124 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



For forage purposes white sweet clover is the one to grow, because 

 the root lives two years instead of one year, and the flavor is less objec- 

 tionable to stock. In nutritive qualities white sweet clover resembles 

 alfalfa, but animals have to be taught by hunger to like it. They will 

 not usually eat it if other forage is to be found. But there are stock 

 feeders who speak well of it. 



Danger in Bad Hay. 



Water backed into our barn some time ago and wet about an inch 

 of the bottom bales of a large quantity of hay stored therein. In most 

 places the hay is moldy to a depth of two or three inches, the remainder 

 being pure and sweet. We would like to know ivhether it will hurt to 

 feed this hay to stock without separating the damaged from the good? 

 I am told that it will not injure cows, that they will pick over it and 

 leave the damaged hay. 



Bad hay is dangerous, especially so to horses, but never fully safe 

 for anything. We would never feed it to animals we thought much of. 

 Cattle are in less danger and the common practice is to work off doubt- 

 ful stuff on dry stock. There is, however, always some risk in feeding 

 bad stuff. The best use for it is for plowing under as manure. 



Feeding Beets and Corn. 



What are the relative feeding values of corn and sugar beets, half 

 sugar and half mangel? 



It is understood that the inquiry refers to the grain of Indian corn 

 and not to corn fodder or green corn. In so far as two feeds of such 

 different character as sugar beets and corn can be compared, I would say 

 that it would take about 6 to 7 tons of sugar beets to equal a ton of corn 

 or other cereals (except oats) in feeding value. If it is intended, for 

 instance, to partly replace corn in a mixed ration with beets, the pro- 

 duction will not be affected appreciably when the substitution is made 

 in the ratio of 1:6 by weight. This has been thoroughly tried out 

 in a large number of feeding experiments and is in accord with our 

 general knowledge of the contents of valuable nutrients in these feeds. 

 The different varieties of mangels vary greatly in their content of dry 

 matter; some contain nearly as much dry substance as sugar beets, 

 while others contain only one-half as much. The average water-content 

 of half-sugar mangels appears to be about 87 per cent, while good 

 sugar beets will contain 80 to 85 per cent of water (15 to 20 per cent 

 of dry substance). F. W. W. 



Root Crops as Stock Foods. 



What is the food value of mangel ztntrtsel and sugar beets as a 

 stock food? What do they generally yield to the acre on good loamy 

 soil? Are either injurious if fed to brood sows? 



Both mangels and sugar beets make valuable stock foods. The 

 former roots contain only a little more than one-half the quantities of 



