the long 

 yellows, on the farm in the occupation of another neigh- 

 bour, have yielded above forty-seven tons. The fortieth 

 part of an acre in each case was weighed, and gave the 

 above result. The yellow globe plot had 303 bulbs, 

 averaging 91bs. 2oz. each ; the long yellow plot had 358 

 roots, averaging 71bs. 8oz. each: these crops, with 

 others, were entered for a local prize. The judges 

 divided the amount, on the ground of equality, which 

 partly led to the test of weighing an average plot in each 



field. What other amongst the many of our various 

 green crops can give such a weight of highly nutritious 

 food ? Assuredly, under proper care and judicious ap- 

 plication, this is an invaluable crop ; and the purport of 

 this paper is to reiterate some plain directions for the 

 use of this crop, and to prevent its abuse. 



The turnip crop, particularly the Swedish turnip, has 

 for the past few years been a very faulty one, in very 

 many cases a failing one, in very few cases a good one. 

 The mangold crop has, in general, been a good one. 

 Now can this mangold crop be made a true substitute 

 for the turnip crop— i. e., equally useful and nutritive to 

 the general farm stock ? I think not. Nothing can fully 

 compensate for the loss of the turnip or coleseed crop 

 as food for sheep, particularly lambs. There is a quality 

 in these roots and these plants well adapted to promote 

 the well-doing of sheep stock, and which the mangold 

 does not possess, at least in the autumn ; it is too much 

 imbued with watery particles to be a safe food for sheep 

 in the autumn. Well, then, to misapply it as food for 

 sheep at this season is an abuse of its qualifications or pro- 

 perties; it is not its natural use, and it cimnot safelybethus 

 administered without other effective aids and correciives. 

 The chief thing to be guarded against is its highly 

 purgative character when given to young or weak stock. 

 If the farmer is compelled to resort to his mangold 

 crop, he must contrive to supply an astringent correc- 

 tive as well. Now in these bad times of cheap produce 

 —cheap wheat— what can he do better than supply his 

 sheep with a ration of wheat-flour in moderate quantity, 

 say about one quarter of a pound daily to each ? There 

 are several other correctives I could name, but would 

 say that mangolds must not to any extent be given alone. 

 The flour from Indian corn, barley meal, or a very small 

 quantity of pea or bean meal, will do exceedingly well. 

 Or, again, good and sweet pea or bean straw — if two 

 years old, all the better— good wheat, barley, or oat 

 straw, all will do good in moderation. Then we have 

 linseed cake, and some of the various millets now coming 

 into general use might be applied. A judicious mixture of 

 meals would be highly serviceable. The stock-master's 

 eye, after all, is the great preventive, and he will often 

 find it necessary to withhold the mangolds altogether, 

 and to put them upon dry regimen. I am speaking 

 more particularly as to autumn and winter feeding. As 

 the season advances, the roots lose their watery nature, 

 and in the months of March and April may be given 

 freely with great advantage. 



The remarks above, though referring exclusively to 

 sheep, are also equally applicable to cattle, particularly 

 young cattle and milking cows. It is only in the spring 

 that the mangold becomes a good, safe, wholesome, and 

 highly nutritious food. All animals are fond of it. 

 Horses eat these roots voraciously j young horses, and 



