532 



RAPE 



RAPE 



to remove all foul seeds and earthy material. In 

 this cleaning process a six- or eight-sided cylinder 

 is used, set on a slant of three-fourths to one inch 

 to the running foot. This cylinder is composed of a 

 fine screen for two-thirds its length and a coarser 



Fig. 766. 



Fattening hogs on rape, 

 shown in Fig. 



The fence is the hurdle 

 767. 



screen for the other one-third. The screen revolves 

 at the rate of forty revolutions per minute, requires 

 one-fourth horse-power to run it, and will clean 

 sixty-four to seventy-two bushels of rape seed per 

 hour. The whole apparatus is so set that a strong 

 current of air carries away all dust. When the 

 seed is very dirty the fall per running foot of the 

 cylinder is diminished and the number of revolu- 

 tions per minute doubled. 



Care must be taken in caring for the seed to 

 prevent attacks of mold and must, and the occur- 

 rence of rancidity in the oil and rape cake or meal. 

 This can be done by being careful not to pile seed in 

 too deep piles and by proper precaution in refining. 



Feeding. 



The principal uses of forage rapes are for soiling 

 and pasturage. In the former case the plants are 

 cut with knives or a scythe, and fed to stock in 

 desirable quantities. In the latter case the animals 

 are turned in to harvest the crop for themselves, 

 which, after they become accustomed to it, they 

 do very thoroughly and with a great deal of satis- 

 faction. Rape resembles clover in its composition 

 and should make a good grade of silage, but has 

 not met with success as a silage crop. Whether fed 

 as a soiling crop or pastured, it is a very palatable 

 and valuable 

 feed. 



Rape has 

 been shown to 

 be a very valu- 

 able feed for 

 fatteninglambs 

 and pigs, and 

 has been fed 

 even to dairy 

 cows with sat- 

 isfactory re- 

 sults, although when so fed it should follow rather 

 than immediately precede the milking period. If 

 fed just before milking, the milk is likely to have 

 the cabbage flavor, and will to a greater or less 

 extent taint the butter. 



It has also been found impossible to make good 

 cheese from milk obtained from cows receiving 

 rape as part of the ration, and it makes practically 

 no difference whether the rape is fed before or 

 after milking. (Bulletin No. 115. Wisconsin Ex- 

 periment Station.) 



When turning lambs on rape, it is well 

 first to have their stomachs partially full 

 of some drier food, as the great succulence 

 of the rape plant is liable to cause hoven 

 or bloat and often scours, with fatal results. 

 Especially is this true when the rape is still 

 wet from a rain or heavy dew. Swine are 

 not thus affected and can be turned in at 

 will. A good plan is to have the rape-field 

 adjoining a blue-grass pasture in which 

 the sheep can feed for a time before being 

 turned into the rape. After sheep have be- 

 come accustomed to feeding on the rape 

 they can be turned directly on it without 

 harm. 



When small numbers of animals are being fitted 

 for show, a movable fence can be used and a small 

 patch pastured at a time. A diagram of hurdle and 

 panel for such a fence is shown in Fig. 767. In 

 Pig. 766, the hurdle is shown in use. It some- 

 times happens that stock do not at first relish the 

 rape, but all eventually learn to eat it and when 

 once started eat it voraciously, cases being known 

 when swine have even dug out the roots and eaten 

 them. [For fuller discussion of comparable methods 

 and results, consult the article on Soiling.] 



It should be understood that, while very fattening, 

 rape cannot be depended on as a single feed properly 

 to fatten animals, but must be used in conjunction 

 with a grain ration. Flesh made by feeding rape 

 alone is likely to be soft and blubbery, and not of 

 the firm handling qualities to suit either the stock 

 judge in the show ring or the butcher on the block. 

 [Further consideration of the feeding value of rape 

 and other products may be expected in Vol. III.] 



When cut for soiling, rape should be fed soon 

 after cutting, for if left until badly wilted it loses 

 its palatability. If not cut closer than four inches 

 from the ground, it was found at the Wisconsin 

 Experiment Station that three crops could be 

 secured in a good year, yielding a total of thirty- 

 six tons of feed to the acre. 



CT 



d 



Fig. 767, Sketch of lixirdle used in pasturing lambs and hogs on rape. 



hurdle is shown in Fig. 766. 





The method of using this 



In a favorable season, stock may be turned on 

 the rape in about six weeks from the time of 

 planting, but more often it takes eight weeks for 

 rape to reach the best or most satisfactory feeding 



