300 BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



well suited to the cooler sections of the country or to cool 

 seasons. In Canada and the northern United States rape 

 is an extremely popular pasture plant among sheep breeders. 

 Three or four pounds of seed per acre will do for a seeding, 

 and stock may be turned on the field after the leaves have 

 become large and succulent. Rape will stand considerable 

 frost without damage. At the Michigan station, 15 acres 

 of rape pastured 128 lambs for 7J^ weeks, during which time 

 they gained 2890 pounds. From this trial it was established 

 that one acre of rape pastured nine lambs seven weeks, pro- 

 ducing 203 pounds of increase. For sheep and hogs, rape 

 furnishes a most valuable late summer and fall pasture. It 

 may also be sown in early spring, so that we may secure the 

 pasture during the entire growing season. 



ROOT CROPS 



Although all farm animals relish roots, these crops can- 

 not usually be grown with profit in America, on account of 

 the high cost of labor. In Canada and northern United 

 States, roots may be grown with great success on fertile 

 soils, but south of latitude 40, as a rule they do not yield so 

 well. 



The mangold or mangel-wurzel, a large, coarse beet, is 

 the most easily and cheaply grown of the roots used for stock 

 feeding. The roots consist of about 90 per cent water, and 

 of the dry matter, only 1 per cent or even less is protein. 

 A yield of 10 tons per acre is not uncommon. The chief 

 virtue of the roots is that they are succulent and are most 

 palatable, and keep the digestive organs of the animal in a 

 healthy, open condition. They are usually fed after being 

 run through a pulping or slicing machine, which puts the 

 root in nice shape for feeding. Many feeders in England 

 and Scotland, where roots are extensively used, mix the 



