CHAPTER XLIV 

 ROOT CROPS 



ROOT crops are grown for human food, for the manufacture of 

 sugar and as forage crops for stock feed. 



Those grown for stock feed are classed as beets, turnips, carrots, 

 and artichokes. Since cabbage, kale, and rape belong to the same 

 family as turnips, are grown for stock feed, and the culture is similar, 

 it is best to consider them all at the same time. 



In England and north Europe root crops have long been impor- 

 tant crops for feeding stock. In the United States they have never 

 become important, only 19,000 acres of root forage being reported 

 for the census year 1909, while in Canada 194,000 acres were 

 reported. Their culture in the United States has been retarded for 

 two reasons: (1) The relatively high cost of labor, as root crops 

 require much hand labor, and (2) competition with corn and 

 sorghum, both of which produce stock feed at much cheaper cost. In 

 Europe roots have been regarded important as a winter succulent 

 feed, but in the United States they will hardly compete with corn 

 silage for this purpose, at least until labor is relatively much cheaper. 



Root crops are more important in Canada, partly due to the less 

 yield of corn, and probably in part due to a closer following of 

 European customs in cattle feeding. 



BEETS 



The sugar beet holds first rank as a root crop, since about one- 

 half of the world's sugar comes from this source, about six per cent of 

 which comes from the United States. 



The cultivated beets are usually classed into four groups : 



1. Chard (grown for leaf stems). 



2. Table beets (red flesh) (Fig. 192). 



3. Mangel-wurzel (red and white flesh). 



4. Sugar beets (white flesh). 



The first two classes are grown only for culinary purposes, sugar 

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