228 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



upon having been made from external measurement, and not in 

 scales — do not appear to me to be decisive, but only indicative 

 of considerable superiority in the fattening properties of man- 

 gold wurzel over the Swedes." — Mr. Colman (^European 

 Agriculkfre, p. 260.) 



In the interesting experiments in fattening cattle on different 

 descriptions of food, which were carried out on Colonel 

 M'Douall's farm in Wigtonshire, and the results of which are 

 recorded by him in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society of England, (Vol. xiii. Part 1,) the valuable feeding 

 properties of Mangold are clearly established, but in that climate 

 and soil, as stated in a preceding part of this essay, a consider- 

 ably larger acreable produce of Swedes can be obtained. The 

 following note was appended by the late Mr. Pusey to Colonel 

 M'Douall's observations on the relative merits of mangolds and 

 Swedes. " There is no doubt that in this part of England, 

 (Berkshire, for instance,) it is as easy to grow thirty tons of 

 mangold as it is to grow twenty tons of Swedes to the acre. 

 Assuming Colonel M'Douall's results to be such as would 

 ordinarily take place, the superior profits of mangolds over 

 Swedes is very great, for the money returns will stand as 

 follows : — 



Mangold, . . . . £13 2 6 per acre. 

 Swedes, . . . . 6 5 0" 



The money return from the mangold therefore appears to be 

 more than double that from the Swede. There is also the 

 great advantage of the land being clear for the timely sowing 

 of barley, by feeding stock on mangold, which, of course, has 

 been stored, instead of keeping the sheep on Swedes run to 

 seed in April, while the seed time for barley is passing or gone. 

 This experiment strongly confirms those of the late Lord 

 Spencer, which appeared some years since in this Journal. The 

 laxative tendency of mangold is easily, as in this case counter- 

 acted by the accompaniment of bean meal." 



Dr. Voelcker has recently drawn attention to the singular 

 circumstance that although the mangold is " justly esteemed on 

 account of its fattening properties when given to beasts, yet it 

 appears to be about the worst description of roots that can be 



