76 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



Whenco come the muscle of that race of oil-feed- 

 ers? Who labors harder than the ox, Avho feeds, 

 often exclusively, on grass? The horses of hun- 

 dreds of farmers, and esjiecially those of twenty 

 or thirty yinirs ago, were kept without any al- 

 lowance of grains. Whence comes the daily sup- 

 |)ly of nitrogen in the milk of the cow? She is 

 led, in many districts, with the same kind of 

 feed. 



Do you reply that all these substances contain 

 nitrogen? AVe admit it. But we also claim that 

 laore nitrogen is voided in the excrements of these 

 .inimals than is furnished in these kinds of feed. 

 By Leibig"s analysis, 100 parts of dry hay give 

 1.5 nitrogen, while by Bousingault, dried cow- 

 .hing gives 2.3 nitrogen. Bat this i.s aside from 

 our main object. We recur to the subject of 

 roots. 



Turnips arc found to be of great benefit to cat- 

 tle, and why? We are inclined to explain it on 

 the princi2:)Ie that concentrated nutriment is not 

 sj wholesome as that which is more diluted. The 

 uiare diluted our food, provided we do not over- 

 task the energies of the intestinal canal, in the 

 conveyance of it to its destination, the better for 

 tlie health of the animal. May not this be the 

 rule? In such cases, the absorbents have more 

 time and a better opportunity to possess them- 

 .S3lves of what they need, without suffering any- 

 thing to escape them. We do not assert this. 

 We only suggest where no one ap2Dears ready to 

 establish anytliing. The fact is universally ad- 

 mitted, tliat concentrated nutriment does not, of 

 itself, form healthy food as an exclusive diet. 



Again, the ingredients of turnips, etc., may be 

 very favorably proportioned and combined to pro- 

 duce a physical effect peculiarly fiivorable upon 

 the membranes with which they come in contact, 

 and thus tend to secure a healthy condition in 

 them. Is there aijy more satisfactory explanation 

 of the how so vapid an article as a turnip is proved 

 to be, should be so elEcicnt ? 



But all roots usually cultivated, and all fruits 

 resembling them, are peculiarly desirable as a feed 

 for cattle. Beets, carrots, pumpkins, etc., have 

 proved of great value for such purposes. Indeed, 

 we can hardly doubt that the gresn stalks of corn, 

 when fed to animals, pay better than the grain. 

 Sooros have given the result of their exj^eriments, 

 and among them all there is a marked agreement. 

 The exceptions arc few, if any. And it is obvious 

 that in the green stalk the elements are in a con- 

 dition more resembling roots, than is the grain, 

 which is a more concentrated form of feed. 



The following, according to Boussingault, are 

 t!ie constituent elements of sundry crops : 



Carbon. O.xygcn. Hydrogen. Nitrogen. Inorganic 



Dry Turnip 429 



Dry Beet 423 



Clover 474 



Oats, (the grain).503 



Wheat " 401 



Rye " 463 



Potato, ihy 4 43 



In these results there is a very great uniform- 

 ity. But there is another matter to be taken 

 into account. In the composition of 1000 parts 



"Wheat, (the grain 117 are water. 



Barley 150 " 



0;«i 100 " 



^■yo 100 « 



Maizx" 130 " 



Rice 140 " 



Turnips SOO " 



Ilea Mangel-Wurzel, 901 " 



White Sugar-Beet 869 " 



I'arsuip 793 " 



In the proportion of water there is a marked 

 difference Ijetween roots and grains. How im- 

 portant this may ])e, wliat diflerences result from 

 the combination of Avater in the root and water 

 taken from the brook, we are unable to state. 

 But it is not natural to suppose that the solid 

 parts of the root, being to a greater or less de- 

 gree in a state of solution or semi-solution, the 

 food is in a better condition to be acted upon by 

 the fluids of the stomach, and with more facility 

 converted into chyle ? And docs not this tend to 

 show the propriety of soaking grains, so far as it 

 may be done conveniently, before feeding them ? 



Of the fact that soaking grains, and especially 

 corn, for horses before feeding them, improves 

 them, our own experience convinced us years ago. 

 Whoever adopts this course will find fewer grains 

 among the excrements of the stable, unchanged, 

 than when the corn is fed in a dry state. 



As to the comparative value of crops of grains 

 and of roots, we offer the following as a fair ap- 

 proximation. Precision is, of course, impossible, 

 where the conditions are so variable. The value 

 of land, of labor, of manure and of crops, is too 

 various for the predication of anything very defi- 

 nite. Various reports in the Hampden County 

 (Mass.) Agricultural Society, bring the following 

 as the cost of certain crops jier bushel : 



Wheat 58 5-6 cents. 



Corn 54 2-10 " 



Rye 48 " 



Carrots 13 2-10 " 



Turnips 4 2-3 " 



Making an estimate from various other reports 

 of the jMassachusetts Societies, (though at a lower 

 rate than the premium crops,) and from other 

 sources in our possession, we come to the follow- 

 ing results, the quantity of land taken being one 

 acre : 



Cari-ots. — Produce, 600 to 700 bushels of 50 

 lbs. each, worth ^ a cent a pound, or $150 to 

 $175. Cost of cultivation, say $75. Profits, 

 say $75 to $100 per acre. 



Su(/ar Beets. — Produce, 320 bushels of 50 lbs. 

 each, at 18 cents a bushel, its value is $57.60. 

 Cost of crop, say $35. Profits, $22.60. 



Ruta-Bacjas. — Produce, 800 bushels of 50 lbs. 

 each, at 25 cents a bushel, is $200. Cost, $100. 

 Profit,, say $100. 



Turnips, (common.) — Produce, 600 bushels, at 

 12.^ cents a bushel, is $75. Cost of crop, $40. 

 Profits, $35. 



Wheat. — Assuming 30 bushels as a fair crop, at 

 $1.25 a bushel, the produce will be $37.50. 

 Cost, $20; profit, $17.50. Or, by Hampden 

 county estimate, the profit will be, say $17.65. 



Corn- — Produce, 75 bushels, at $1, is $75. 

 Cost of crop, $30. Profit, $45. 



Reducing these results to a tabular form, we 

 find the profits of an acre of 



Carrots, say $75 00 



8u'^'ar-Beets 22 60 



Jluta-Bagas 100 00 



Turuips 30 00 



Whtat 17 50 



Corn 45 00 



We do not pretend to accuracy. The cost of 

 <;rops varies fifty per cent, in different sections 



