PERIOD AND MODE OF HARVESTING. 435 



quality of the milk produced. Not only is the proportion 

 considerably less of butter, but the solid substances the 

 caseine, sugar of milk, &c. show a corresponding decrease 

 when the cows were fed on the mangold leaves. 



All these points ought to be well weighed and consi- 

 dered before we come to a verdict either in favour of or 

 against the practice of stripping. If subsequent experi- 

 ments, fairly and properly conducted in the field and in 

 the laboratory, show us that the results obtained at the 

 Albert Model Farm can be secured without any practical 

 deterioration in the feeding value of the roots, it is clearly 

 our interest to cast aside all prejudice, and adopt the prac- 

 tice at once on our farms. The evidence we have already 

 quoted in reference to the disputed points shows us the 

 importance of further experiments. These can be con- 

 ducted without either trouble or expense ; and, whatever 

 may be their results, they must be of value as tending 

 towards the settlement of a question of more or less im- 

 portance to every farmer in the kingdom. 



In ordinary seasons, about the third week in October is 

 the best period for harvesting the mangold crop, for which 

 fine and dry weather is of great importance. The labour 

 involved in this operation is somewhat heavier than for 

 turnips, and more care is required in its application. The 

 Globe varieties can usually be lifted by the hand, but for the 

 Long varieties a fork is generally used, except where grown 

 on the lighter and deeper class of soils. On strong loams or 

 clays, or where the subsoil is rough and rocky, occasioning 

 a twisted growth, the roots are very apt to break off and 

 leave a portion in the soil if attempted to be pulled out by 

 the hand. The roots when lifted are left lying in the rows, 

 women or girls following and finishing the operation by re- 

 moving the dirt with the hand, trimming off the principal 

 roots with a knife, and either wrenching or cutting the top 

 off, so as to leave the crown of the root perfectly uninjured; 



