196 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



of live stock kept upon the farm, roots furnish excel- 

 lent food, they are more commonly fed in the green 

 form to swine, though sometimes also to cows and 

 calves, also to sheep that are fitted for being shorn. 

 They are eminently suited to the needs of young 

 animals, such as calves and lambs, whether fed in 

 winter or summer. Since these crops can oftentimes 

 be grown as a catch crop, and since they furnish a 

 large amount of food per acre, an adequate return 

 may frequently be obtained for the considerable 

 amount of labor involved in growing them, espe- 

 cially when the holdings are small and when green 

 food is to be provided for a limited number 

 of animals. 



As the tops and roots are both fed as green food, 

 large yields are often obtained per acre, in some 

 instances as much as twenty-five tons, but the aver- 

 age crop is considerably Jess than that amount, the 

 yield depending largely on the variety grown. 



Distribution. — The rutabaga, sometimes called 

 the Swedish turnip, is best adapted to cool and moist 

 climates. On this continent, the best crops can be 

 grown north rather than south of the forty-third 

 parallel of latitude, that is to say, north of the south- 

 ern boundary of Minnesota. 



The turnip (Brassica rapa), sometimes called 

 the fall turnip, since it is fed in the fall rather than 

 in the winter and spring, can be grown in nearly all 

 the states of the Union, in several of its varieties, but 

 it, too, is best adapted to moist and not exces- 

 sively hot climates. In the southern part of the 

 United States, turnips can be grown in best form 

 on the uplands, unless when grown chiefly in 

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