FEEDING ANIMALS 125 



nutrients found in sugar beets, and it requires about 12^2 pounds of 

 mangels and 7 pounds of sugar beets to equal a pound of grain (barley, 

 rye, wheat, etc.) in feeding value. At $32.00 per ton for grain, a ton 

 of mangels would, therefore, be worth about $2.60, and a ton of sugar 

 beets $4.60. On good loamy soils and under good cultivation mangels 

 will yield 20 to 30 tons, or more, per acre, and sugar beets 12 to 15 tons, 

 so that the total amounts of nutrients obtained from an acre of mangels 

 or sugar beets do not, as a rule, differ greatly. Both crops make excel- 

 lent feeds for brood sows and other hogs, as in fact for other farm 

 animals. They are generally run through a root cutter, or sliced before 

 being fed out. F. W. W. 



Feeding Value of Stock Beets. 



What is the feeding value per ton of stock beets for dairy cows? 



It is fair to assume that 8 to 12 tons of stock beets are worth as 

 much as a ton of grain for stock feeding. The wide variation in feeding 

 value is due to the varying water-contents of the different varieties of 

 beets. These range from 85 per cent to over 90 per cent, or 10 per cent 

 to 15 per cent of dry matter. In northern Europe, especially Denmark, 

 where heavy feeding of roots to dairy cows is a common practice, 

 analyses of the root crops grown are frequently made, in order that the 

 farmer may know definitely the actual feeding value of his crops and 

 thus plan his feeding operations intelligently. We have not gotten that 

 far in this country as yet, and to most of us "roots is roots." On the 

 average it may be said that root crops will have a value of about one-tenth 

 that of barley, weight for weight, for feeding farm animals, especially 

 cattle and sheep. Their special merit for feeding purposes lies in furnish- 

 ing succulence in the rations and a supply of highly digestible and palatable 

 nutrients. They are valuable stock feeds, both on account of the feed 

 components they furnish and as appetizers ; animals fed considerable 

 roots are able to eat heavy rations, containing large amounts of concen- 

 trates, without going "off feed." F. W. W. 



Stock Beets and Alfalfa Hay. 



Do you advise the feeding of stock beets to dairy cows in connection 

 with alfalfa hay? Some dairymen say it is more profitable to feed 

 chopped stock beets with alfalfa hay than to feed silage with alfalfa hay. 



Stock beets make a good supplementary feed for dairy cows on alfalfa 

 hay. They are rather low in feed materials, containing 10 to 12 per cent 

 of dry matter, or only one-half to one-third as much as Indian corn or sorg- 

 hum, at the stage of growth when this is cut for the silo. To offset the low 

 dry-matter content, roots generally yield heavily; viz., 20 to 30 tons, 

 or more, per acre on rich land, and they have a high digestibility and 

 are greatly relished by dairy cows and other farm animals. Silage, 

 however, has special points in its favor, and even if larger or cheaper 

 crops of beets can be grown, many farmers will prefer to grow Indian 

 corn or sorghum for silage, so as to have a uniform readily available 

 succulent feed for dairy cows throughout the winter, when it is often 



