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I infer, from German experiments, and tables given us by 

 Prof. Atwater, of the Connecticut Experiment Station, that 

 the tops of all the beet family are very rich in mineral, or ash 

 ingredients, and also in nitrogen or albuminoids. Being rich 

 in both of these makes them very valuable as manure ; being 

 rich in albuminoids makes them valuable as food. Green 

 clover is good manure, it is also good food, and though the 

 organic matter in beet leaves is much less than in clover, — 

 7.7 in 100 lbs. of the leaves, to 20.3 in 100 lbs. of clover, — 

 the ratio of albuminoid to carbo-hydrates is nearly the same, 

 — 1 to 2.37 in the leaves, and 1 to 2.33 in the clover. I 

 think a pound of the organic matter that is in mangold tops 

 will make more milk than a pound of organic matter in green 

 clover, for, four years' experience in soiling for milk, has 

 led me to think, that, other things being equal, the more 

 water in the form of sap there is connected with the organic 

 matter, the more milk I can get from a given amount of the 

 organic matter. There is no water like sap water for making 

 milk, and therein lies, as I think, the great value of root 

 crops, — tops and bottoms. In feeding the tops, we lose but 

 a small per cent, of their manure value — less than they charge 

 at the bank to discount a note for the same time ; I can col- 

 lect two dividends from the plant food, which is the fiirmer's 

 trading capital. In the mangold tops, before they are ready 

 for plant food, if ploughed in, I can feed them in October, 

 put out the manure and sow rye, feed the rye in the spring, 

 use the manure to grow fodder corn, and feed that by the 

 time the leaves ploughed in are decayed enough to become 

 plant food. There are facts connected with the problem of 

 collecting dividends from plant food that are not generally 

 understood. When I grow mangolds, my plan is to begin to 

 harvest early, so that I can have some time in which to use 

 the tops. I top them in the field and while standing ; the 

 tops can be taken off much better than after they are pulled. 

 Put the tops, as taken off, into a large basket, and from the 



