storing 



Great difficulty is experienced in keeping sweet potatoes. This is 

 due to the fact that they contain a great deal of moisture. If the 

 ground where the potatoes are grown is thoroughly drained, there is 

 less moisture in the potatoes, the potatoes are harder and of better 

 flavor, and there is less danger of rotting. 



Various plans for keeping them are used. Probably the best one is 

 to place the potatoes in a dry, well-ventilated room until they have 

 passed through the sweat and are slightly wilted; then cover them in 

 layers with dry sand. Some have found it practical to wrap each potato 

 in a paper and place them in barrels and store the barrels in a dry room 

 having a uniform temperature. 



Mangel, or Stock Beet 



Mangels make an excellent feed for live stock, especially dairy cows. 

 If the soil is rich, the yield is from thirty to forty tons per acre. Eight 

 pounds of the roots will make one pound of dry matter, equal to one 

 pound of corn meal when fed to the dairy cow. If the root is ground, 

 forming a pulp, and mixed with ground alfalfa, it should stand twelve 

 hours before being fed. 



In planting, use from five to eight pounds of seed per acre, placing 

 it about one inch deep. Thin the beets when small, leaving good plants 

 from eight to ten inches apart. 



SUGAR BEETS 



THE sugar-beet industry has developed in the United States during 

 the past few years until it ranks as one of our principal crops. The 

 production of sugar beets in 1899 was only 81,729 short tons. It in- 

 creased to 218,406 tons in 1902, 501,682 tons in 1909, and 700,000 

 tons in 1912, an increase of 100,000 tons over the 1911 crop. The pro- 

 duction of 1912 is about one-fifth of the national consumption of sugar. 



In view of the fact that sugar beets can be successfully grown in all of 

 the western and northern states and many of the eastern states, the crop 

 will in a few years be equal to our consumption, if the law continues to 

 afford a reasonable protection. 



The value of the crop is not alone in the sugar it contains. The 

 by-products which are utilized for stock is an important item. A crop 

 of twelve tons per acre of beet roots, which is about the average pro- 

 duction, containing approximately 22| per cent of dry digestible sub- 

 stance, is accompanied by about 9.6 tons of fresh tops containing 15 per 

 cent of dry digestible substances. This furnishes more than four tons 

 of dry digestible substance per acre. The tops can be fed either green, 



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