ROOT CROPS 47 



Root Crops High in Water. — Root crops are high in 

 water content, which may vary from 80 per cent to 90 per 

 cent. The dry matter in them is in feeding value equal 

 to an equivalent weight of the best grains. Root crops 

 may thus be considered as watered concentrates which 

 are of great value in furnishing succulence to the ration 

 of the animal. They also have a tonic effect not produced 

 by other crops. Roots are usually sliced or pulped and fed 

 alone or with the grain ration. In Scotland and England, 

 they are sometimes pulped and mixed with cut straw or 

 hay, and allowed to stand for some time before feeding. 



Roots Similar to Grass. — Roots are valuable for the 

 breeding animal, the animal producing milk, and for grow- 

 ing and fattening animals. The Utah Experiment Station 

 reports as follows : " (i) The live weight gain for cattle 

 and sheep was greater, and for hogs less, when fed on roots. 



(2) The dressed weight of cattle, sheep, and hogs showed 

 in every case greater shrinkage for those fed on roots. 



(3) The root-fed animals contained more blood and neces- 

 sarily more water in the blood. (4) The root-fed steers 

 had heavier vital organs. (5) The fat was always less 

 for the root-fed animals." The foregoing shows that the 

 bodies of the root-fed animals are about the same as the 

 bodies of animals that feed on grass, which is nature's 

 ration and the one upon which the animals do best and 

 keep in the best health. For animals that are to be fat- 

 tened or fitted for show, roots are very valuable. 



Roots Commonly Used. — Some of the common roots 

 for the dairy cow are the sugar beet, the rutabaga or swede, 

 and the carrot. For beef cattle the mangel is usually pro- 

 duced and for sheep the flat turnip is most commonly 

 grown. Though sugar beets are hard to harvest they are 



