202 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



hundred bushels of turnips, ruta bagas, and even carrots, may be 

 secured. Boots, as a rule, should be left in the ground as late as 

 may be without danger of freezing. They may be topped in 

 the field before the tops decay, by means of either the hoe or 

 shovel. The tops are relished by stock. One great objection 

 to this crop is the labor of handling. Much of this can be 

 economized. 



Eun a subsoil plow beside the rows, and it will lift them so 

 that they can be very easily pulled. Indeed, the ground should 

 be so mellow that they can be pulled without difficulty. Gather 

 them on a dry day in dry weather. Throw them between the 

 rows and let the dirt dry on them. An hour or two will dry the 

 * dirt so that most of it will shake off while loading them. Have 

 a scuttle to your cellar, so» that you can slide them in by the 

 cart load. After they are in the cellar, don't forget them. On 

 cold nights (not freezing) open the windows and scuttle door ; 

 in warm or wet weather shut them up as tightly as possible. A 

 very successful farmer says, " If I am fattening hogs and want 

 to give them meal and grain, I cook the roots and mix the 

 meal in so that it is all cooked and steamed. I think, for fat- 

 tening hogs, cooked meal is better than raw. But I will state 

 that I have kept successfully, for years, store hogs and breeding 

 sows, from November to March, with nothing at all but raw 

 mangold wurzels. I don't approve of feeding raw roots to 

 small pigs; but store hogs, weighing from one hundred and 

 twenty-five pounds upwards, will thrive well on them." 



It is undoubtedly more desirable to steam roots for hogs than 

 cattle. Cutting them up with a root cutter, or in small quanti- 

 ties, chopping them with a hatchet, is usually sufficient prepa- 

 ration for cattle. One half bushel of roots is a liberal allow- 

 ance for each animal, allowing six pounds of grain, and twenty 

 pounds of cut corn-stalks and straw. Where hay and grain ara 



