CHAPTER VII. 



ROOT CROPS. 



II HERE can be no "best farming" without a liberal cul- 

 ture of roots. Good farming implies plenty of manure ; 

 manure implies stock ; stock implies feeding ; and the 

 best feeding is that which combines hay, grain, and roots. 

 It is also very much better for the health of stock to feed them 

 partly with roots through the winter. The farmer should not 

 deprive his stock of vegetables any sooner than \n?> family. 



As to the relative value of roots and corn, there is a great dif- 

 ference of opinion. One farmer says, " I have formerly raised 

 roots and put a thousand bushels or more of them into my 

 cellar ; and when I have had to bring them up myself and feed 

 them out in winter, I have asked myself the question whether 

 I could not get along more easily by raising corn and feeding 

 it to my stock. It is a very easy thing to get a thousand 

 bushels of roots into your cellar, but it is some work in a cold 

 morning to bring them up, chop them, and feed them out. 

 Then another thing we have to guard against, is excessive cold ; 

 roots, after they have been frozen, are unhealthy for any 

 anijnal. I know of cows that have been made sick by eating 

 carrots that had been frozen. There is no such trouble with 

 Indian corn. That is the crop adapted to us. My experience 

 IS that I can raise one hundred bushels of corn where I can 

 raise one thousand bushels of roots." Another says : " The 



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