ROOT CULTURE. 95 



fuel, and add their testimony to the necessity and 

 importance of still farther extending this culture in 

 the United States.] 



The culture of roots, as farm-crops for feeding and 

 fattening domestic animals, is of such recent intro- 

 duction, and so limited among us, and the few ex- 

 periments that have been made to ascertain the rel- 

 ative value of these roots have been so loosely man- 

 aged, that the committee do not possess the data 

 that they could desire to make a satisfactory report, 

 adapted exactly to our practice. But they are nev- 

 ertheless satisfied, from the numerous experiments 

 which have been made in Europe, in a climate very 

 similar to our own, and from the partial ones which 

 have been made among us, that the culture of roots 

 is destined to effect here, what it has effected else- 

 where, a great and salutary change in husbandry ; 

 not only as furnishing the easiest and cheapest means 

 of feeding and fattening domestic animals, but as an 

 important source of fertility to the farm ; and of se- 

 curing the main point ultimate profit to the owner 

 or cultivator. 



Under these strong impressions of the advantages 

 of encouraging and extending root culture, your 

 committee proceed, with the limited means at their 

 command, to fulfil the duties assigned them by the 

 society. 



The Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland 

 have recently awarded liberal premiums for experi- 

 ments in fattening neat cattle ; first, upon different 

 kinds of roots, as the potato, turnip, and mangold- 

 wurzel ; second, upon raw and cooked food ; and, 

 third, upon roots entirely, and a mixture of roots, 

 grain, pulse, and oil-cake. These experiments have 

 been made with a view of accurately ascertaining 

 the comparative value of each kind of root and other 

 food, and the economy of each mode of feeding it. 

 The experiments have been numerous. They have 



