114 BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



should all fix in mind. Feed those crops that grow early in 

 the spring with nitrates, but to those that make their growth 

 later the application of nitrogen is less necessary. 



Question. Do you buy the chemicals at the college and 

 mix them yourself, or do you buy those ready mixed, and 

 apply them? 



Professor Beooks. I generally buy the chemicals. 



Question. Does the white mustard referred to spread on 

 the land? 



Professor Brooks. No, sir. It is very different from 

 the black mustard. Black mustard becomes a weed. I have 

 never seen a single volunteer plant of white mustard on the 

 college farm, although I have been using it for six years. 

 If sown the first of August, it does not ripen the seed. It 

 comes into bloom and makes a splendid pasturage for bees. 

 There is a buzz and hum all over the field. 



Question. Is that seed readily obtained? 



Professor Brooks. It can be readily obtained, but it can 

 be much more cheaply grown. I bought some at first, but I 

 found if I sowed it in the early spring it would cost but very 

 little to raise it. 



Question. Will cattle eat it? 



Professor Brooks. Cattle will eat it readily, sheep and 

 young cattle particularly. I put the sheep on this white 

 mustard along about the middle of November. 



Question. Would they eat it better if carried into the 

 barn ? 



Professor Brooks. Well, I suppose there would be less 

 waste, because they trample it somewhat in the field. Still, 

 it produces large crops. I do not wholly lose that part of it 

 which is trodden down. I think if you keep sheep or young 

 cattle, if you are anxious to make the most possible out of 

 its food value, you can do better than by turning them into 

 a large field. Have a portable fence, and make them eat 

 one section down clean, and then remove them onto another 

 section. That is also important because it enables you to 

 manure all parts of the field the same. If you turn animals 

 into a large field, most of their droppings are left in some 

 favorite place ; but if you move them from section to section, 

 using a portable fence, you manure the field all over. 



