434 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



lent and abundant food for sheep and other stock in May, 

 June and July. It is so hardy as not to be injured in the 

 coldest parts of Germany. Professor Brewer, who exam- 

 ined this crop with care in Germany, believed it well 

 adapted to the United States, and highly recommends it. 

 It seems to have a great superiority over the turnip in fat- 

 tening qualities. It is exceedingly succulent, having, in its 

 green Btate, 87 percent, water; albuminoids 3.13, carbo- 

 hydrates 8.20, ash 1.60 per cent. When deprived of water, 

 it contains 24.19 per cent, of albuminoids; being richer in 

 this important element than clover, and twice as rich as the 

 Swede turnip. The American edition of Johnson's " En- 

 cyclopaedia " states that this crop has been tried in New 

 York and New England, and found to stand the winters 

 well. Mr. Samuel Thorne, of Dutchess County, N. Y., 

 writes that, in 1863, he folded lambs upon it very late in 

 the fall, and that frost did not injure this plant. It pro- 

 duces, under good tillage, extraordinary crops. Mr. Blackie, 

 an English writer upon the "Improvement of Small 

 Farms," says that, when well manured, the stalks are juicy, 

 and grow to the height of from five to six feet ; and that 

 he believes an acre, with the addition of some straw to 

 counteract its great succulence, will keep 30 head of milch 

 cows in full milk for a month. It is, no doubt, an over- 

 estimate, as it would be equivalent to keeping a cow 900 

 days on the crop of 160 rods of land, or 180 sheep 30 days 

 on an acre, or 33M sheep one day upon one rod of land. 

 If we can estimate its capacity to feed cows and sheep at 

 one-half these figures, it is an exceedingly desirable crop. 

 It is generally regarded in Germany, and in all parts of 

 England, as one of the very best crops for fattening sheep ; 

 and as it is ready for feeding June and July, or if fed ear- 

 lier in spring would give its largest crop later in the season 

 say September it must prove to be one of the most 

 profitable green crop that can be raised, and especially 



