71 



dise among us. Our dairy men heve learned the value of the 

 Mangel Wurzel. And all who find it necessary to winter store 

 cattle on rather inferior fodder, have become satisfied that the 

 turnip crop can do more than anything else to increase the nu- 

 tritive qualities of hard fare. 



We doubt whether any man among us who has learned these 

 facts by experience could be made to believe that twenty-five 

 tons of carrots on an acre of land, or twenty tons of Euta Ba- 

 gas are not a profitable crop, because as is said, nearly ninety 

 parts in one hundred are water, in a free and unnutritious con- 

 dition. It is evident that however great may be the dilution, 

 there are floating in this liquid, and diff'used throughout it, and 

 combined with it, certain chemical agents which, presented in 

 this form, are peculiarly adapted to the production of animal 

 fibre. The argument so frequently used, that root crops, par- 

 ticularly turnips, contain a large percentage of water, and must 

 therefore be deficient in nutritive power, will apply to almost 

 every article of food known to man and animals. Every pro- 

 duct of the soil contains a certain quantity of matter, either 

 woody fibre or water, which of itself is not nutritious ; but 

 which under proper combinations is highly useful and impor- 

 tant. It should be remembered that by actual experiments in 

 feeding, 300 pounds of Swedish turnips are proved to be 

 equivalent to 100 pounds of English hay ; and that under this 

 rule, an acre of land which produces two tons of hay, will, by 

 furnishing eighteen tons of turnips, increase its production of 

 food three-fold. These crops are a fair average for the esti- 

 mate. It is found moreover that 1728 grains in weight of 

 Swedish turnip afibrd 110 grains of nutritive matter; and 

 that 3000 grains of white clover contain only 100 grains of nu- 

 tritive matter. According to this estimate turnips are nearly 

 twice as nutritious as undried white clover ; and it would re- 

 quire a crop of thirty-six tons of green clover to the acre, to 

 afford the nourishment furnished by eighteen tons of turnips. 

 Clover contains by actual test five-sixths of its weight in water ; 

 and we need, therefore, only twelve tons of the green clover 



