BOOTS, TUBERS, AND MISCELLANEOUS FORAGES 245 



horse. (638-9, 784, 864) Fed to rams or wethers for long periods, both 

 mangels and sugar beets tend to produce dangerous calculi, or stones, 

 in the urinary organs. 



369. Sugar beets, Beta vulgaris, var. This root has been marvelously 

 developed for the single purpose of producing sugar, some strains now 

 yielding 16 per ct. or more. The sugar beet demands more care in culti- 

 vation than the mangel and more labor in harvesting, as it sets deep in 

 the ground. Sugar beets are esteemed by many dairymen as succulence 

 for cows under test. If liberally fed, this root may induce scouring be- 

 cause of its high sugar content. Farmers patronizing sugar factories 

 should utilize cull beets as well as the tops. Beet tops and leaves may be 

 fed fresh or ensiled. Care must be taken when stock is turned on beet 

 fields to forage, as decaying beet tops may poison the animals. Accord- 

 ing to Morton of the Colorado Station, 8 tho the tops keep better if cut, 

 they may be ensiled whole if the mass is well packed. At the Wisconsin 

 Station 9 Humphrey found that beet tops make good silage when run thru 

 the silage cutter along with an equal weight of dry corn fodder, sufficient 

 water being added so that the mass will pack well. 



370. Rutabaga, Brassica campestris. The rutabaga, or swede, ranks 

 next to the mangel in ease of cultivation and harvesting. Sheep prefer 

 it to all other roots. Like other turnips, the rutabaga may taint the 

 milk of cows, and for this reason should be fed immediately after milk- 

 ing. This root is of vast importance to the stock interests of Great 

 Britain and is likewise a favorite in Canada, where it is extensively 

 grown. (511) In the central part of the corn belt and southward much 

 of the growing season is too hot for rutabagas. 



371. Turnip, Brassica rapa. Turnips are more watery than rutabagas 

 and do not keep so well. Hybrid turnips, crosses between the turnip 

 and the rutabaga, keep better than ordinary turnips. Maturing early, 

 turnips are used chiefly for early fall feeding. Sown as a catch crop, 

 large yields are often secured without cultivation. Tho used mainly for 

 sheep, they can also be fed to cattle. 



372. Carrot, Daucus carota. Under favorable conditions the stock 

 carrot gives heavy yields. This root is relished by horses of all ages and 

 conditions, but should not be fed in large amount to hard-worked or 

 driving horses. (511) Carrots also serve well for other stock, especially 

 dairy cows. Hills of the Vermont Station 10 writes: "Carrots far sur- 

 passed beets in feeding value. ' ' 



373. Parsnip, Pastinaca sativa. The parsnip is the favorite with dairy- 

 men on the islands of Jersey and Guernsey. It contains about as much 

 dry matter as the sugar beet, but as the yield in this country is relatively 

 low and the root difficult to harvest, it is little grown. (511) 



374. Potato, Solanum tuberosum. In Europe heavy-yielding varieties 

 of large-sized potatoes are extensively grown for stock, but in this 

 country potatoes are only fed when low in price or too small for market. 



Breeder's Gaz., 65, 1914, p. 115. Wis. Bui. 228. 10 Vt. Ept. 1907. 



