1860. 



NEW ENGLAm) FARMER. 



311 



is materially less. The quantity and kind of food 

 described are not only productive of milk, but cows 

 usually gain flesh during the winter, nor is there 

 any perceptible weakening of the system. The 

 heifer mentioned has been kept upon cooked food 

 every winter. The cow has been so kept three 

 years, and they are large and apparently healthy. 

 I have never seen any ill effects from the course 

 pursued. 



By the process which I have adopted I am able 

 to get a return from the corn stalks equal to 

 the return from an equal weight of hay. At 

 the present price of milk and hay, I think it is im- 

 possible to sell milk and get pay for the hay con- 

 sumed by the cows ; but by feeding upon stalks 

 and straw, these articles yield a return which 

 could not be obtained in any other way. Every 

 farmer ought to consume as much hay and grain 

 as he produces. There may be deviations from 

 this rule occasionally when these articles com- 

 mand high prices, but compensation ought to be 

 made by purchasing when prices are low. 



The object sought is to feed out all the crops, 

 and obtain as much money as could be obtained 

 by sending it away. This can not be done by 

 raising cattle for sale, but it may be advantageous 

 to raise cows for milk, as, if proper measures be 

 taken, good ones may be bred with considerable 

 certainty. A farmer cannot afford to buy cows 

 that have been tested and proved, as the prices 

 are too high ; nor can he usually afford to buy 

 clieap animals, and run the risk of finding only 

 (me in two or one in three that he desires to keep. 



The root crops may be made the basis of im- 

 provements in agriculture. My limited experi- 

 ence leads me to think that the mangold wurtzel 

 is a profitable crop. The culture is easy and the 

 product large. The land should be thoroughly 

 and deeply tilled and well drained. A heavy, 

 clayey soil is unfavorable. The land should be 

 well manured and kept clean. A young man, 

 John Tynan, of the age of eighteen years only, a 

 pupil in the Albert National Agricultural Institu- 

 tion, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland, has prepared a 

 prize essay upon the mangold wurtzel, and it is 

 not too much to say that it is not only the best 

 essay upon the subject in hand, but it is a model 

 for imitation by those who write upon agricultu- 

 ral topics. It has been reprinted in the Transac- 

 tions of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting 

 Agriculture, and it may be read with profit by any 

 farmer of the country. The experiments made 

 upon the Albert Farm and cited by Mr. Tynan 

 show that the mangold is superior to any other 

 root for its fattening properties, and for its milk- 

 producing qualities. The yield to the acre is al- 

 so large, being, at the maximum, about thirty-two 

 tons. Salt seems to be a specific manure for the 

 mangold, the crop having been materially in- 

 creased by its use. In one experiment, the treat- 

 ment was varied by the addition of 5 cwt. of salt, 

 at a cost of about two dollars, and the crop was 

 increased from 23 4-5 to 30 3-5 tons to the acre. 

 In twelve experiments, the largest crop of 30 3-5 

 tons was obtained by the use of 4} cords of ma- 

 nure, 4 cwt. of guano and 5 cwt. of salt to the acre. 

 The manure was estimated to cost $31,37, or a 

 fraction over $1 per ton of roots. Another acre, 

 which yielded 20 3-10 tons, was manured with 2 

 cw't. guano, 2 cwt. of superphosphate, 2 cwt. of 

 nitrophosphate, and 2 cwt. of salt, at a cost of 



$13,50, or 66i cents per ton. In another exper- 

 iment, the same articles were used, two-thii-ds of 

 the quantity of each being taken, and the result 

 was a crop of 19 11-20 tons, at a cost for manure 

 of 40 cents per ton. Another acre, manured with 

 guano only, at the rate of 7^ cwt. per acre, yielded 

 17 17-20 tons, at a cost of 81,20 per ton for ma- 

 nure. I find, upon examination, that the charges 

 for manures at Glasnevin correspond so nearly 

 with the cost in this country that the difference 

 need not be considered. The expense of labor is 

 not given by Mr. Tynan, but if we assume it to be 

 fifty dollars per acre, the entire cost will be about 

 eighty dollars. A full crop of thirty tons would 

 give a cost of $2,07 per ton. With ordinary cul- 

 ture, my own product, in 3850, was at the rate of 

 more than twenty tons per acre. It may safely be 

 assumed that mangold wurtzel may be raised at a 

 cost of three, four and five dollars per ton, accord- 

 ing to circumstances, and at the highest rate they 

 are a cheaper food for cattle than hay or grain. It 

 is thus seen that mangolds arc produced at a cost 

 not exceeding 10 cents per bushel, while in my 

 statement of the expense of keeping cows I have 

 estimated them at twice that sum. Every farmer 

 will do well to raise a ton for every two animals 

 that he intends to feed during the winter, wheth- 

 er fat cattle, stores or milch cows. 



It is generally understood, howov-er, that the 

 mangold does not attain perfection before Janua- 

 ry, but it may be kept until the 10th of May, or 

 even till the 1st of June. 



If the view I have taken be correct, the thought 

 may occur to some that we have underestimated 

 the value of Indian corn as a profitable crop. And 

 so I think we have. It is the only crop that, in 

 cases of extremity, and often as a matter of con- 

 venience or profit, may be used as a substitute for 

 every other. If properly manured and cultivated, 

 it may be raised upon every soil, and not once in 

 twenty years, in this climate, is there a total fail- 

 ure. It will sustain man and beast, and it is, as 

 an article of constant use, more palatable and 

 healthful than the smaller grains. When fully 

 ripe, it Avill endure the severities of the climate, 

 and the husbandman may allow it to remain in 

 the field without fear of loss, while wheat, barley 

 and oats must be gathered at maturity, or serious 

 results will follow. The stalks, when green, are 

 among the best articles for soiling cattle, and, 

 when dry, their value is equal to a third of the 

 cost of the entire crop. May it not then be wise 

 for farmers to give more attention to . the culture 

 of roots and Indian corn for the sustenance of 

 their own herds, and if anything is sent to mar- 

 ket, let it be hay, which usually bears a price dis- 

 proportionate to its nutritive value ^ 



THE CRO"W. 



In an article on Avinter birds, -we have this de- 

 fence in the Atlantic Montldij : "He consumes in 

 the year vast quantities of grubs, worms, and nox- 

 ious vermin ; he is a valuable scavenger, and 

 clears the land of offensive masses of deceased an- 

 imal substances ; he hunts the grain fields, and 

 pulls out and devours the underground caterpil- 

 lars, whenever he perceives the signs of their op- 

 erations, as evinced by the wilted stalks ; he de- 

 stroys mice, young rats, lizards, and the serpent ; 

 lastlv, he is a volunteer sentinel about the farm. 



