SIGNIFICANCE OF ROOT-CROPPING 277 
food is manifested in heat and helps to keep the 
animal warm, and is therefore not entirely lost 
when the ration is merely for maintenance. But 
since, in any liberal feeding for the production 
of work, the production of meat, or of milk, 
the amount of heat thus produced is sufficient 
to keep the animal warm, the figures given above 
may be taken as representing their true food 
value. 
“One of the objections to roots as a food prod- 
uct lies in the fact of their high water content. 
This limits the amount which may be fed and be- 
comes of special importance where they are fed in 
connection with silage. On account of this high 
water content it will not be practicable to feed a 
sufficient amount entirely to take the place of the 
cereals, even should this be desirable for other 
reasons. The trend of experimental evidence is 
that the feeding value of the different types and 
varieties of root-crops depends more largely on the 
percentage of dry matter than on any other factor; 
for example, the percentage of dry matter appar- 
ently modifies their feeding value more largely than 
the percentage of sugar. 
“The problem in New York state is whether we 
ean afford to raise roots, and, if so, what kind. 
The following table shows the minimum average 
and maximum number of pounds of dry matter 
per acre which was obtained at the Cornell Experi- 
