ROOT CROPS 



ROOT CROPS 



543 



Fig. 775. Mangel parts. 

 A, neck; B, should- 

 ers; C, crown; H, hy- 

 pocotyl ; R, primary 

 root; D, dimple. Tap- 

 roots and fibrous 

 roots broken off. 



of the tuber, the aim is to have it as short as 

 possible. In the case of sugar-beets the crown 

 is removed before using them for the manufac- 

 ture of sugar. When a plant has but one shoot 

 or neck arising from the crown, it is said to be 

 single ; should several shoots 

 arise, the plant is said to 

 have multiple crowns. These 

 are objectionable in all 

 classes of roots, because the 

 small shoots are developed at 

 the expense of the food 

 already stored in the "root." 

 The hypocotyl varies in 

 length in different varieties. 

 In some it is above ground, 

 in others, as in Kleinwanzle- 

 bener sugar-beets, it is 

 below ground. It is an ob- 

 served fact that those plants 

 having the hypocotyl below 

 ground are richer in dry mat- 

 ter and therefore of higher 

 feeding value than those hav- 

 ing a large part of the hypo- 

 cotyl above ground. The pri- 

 mary root appears as a con- 

 tinuation of the hypocotyl ; 

 it should terminate in a sin- 

 gle small taproot. Roots with 

 two or more taproots are said 

 to be forked or-rough accord- 

 ing to the degree of forking. 

 They are objectionable because of being difficult 

 to harvest, and because they hold considerable soil 

 and are likely to have coarse and stringy flesh. 

 The dimples (D), usually two in number, are depres- 

 sions on opposite sides of the root. They should be 

 vertical and not too deep. 



The lateral roots should be fine, fibrous and 

 abundant, and should arise only from the dimples, 

 otherwise they increase the cost of harvesting and 

 carry considerable soil, which is objectionable. 

 The fibrous roots springing from the taproot break 

 off when the root is harvested. They are extensive 

 and frequently fill the soil to a depth of four or 

 five feet. The flesh is seldom of a uniform color. 

 A transverse section will 

 show rings of firm tissue alter- 

 nating with rings of softer 

 tissue. Six or seven or more 

 rings are often formed in as 

 many months of growth. The 



sap of the soft tissue is 



often colored, being crimson 



or golden, or other color, even white. 



In the manufacture of sugar from sugar-beets 

 considerable loss was experienced in removing the 

 coloring matter from the sap, and this led to the 

 use of white mangels for sugar production. 



History of mangels. 



The mangel is regarded as a direct descendant 

 of the chard, which was used by the Greeks 300 

 B.C. as a vegetable. The roots of the chard were 



used medicinally and as a vegetable during the first 

 and second centuries A. D. The use of the root for 

 cattle-feeding is recorded as early as the sixteenth 

 century, and beets were introduced into this coun- 

 try by the early colonists. As late as 1783 the only 

 kinds of mangel seed catalogued for sale in England 

 were the red beet and the common long red, and in 

 1806 the red beet was the only kind listed in 

 America ; in 1828 four varieties were mentioned 

 and today there are probably not over a score in 

 common use. Since 1805, when the manufacture of 

 beet-sugar began, certain man- 

 gels have been developed and / «e 

 have produced our present-day / "^^ 

 sugar-beets. ' 



Geographical distribution. 



The wild plant (Beta vul- 

 garis, Linn.) may be found in- 

 digenous along the Mediter- 

 ranean and in other parts of 

 Europe. It was originally cul- 

 tivated for its leaves under the 

 name chard, and this plant is 

 sparingly grown in American 

 gardens. It was later grown 

 for its roots, and about the 

 middle of the sixteenth cen- 

 tury we have reports that in 

 Germany and Italy and other 

 parts of Europe the root 

 was grown as stock-feed. The 

 practice of growing it as cat- 

 tle-feed was later introduced 

 into the United Kingdom, 

 where the industry was rap- 

 idly developed and where some 

 of the best varieties are now 

 found. The mangel is spar- 

 ingly grown in parts of the 

 United States, but to a larger 

 extent in Canada. 



Fig. 776. 

 Long red mangel. In 

 each "compartment" 

 the upper figure 

 gives percentage of 

 dry matter, middle 

 figure percentage of 

 sugar, and lower per- 

 centage of nitrogen. 

 (Wood & Berry.) 



Composition. Pigs. 776, 777. 



The average percentage com 

 position for mangels, sugar-beets and garden beets 

 usually given is as follows : 



Mangel . . , 

 Sugar-beet 

 Garden beet , 



Water 



90.9 

 86.5 

 88.5 



Ash 



1.1 

 0.9 

 1.0 



Protein 



1.4 

 1.8 

 1.5 



Crude 

 fiber 



0.9 

 0.9 

 0.9 



Nitrogen- 

 free extract 



6.5 

 9.8 

 8.0 



Ether 

 extract 



0.2 

 0.1 

 0.1 



Too much emphasis must not be laid on an aver- 

 age. During a recent trial at Cornell University 

 Experiment Station the average amount of dry 

 matter- in 125 samples of mangels, embracing ten 

 varieties, was 11.6 per cent, the extremes between 

 different varieties being 7.5 per cent and 16 per 

 cent. The variation between individual roots 

 of the sapie variety is equally great, being fre- 

 quently 100 per cent. In another experiment some 

 individuals contained over 20 per cent of dry mat- 



