164 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 



bacco have to be sorted, to put by themselves the dif- 

 ferent grades and to remove damaged and inferior 

 leaves, and in addition most types of tobacco have to 

 be fermented or " sweated," either by the farmer or 

 the dealer, before they are ready to be manufactured. 

 The price which is paid for the leaf when ready for 

 manufacture into cigars, cigarettes, pipe or smoking 

 tobacco, chewing tobacco, or snuff ranges from a few 

 cents to three or four dollars per pound, depending on 

 the uses to which it can be put and the quality of the 

 crop. Much depends on the skill with which the crop 

 is grown, cured and fermented. 



NOTE FOR THE TEACHER. If tobacco is not grown in your locality, 

 ask the pupils if they have ever seen this crop growing. If any of 

 them are familiar with tobacco, have one of them explain the process 

 of planting, cultivating, harvesting and curing. If tobacco is grown 

 in the neighborhood the class should be taken to a prosperous farm 

 and the crop studied. 



SECTION XXV. ROOT CROPS. 

 (A) MANGELS, IRISH POTATOES, SUGAR BEETS, ETC. 



By J. E. HALLIGAN, 

 Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station. 



Root crops generally include those plants that store 

 up their food in a thickened stem and root. The food 

 is stored in the stem entirely in the kohlrabi, and in 

 the cabbage the food is found in the leaves. Most of 

 this class of plants are biennials with the exception of 

 rape, which is an annual. 



These crops are not grown as extensively in America 

 as in Europe. In Canada they are more popular than 

 in the United States. They should be grown more 

 extensively in this country because they furnish excel- 

 lent feed for live-stock, especially for dairy cattle and 

 sheep. They are succulent and seem to give results 

 much above what their chemical composition would 

 indicate. They have a tonic and laxative effect. 



