*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75965 ***
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CARROTS,
Mangold Wurtzels
AND
SUGAR BEETS.
HOW TO RAISE THEM, HOW TO KEEP
THEM AND HOW TO FEED THEM.
BY JAMES J. H. GREGORY,
AUTHOR OF “ONION RAISING,” “CABBAGE RAISING,” ETC.
LINOTYPED AND PRINTED BY J. J. ARAKELYAN,
295 CONGRESS STREET, BOSTON.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1900, by
JAMES J. H. GREGORY.
At the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
CONTENTS.
The Argument for the Raising of roots 3
THE CARROT 5
The Location and Soil 5
The Manure and its Application 7
Preparing the Bed 12
When to Plant 13
The Seed and the Planting of it 15
Quantity to the Acre 16
Varieties, and What Kinds to Grow 17
Early Very Short Scarlet 19
Early Short Scarlet Horn 19
Short Horn 19
Danvers Carrot 21
Guerande Carrot 21
Long Orange, or Long Surry 21
Large White Belgian 22
The Cultivation, and the Implements needed 23
Gathering and Storing the Crop 26
Raising Carrots with Onions 29
Marketing and Feeding 30
THE MANGOLD WURTZELS 32
Varieties 34
The Long Varieties 35
The Round Varieties 35
The Ovoid Varieties 35
What Kinds to Grow 35
The Soil and its Preparation 38
The Manure and its Application 39
Salt as an Auxiliary Manure 48
Planting the Seed and Tending the Crop 49
Gathering and Storing the Crop 52
Feeding the Crop 56
The Cost of the Crop 61
CARROTS.
In nutritious value roots compare with hay in about the average
proportion of one to three. If now we consider that thirty-four tons
of Swedes nearly forty tons of Carrots and seventy-four tons of
Mangold roots have been raised in Massachusetts, to the acre, and
that to each of these crops should be added at least 15 per cent. for
the fodder value of the yield of leaves, which were not included in
these estimates, we have a demonstration of how immensely more is the
nourishment that can be obtained from an acre of roots than from an
acre in hay. Such an immense increase in the nourishing products of
the farm, if fed on the premises as it should be, unless the farmer
is so located that he can buy manure cheaper than he can make it,
means a great increase in the manure products, and consequently a
great increase in the crops,--so that it has been wisely said, root
culture lies at the basis of good husbandry.
Carrots and Mangolds are subject to but few diseases. In discussing
the nutritious value, chemists differ somewhat, according as they
measure this by the nitrogen they contain, their per cent. of dry
matter or sugar, but they agree in ranking them much superior to the
early varieties of turnip and somewhat superior to the Ruta Baga
or Swede class, particularly when fed to full grown cattle. Prof.
Johnson ranks Carrots with Cabbage when fed to oxen, for nourishment.
Experiments appear to have proved that when equal measures of each
are fed, Mangolds will give a greater increase of milk than potatoes,
by about a third. For some reason not fully understood (perhaps the
depth they penetrate the soil has something to do with it) Onions
will do better after Carrots than after any other crop, the yield
being larger, the bulb handsomer, while the crop will bottom down
earlier and better. Unlike Turnips or Swedes, with high manuring the
crop can be profitably grown for years on the same piece of land.
Swine prefer Mangolds to any root except the parsnip, and both in
this country and in England store hogs, weighing from 125 lbs. and
upwards have been carried through the winter in fine condition, when
fed wholly on raw Sugar Beets or Mangolds. Chemists rank Carrots,
when compared with oats, with reference to their fat and flesh
forming qualities, as 1 to 5.
Not only have roots a value in themselves as food, but they have
a special office, taking to a large degree the place of grass and
preventing the constipation that dry feed sometimes causes. While
practice proves that they should not be relied upon to entirely
supersede hay or grain, still they increase the value of either of
these to a large degree; and for slow working stock they may be fed
with profit in place of from a third to half the grain usually given.
Carrots add not only to the richness of the color, but also to the
quality of the milk, while the flavor of the butter made from such
milk is improved. Carrots fed in moderate quantities to horses give
additional gloss to their hairy coats, and have not only a medicinal
value when given to such as have been over-grained, but aid them in
digesting grain, as may be seen in the dung of horses fed on oats
with Carrots, and that of those fed on oats without Carrots. When
cooked they are sometimes fed to poultry, and either cooked or raw
to swine. In the family economy they have their place, particularly
when young and fresh, while in Europe they enter largely into the
composition of the well-known vegetable soups of the French.
THE CARROT.
“The Carrot,” (_Daucus Carota_) says Burr in his “Field and Garden
Vegetables of America,” a book worthy a place in every farmer’s
library,--“in its cultivated state is a half-hardy biennial. It is
indigenous to some parts of Great Britain, generally growing in
chalky or sandy soil, and to some extent has become naturalized in
this country; being found in gravelly pastures and mowing fields, and
occasionally by roadsides, in loose places, where the surface has
been disturbed or removed. In its native state the root is small,
slender and fibrous or woody, of no value, and even of questionable
properties as an article of food.”
The average result of several analyses of the Carrot as given by Dr.
Voelcker, is as follows:--
It is important in selecting a location for the Carrot bed that the
land should be nearly level, as otherwise the seed will be liable to
wash out after heavy showers, and the plants while young be either
washed out or covered with soil and killed. The land should be, as
far as possible, clear of all stones. The presence of large rocks “in
place,” as the geologists say, would interfere with the continuity of
the rows, while the loose stones are not only always in the way while
raking and planting the bed, but are also in the way of the slide or
wheel hoes which are apt to knock them against the young plants to
their injury. The strongest objections to a stony soil, for Carrots,
are that it interferes with the growth of the roots and greatly
increases the labor of digging them. It is important that the piece
of ground selected for a crop that will require so much manure and
labor should have every advantage possible in its favor; it should
not only be level and comparatively free from stones, but if possible
should have been previously under high cultivation, that it may come
to Carrots when in high condition.
The best soil, particularly for the Long Orange variety, is a loam
mellow to the depth of two feet or more. On such soil the Carrot
will perfect itself, growing straight and altogether beautiful to
look upon, as they stretch from side to side of the bushel boxes. On
some market gardens near critical markets, farmers find it for their
interest to ascertain by actual experiment on what part of their
grounds the root will grow longest and straightest, and when such
plot is found make it a permanent bed. If the soil does not naturally
grow a long Carrot and they are desired, the end may be attained by
trenching deep and adding sand. The difference in the shape of the
Long Orange, when grown on a deep mellow loam, and on a heavy soil
with a compact sub-soil, is so remarkable that it would be almost
impossible to make an inexperienced person believe each lot was from
the same seed,--those grown on the heavy soil, resting on a compact
sub-soil, oftentimes so closely resembling the Intermediate varieties
as not to be distinguished from them. Though the course is not on the
whole to be advised, yet Carrots can be raised on freshly turned sod.
Such land will be very free from weeds, and by making good use of the
wheel harrow, and applying manure in a very fine state, should the
season be a moist one, fair crops may be raised. Reclaimed meadows
in a good state of cultivation, which are well-drained to the depth
of thirty inches, will oftentimes grow crops, large in bulk, but the
individual roots are oftentimes inclined to “sprangle,” and unless
such meadows have been well drained, and liberally covered with sand
or gravelly loam, they are apt to be spongy and inferior. When grown
on land inclining to clay, they are apt to be small and woody in
structure; still, such land, if made friable by good underdraining
and the application of sand, may be made fair Carrot ground.
THE MANURE AND ITS APPLICATION.
All root crops delight in most liberal manuring and the highest of
cultivation. Carrots are no exception to this rule. With every crop,
other conditions being equal, _it is the last half of the manure
gives the profits_; and the more costly the cultivation required the
more important it is that this golden fact be borne in mind. Though
chemical analysis shows difference in the composition of all roots,
and that there is therefore an office for special manures, yet their
general composition is so nearly alike, and animal manures, most
of which contain in greater or less proportion, all the elements
required, are so difficult to handle in just the proportions that
would be required from the chemical standpoint, particularly when we
consider that soils on which root crops are grown are usually rich
in manures, varying in their chemical constituents, left over from
former crops;--for this reason I treat of manure by the cord and with
reference to its comparative strength, bulk for bulk, rather than of
its chemical elements.
Eight cords of good stable manure; nine cords of a compost made of
one part night soil to two parts muck or loam; eight cords of muscle
mud; six or eight cords of rotten kelp--either of these applied to
an acre of land in good condition by previous high cultivation would
be sufficient for a good crop of Carrots. Other manures might be
mentioned, but these will serve as a pretty good measure of value
for any kind accessible to farmers in general. To produce a very
large crop, such as one would like to be able to point to when
premium crops are called for, add from one-quarter to one-half to
the above quantities. The condition of the manure is a matter of
importance; the stable manure should be good; not half bedding, not
burnt, neither too coarse nor too new; the night soil should have
been well mixed with the soil in the compost heap, and have been
pitched over twice with sufficient intervals between to allow it to
develop some heat. The muscle mud should be rich in dead muscles. In
all farming, it is important that the manures applied should be in a
fine condition mechanically, and particularly is this true of root
crops. For the roots of all plants can take up only such parts of the
manures as are dissolved in water, and the firmer the manure is the
more readily can water penetrate it.
_A man who is unfortunately short of manures can materially increase
the capacity of what he has by working it over until it is very fine._
When short of a supply of animal manure, where the soil is already
in good condition, a good fertilizer can be used with success. Apply
fifteen hundred pounds to the acre. The famous fertilizer formulas of
Prof. Stockbridge have generally done so well I should be willing to
try them on an acre of Carrots, were I short of other manures.
There is another matter concerning our manures which requires
attention; if they are too fresh or crude they will be apt, if
applied to our long growing varieties, to drive the growth too
much into the top of the Carrot, to the loss of the root, giving
us tops to our knees with roots about the size of a hoe handle. It
is important therefore, when used liberally, that they should be
somewhat decomposed--that the mixtures should be _composts_, as
far as the time will allow, and not mere mixtures. To the shorter
varieties the crude manure may be applied with a degree of safety.
Here let me note a fact that I think is of general application in
farming, viz.:--that a style of manuring that will drive tall growing
varieties of vegetables nearly all to tops or vine, with dwarf
varieties of the same kind will work admirably. The Pea is a very
good illustration; to get a good crop of a dwarf variety, manure
liberally, but the same quantity applied to the taller sorts would
drive them excessively into vine at the expense of the crop.
Don’t make your compost heap on the ground where the crop is to
grow, for the result will be no crop where the heap stands. For the
same reason it is bad policy to cart out any strong manure to stand
on the land in heaps, no matter how small, over winter. There will
be nothing lost by spreading the manure over the surface before the
ground is frozen. In getting it into the soil, _keep it as near the
surface as possible_ without its interfering with the planting of the
seed, bearing in mind the nitrogen, that element in manures, about
the loss of which by evaporation there is much uncalled for anxiety,
tends to work down into the soil. If the manure is coarse it may be
applied to the surface in the Fall and be deeply ploughed in, and in
the Spring again brought to the surface by ploughing equally deep,
having meanwhile received the benefits of frost and moisture.
In applying fertilizers keep them near the surface, scattering them
broadcast and raking or harrowing in. It is better not to apply
these all at once. Apply about two-thirds at the time of sowing, the
remainder when the crop is about one-third grown--following it with
the slide hoe, which will tend to work it in just under the surface.
In applying all fertilizers in the Spring time, it is well to do
so early in the day, as winds are apt to rise as the day advances,
which seriously interfere with the economical application and even
distribution. Fertilizers tend to hasten the maturity of the crops
to which they are applied. There is one condition that has a very
important bearing on the cost of Carrots and all roots, viz.:--that
both the ground and manure should be as free from all weed seed as
possible. For this reason ground recently from the sod, the third
year, provided it has been kept under a high state of cultivation,
and such manures which from their very nature must be comparatively
free from the seed of weeds, such as fish composts, night soil, or
barn manure a year old, are to be preferred.
Dr. Voelcker gives the result of 10 analyses of the ashes of the
root and 2 of the ashes of the leaves of the Carrot, and from these
deduces the following as the number of pounds of mineral matter taken
from an acre of land, by 10 tons of roots and 4 tons of tops.
To those who desire to experiment with mineral manures this table
will be interesting as showing the kinds and proportion of each
needed. The potash is found in unleached ashes, from two to five
pounds to the bushel; or in the German Potash salts; the soda and
chlorine in common salt, (chloride of sodium); lime in the common
lime of the mason, the Phosphoric acid in the phosphates offered in
the markets, and the Sulphuric acid in that directly or in common
finely ground plaster known by chemists as Sulphate of Lime.
I shall have occasion to present some very valuable suggestions of
the learned Professor, under the head of “The Manure” in my article
on Mangolds, to which they more especially apply.
The greatest single item in the cost of any crop is the manure, but
this is an exceedingly varying element. Farmers near cities, and
particularly if they also reside near the sea-coast, as an off-set
for the greater cost of farming-land and expenses of living, have
the advantages of a city market and special facilities for collecting
manures, at a cost to them, much below the standard value of stable
manure. Night soil to almost an unlimited extent can be obtained for
the cost of collecting it, while the waste material of the fisheries,
Kelp, Rock Weed, Muscle Mud, Glue Waste, Sugar House Waste, and
the products of the distilleries, these and other rich fertilizers
can be procured at so low a figure, in proportion to their value,
that root crops can be raised considerably cheaper than in farming
districts not so favored. Many a man can be found in these favored
districts who thinks he is making a good business at farming, yet
could he but sell the manure he gathers so cheaply, at its market
value, barn manure being the standard, he would make money by doing
so and folding his arms the rest of the year. The fact is he is
really losing money at farming; but through his crops he is selling
what cost him but a trifle--at a price, indeed, below its real value,
but still so far in advance of cost as to leave a profit. Such a man
does wisely in the course he pursues though he makes a mistake in the
debtor and creditor side of the account, for it is most decidedly
wiser to be at work than idle, though the result makes no difference
in the dollars in a man’s pocket.
PREPARING THE BED.
The great object here should be to get the soil thoroughly fine that
the small, thread-like fibers, and the roots themselves, may waste
the least possible vital power in permeating the earth in search of
food, or in pushing downwards. The vitality wasted in this way is
just so much taken from growth, and may make the sole difference
between a good crop and a poor one. If it is necessary that the
first ploughing should be a very deep one, better apply the manure
(as previously stated, the finer mechanical condition this is in the
better) afterwards. Should the manure be to any degree coarse after
spreading, run the brush or wheel harrow over it, one or both. This
will also break up the clods and fine up the soil and incorporate the
manure with it. If still at all lumpy, follow with a plank drag. Next
plow shallow a few furrows, and have men, with wooden-toothed hand
rakes, rake at right angles, pulling all coarse stones and lumps of
earth and manure into the last furrow made. In brief, proceed to make
as fine a seed bed as for onions.
If any one, depending on the apparent fineness of the surface,
concludes to dispense with the final raking and let the work of the
brush harrow answer, he will be apt to repent it before the season
closes; should he try it let him be sure to double the quantity of
seed planted in that portion of the land so treated. When the land is
loamy and free from stones an implement known as the “Meeker Harrow,”
will be found to be a great time-saver in preparing the seed bed; by
actual test on my own farm, I find that it will do the work of more
than a dozen hands with rakes. If the bed has its first ploughing
early in the season, much of the weed seed will germinate before
planting time, then an occasional use of the cultivator will destroy
many of the pests.
WHEN TO PLANT.
Some of our best farmers advocate planting about the middle of May,
others equally successful in root culture claim that the middle of
June is the best time. There are arguments for both early and late
planting. In New England we usually have the weather sufficiently
moist towards the close of May to insure the germination of the seed
and protect the plants when they break ground, from “sun-scald.”
Those planted as late as the middle of June are more liable to be so
affected by the dry weather usual at that period as not to vegetate
as well; and should the heat be very great just after they push
through the ground, sometimes in a single day nearly the entire crop
will disappear by “sun-scald.” But on the other hand, by planting
late we about get rid of one weeding, assuming that the ground is
stirred by the cultivator occasionally, up to the time of planting.
Again, this brings the crop in full vigor in October, the month of
all others most favorable for the growth of the root, and the Carrots
being dug while the tops are in fair growing condition, keep better
than when dug fully ripe. The argument for late planting holds
especially good for the Short Horn varieties, as these require a
shorter time to mature than the long kinds. If the crop is planted
too early, sometimes the roots, having matured, will attempt to
push seed shoots; when this is so they will be found woody in their
structure, with numberless thread-like roots, while their quality and
keeping properties are greatly injured. This crop on rich land is
sometimes planted as late as the first week in July, and with great
success, should the Fall prove exceptionably mild, yet, as a rule, I
would not recommend planting later than the middle of June. If it so
happens, from press of work, or the dry weather, the farmer has to
plant later than this, then by all means let him confine himself to
the earlier varieties.
THE SEED AND THE PLANTING OF IT.
The seed grows with a covering of small, short, stiff hairs, which
makes them adhere together; these must be very thoroughly removed
before the seed can be relied upon to flow freely from the machine.
Much of foreign grown seed reaches this country not properly cleaned.
To remove this furze, either thrash the seed with the flail very
thoroughly, when the weather is quite cold and dry, or warm the seed
slightly and rub it with the hand against the wires of a sieve, of
a right degree of fineness to let the hairs fall through. Either
winnow or sink in water, to remove all impurities. If sunk, be
careful to dry the seed at a very moderate temperature. As Carrot
seed vegetates somewhat slowly and the plants are quite small when
they first appear, weeds are apt to get the start of them before
the rows can be seen with sufficient distinctness to make it safe
to use the slide hoe. For this reason some farmers practice soaking
the seed in water and keeping it at a temperature that will nearly
develop the sprout, before planting. This may be done by soaking the
seed from 36 to 48 hours in milk warm, or rather strong manure water,
then removing it to where the air is of about the same temperature.
Stir, it slightly for a few days, and finally dry it sufficiently to
drop freely from the machine by adding plaster, charcoal or dust.
Camphor has a wonderful effect in stimulating the vitality of seed,
and the addition of a small quantity of it to the manure water would
doubtless be of advantage. This process should not be carried so far
as to develop the sprout. Should the surface of the ground be very
dry when the seed is sown, this soaking process may be fatal, for
if the germ is once started it will not live in a dormant state;
it must either grow or die: whereas, seed that have not been soaked
will vegetate after rains wet the dry surface. Be sure that the seed
planter has a good roller attached to it, and not a mere coverer,
as this will help confine the moisture and thus materially aid in
developing the seed.
QUANTITY OF SEED TO THE ACRE.
Tables vary greatly some advising as high as four pounds to the acre.
If the design is to raise small-sized roots for early marketing,
possibly this might not be an excess of seed, but to advise so heavy
seeding for ordinary field crops, means that much of the seed is poor
trash, probably old and worthless, and put in as a make-weight.
Some years ago a party wrote me, offering a variety of garden seed at
a very low figure, and stated that it was of his own raising. As it
was a kind that I was in the habit of raising, I had the curiosity
to write and ask how he could afford to raise it at such a price.
He replied that it was of his own growing, but so old as to be good
for nothing, and therefore he sold it to seedsmen at a very low
figure, to mix with their good seed to _help make weight_! When four
pounds of Carrot seed are advised to the acre, for a field crop,
I think that some of this kind of seed must somehow have got into
the mixture. With everything favoring, and the farmer by experience
having his seed sower under perfect control, rather less than a pound
of seed will be sufficient for an acre. The great object to aim at
is, while having the plants thick enough, not to have much of any
thinning to do, as it costs about as much to thin a crop as it does
to weed it, with the drawback that the plants left in the ground are
more or less started, and so put back by the thinning. As a general
rule I would advise one and one-half pounds of seed to the acre,
and this the farmer can reduce in proportion as he is favored by
circumstances and advances in experience.
Twelve inches is a sufficient distance between the rows of the two
small, early varieties, and fifteen between the rows of all other
sorts. With the greatest of care the seed will not come up with
mathematical precision. Some advocate leaving a plant to about every
inch of row; others, to thin to four inches apart. With the exception
of the shorter variety including the Guerande, which are somewhat
like Onions in their aptitude to grow to a good size when crowded,
pushing out either side of the rows, as a rule I advise thinning to
four inches, leaving them thicker near the vacant places.
VARIETIES, AND WHAT KINDS TO GROW.
Foreign catalogues give lists of about two dozen varieties, which
differ in earliness, size, color, form, termination of root,
characteristic of growing entirely under or partly above ground, and
in the size of the core or heart. In foreign catalogues, what we call
“Orange,” are known as “Red” Carrots. From a test of these varieties
I have thus far found two, viz.: the Guerande and the Chantenay
worthy of being added to the kinds already grown to a greater or less
extent in the United States. The yellow-fleshed sorts are repudiated
in New England by general consent; yet the Yellow Belgian, on a
limited trial has proved with me to be an exceptionally good keeper.
The Purple or Blood-Red is of a deep purple color, a poor cropper
and by no means attractive to the eye. The remaining varieties may be
classed as follows:--Early, middling early and late. The first class
is made up of the Early Very Short Scarlet, the Early Scarlet Horn
and Guerande. The second class of all the half-long or short-horn
varieties, and the third, of the long varieties, such as Long Orange,
Belgian and Altringham sorts.
In addition to about one-half of these foreign varieties, cultivated
more or less generally in this country, there are several kinds
catalogued by seedsmen, all of which are but improved strains made
by careful selections, through a series of years, from what was
originally imported stock. These strains usually bear the name of
some person. A brief discussion of the more valuable varieties
will now be in order. Here I will lay down three general facts,
viz.:--1st, that of the various orange colored varieties, the
shorter growing kinds are, as a rule, the darker colored and sweeter
flavored. 2d, that the proportion of dark, orange-colored roots in
any crop, while it will depend largely on the care that has been used
in the selection of seed stock for a series of years, does not turn
wholly on this, but soil, season or manure, one or all, have some
influence in this direction. 3d, that the fact that more or less of
the Carrots tend to push seed shoots the first year, while with the
long varieties it may prove that the seed has been allowed to mix
with the wild varieties, yet the probability (marked cases excepted)
is decidedly the other way; while with the short horn varieties
this tendency to push seed shoots the first season, so as to make
something of a show when an acre is glanced over, is quite a common
characteristic with seed of the very purest strain.
[Illustration:
EARLY VERY EARLY SHORT SHORT HORN. LONG ORANGE.
SHORT SCARLET. SCARLET.]
=Early Very Short Scarlet.= (see engraving.)
=Early Short Scarlet Horn.= (see engraving). These two varieties are
the shortest grown and are raised at times in forcing beds, for an
early market, the former very generally so. They are of a very rich
orange color, fine-grained, sweet, and of excellent flavor, heading
the list for quality. Their rich color makes them valuable above all
other kinds for coloring butter. Though quite short, yet the Early
Short Scarlet Horn can be grown to yield a great bulk of roots, from
the fact that from the smallness of their tops the roots can be
grown very thick, two or three abreast all along the rows. When the
small, handy size of this variety is considered in connection with
the superior quality, it stands foremost as a table Carrot, and I
therefore recommend it in preference to all others for family use.
=Short Horn.= (See engraving.) This variety intermediate between the
Early Forcing and Long Orange, with but slight variations in form, is
shown under various names, as Intermediate, Nantes, Half Long, James’
Improved, Stump-Rooted, etc. It is characterized by a darker color
than the average of the Long Orange, finer grain, and a sweeter and
richer flavor. In part from the more solid structure of the Carrot,
and in part from its better stowage, thirty-six measured bushels of
this variety make a ton, while of the larger varieties forty bushels
are required. The best strain of this variety is doubtless the kind
known as the “Danvers” Carrot.
=Danvers Carrot.= In the town of Danvers, Mass., the raising
of Carrots on an extensive scale has for years been quite a
business--the farmers finding a large market in the neighboring
cities of Salem, Lynn and Boston. After years of experimenting they
settled upon a variety which originated among them (as did the
Danvers Onion) known in their locality as the “Danvers Carrot.” It is
in form about midway between the Long Orange and Short Horn class,
growing very generally with a stump root. The great problem in Carrot
growing is to get the greatest bulk with the smallest length of root,
and this is what the Danvers’ growers have attained in their Carrot.
Under their cultivation they raise from twenty to forty tons to the
acre. This Carrot is of a rich, dark orange in color, very smooth and
handsome, and from its length, is easier to dig than the Long Orange.
It is a first-class Carrot for any soil.
[Illustration: GUERANDE CARROT.]
=Guerande or Ox Heart.= This variety is a great favorite with many
who raise Carrots for stock. It is short and chunky in build, of a
rich orange color, and of excellent quality, and the crop can be hand
pulled.
[Illustration: IMPROVED LONG ORANGE.]
[Illustration: DANVERS CARROT.]
=Long Orange, or Long Surry.= This is a standard variety, and in its
various strains is doubtless more generally grown than any other
kind. The chief objection to it is the depth to which it penetrates
the ground, and hence the extra work of digging it; while the end
of the root which causes the extra work is of inferior quality when
compared with the body, differing in this respect from the shorter
varieties, which are of the same quality throughout. The heart
is larger in proportion than in the shorter varieties, which is
considered an objection. The keeping properties are excellent, and in
this respect it is superior to the earlier kinds. On light soil the
roots grow long, straight and make a fine show in the market.
=Altringham.= This is a Carrot of excellent quality for the table,
the flesh being of a rich orange color, crisp and sweet, but as a
cropper it is inferior to the Intermediate or Long Orange varieties,
and hence is but little cultivated.
[Illustration: LARGE WHITE BELGIAN.]
=Large White Belgian.= This is the largest of all varieties and
will yield at least a quarter more than any other sort. The roots
grow several inches out of ground, and all can be readily pulled by
the hand. Analysis shows that it is nearly as sweet as the Mangold
Wurtzel, rather sweeter than the Swede Turnip, and about two thirds
as sweet as the Sugar Beet. The two objections to it are its color
and its keeping properties; it being rather a poor keeper, while the
color has made it a carrot for horses rather than cows. If farmers
have but a small quantity of manure, the White Belgian is a good
variety for them to raise for feeding early in the winter.
THE CULTIVATION, AND THE IMPLEMENTS
NEEDED.
Just as soon as the young plants can be detected breaking round, the
prudent farmer will push the slide hoe, and have his boy weeders
follow immediately after it on hands and knees. Boys that have had a
little experience, with their nimble fingers can do more work than
men, while their wages are only about half as much. On the sea-coast
we hire boys who make a business of weeding, for from seventy-five
cents to a dollar a day. The one great danger in hiring boys is that
careless ones are apt to break off the weeds instead of pulling them
up by the roots. To ascertain their comparative faithfulness, it is
well to quietly mark a few rows of the different weeders, at their
first weeding, and by the time for the second weeding the difference
between a good and a bad one will be very plainly visible.
Don’t accept that theory of the shiftless man, that it is well to
have the weeds grow pretty tall before the first weeding, that the
plants may be protected from the sun. I have noticed that oftentimes
those who act on this theory give over their weeding, and plough up
the bed before they have half finished it. Promptness in the first
hoeing and weeding is exceedingly important in the management of all
root crops, and it is where the greatest mistake is apt to be made in
their cultivation.
[Illustration: SLIDE HOE.]
[Illustration: WHEEL HOE.]
[Illustration: McGEE CULTIVATOR.]
[Illustration: MICHIGAN SEED SOWER.]
[Illustration: LANG’S HAND WEEDER.]
There are a few implements that are specially needed in the
cultivation of root crops, and of these, every wise farmer will get
the very best attainable. These implements are the Seed Sower, the
Hand Weeder, the Slide Hoe, the common Wheel Hoe, and one for weeding
both sides of a row at the same time. Of these there are a great
many varieties, each of which are more or less popular among a class
of growers. The engravings illustrate such as are in use in my own
section of country, where root culture forms a very important part
of the agriculture of farmers. Both the slide and the wheel hoe, for
rapid work, far surpass the common hand hoe, while they cut up the
weeds equally clear. The double wheel hoe is used until the tops
of the crops become so large as to be in the way, when the single
wheel hoe or slide hoe takes its place. Fuller’s Unique Hoe having a
single wheel is preferred, to any double wheeled implement by many
gardeners, especially so by reason of its stiffness. Each should be
two inches narrower than the space between the rows. A slide hoe is
an amazing handy implement about a farm for many uses other than
between the rows of root crops. A new class of implements have been
introduced within a few years which, to a degree, supersede the use
of the common wheel or slide hoe, though there is yet a valuable
sphere for each of them; I refer to the weeders which cut each side
of the row at the same time. I have tested every variety of these and
have found nothing now in the market superior to the McGee Garden
Cultivator. These hoes which take each side of the row at once cannot
safely be made to go over the ground as fast as those designed for
use between the rows, but working close home to the growing crop,
they save a large portion of the cost of hard weeding. Of seed drills
there are a dozen or more in the market, several of which I have
used on my farms. I prefer the Michigan over all others. Among other
advantages it can be relied upon to drop almost any variety of small
seed, while it is a good coverer and having a roller attached, it
packs the earth over the seed, which, as every farmer knows, tends
to keep the moisture in and thus hastens their germination. The hand
weeder is an excellent little implement to facilitate the laborious
work of weeding, especially when the surface is baked and therefore
rather hard on the fingers.
GATHERING AND STORING THE CROP.
One of the greatest outlays attending the raising of Carrots is
in the gathering and topping of the crop. The common process of
digging with a fork and throwing into piles to be afterwards topped
is laborious and costly. Where the crop is to be consumed on the
farm, the labor and consequent cost may be greatly lessened by first
cutting off the tops by a sharp shovel, spade or common hoe, or a
slide hoe which has been weighed by a piece of lead pipe, or some
similar heavy article, slid down the handle and fastened where that
unites with the hoe. Should a slice be taken off the tops of the
roots it will do no harm, as Carrots differ in this respect from
other roots, in that, when the tops are cut they are not apt to rot;
indeed, some practice cutting off a slice of the top when topping,
to keep them from sprouting so readily when stored. The common way
of gathering the crop, by loosening with spades or forks and then
pulling out by the tops, throwing into heaps or scattering over the
ground and afterwards topping with a knife, is a long and costly job.
An improvement on digging is to run a plough close to the row and
then pull out as many as possible by hand and dig up the remainder.
Still a better course particularly when the Danvers variety is grown,
is beginning in the middle of the piece, to run a subsoil plough
close home to the roots, when, if run sufficiently deep it will lift
the Carrots a little out of the ground. Follow with forks or hoes and
draw the roots inward on the ploughed portion, so far as to give room
for the horse to walk. Let the roots remain a few hours scattered
over the surface, when in picking up and tossing them into carts or
baskets, any earth adhering will be jarred off.
Let the crop remain out as late as it can be risked without freezing;
and if they are in good growing condition this will be well towards
November, in the latitude of central New England, and even into the
first week of that month in the milder temperature of the sea-coast.
Roots not fully matured will keep better than those fully ripe when
dug, on the principle that the varieties of apples we call “winter”
apples are simply those kinds that do not ripen on the tree--they are
not winter apples, because they are Baldwins, or Greenings, for these
same kinds in the South where the ripening season is longer, are Fall
apples. If the Carrots have been planted too early they will ripen
before digging, and be apt to send out roots and prove poor keepers,
besides losing the advantage of October weather which is the Carrot
month, doing more for the weight of the late planted crop than all
the season besides.
Rake the tops off the bed but do not waste them, for they are highly
relished by animals, and if the Carrots are harvested when they ought
to be, to keep well, that is, when in good growing condition, there
will be a great weight of tops, sometimes as high as a quarter of the
weight of roots; and this mass of green fodder, coming at a time when
the fields are usually bare of grasses, will prove very valuable and
acceptable food for the cows.
In storing, one fact must be borne in mind; that Carrots will heat,
sprout and rot, under circumstances in which Mangolds would keep
sound and uninjured. I have several times lost quantities when buried
in the ground where Mangolds and common table Beets, under precisely
the same conditions, have kept perfectly sound. If the crop is to
be fed at once, they may be dumped into the cellar or barn floor in
the most expeditious way; but if to be fed into the winter, then all
depth of the heap above two and a half feet means a proportionate
increase of danger of heating, sprouting and rotting, and so much
greater care to air the cellar in cool, dry weather. I need hardly
state that cellars for keeping Carrots and all roots should be
free from standing water, and as cool as possible without actually
freezing. They should not be put directly on the cellar floor,
but on a platform to admit air under them and it is an excellent
plan to scatter a little sand among them. I find that Carrots keep
exceedingly well if poured (not placed) in a trench 14 inches wide
and 2½ feet deep, to be covered slightly at first and more as cold
increases, so that they have first a little coarse litter, then a
foot of earth, and on this about 18 inches of waste or cheap hay.
When the roots are large they will keep sufficiently better to pay
for the extra trouble, if they are piled “heads and points” to the
height of two and a half feet, with a slight space for air between
the piles. If there are not cellar conveniences for storing the
entire crop, with a good protection of hay under and around them, a
few tons may be stored, for early feeding, in the barn, provided it
is not so cold as to freeze them.
RAISING CARROTS WITH ONIONS.
I transfer from my Treatise on Onions, a paragraph relative to
growing Carrots with onions.
The plan of raising Carrots with onions is considered an improvement
by some who have adopted it, as the yield of Carrots is thought to
be clear gain, diminishing but little or none the yield of onions.
Carrots are planted in two ways; one by sowing them in drills between
every other row of onions, and the other, which is considered an
improvement, called the Long Island plan, by planting the onions in
hills from seven to eight inches from center to center, dropping
a number of seed in each hill, and from the first to the twelfth
of June, planting the Carrot seed, usually by hand, between these
hills in two rows then skipping one, and thus on through the piece.
The onions, as they are pulled are thrown into every third row, the
Carrots being left to mature. By this method from two to six hundred
bushels of Carrots are raised per acre in addition to the crop of
onions. More manure is required for the two crops than for the onions
alone.
The machine used for sowing in drills has two boxes attached to
the axle at equi-distance from the wheels; there are three or four
holes in the axle that communicate with the seed in the boxes, and
as these holes pass under the boxes they are filled with seed, and
as they turn the seed are dropped into the earth. Screws are sunk
into the holes, which can be sunk more or less at pleasure, and the
quantity of seed which the holes will contain is thus graded.
The machine should first be tested, and so regulated that on a barn
floor it will drop from eleven to twelve seed from each hole. When
so regulated, on using in the field it will drop but from seven to
twelve, owing to the more uneven motion.
MARKETING AND FEEDING.
In the cities there is a large market for Carrots as feed for horses,
it being very generally accepted that a few given daily or every
other day, aids the digestion of grain-fed animals, adds to the
gloss of the hair, and are of special medicinal value. The largest,
smoothest and darkest orange colored roots sell the best in the
market. The price varies all the way from ten to twenty dollars a ton
of 2,000 pounds, depending in part on the value of hay. Where the
quantity fed daily is small, a large knife or a shovel will answer to
cut them up in pieces of suitable size; but if the quantity amounts
to several bushels daily, then a root-cutter will be needed. There
are two classes of these, one for sheep, and the other for large
stock, the essential difference being that those designed to cut
roots for sheep cut into smaller pieces. Of those designed to cut
roots for large stock, the Whittemore machine is as good a machine
as any, having a capacity to cut up a bushel in about half a minute.
Among farmers there is much unnecessary fear about the danger of
animals choking while feeding on apples, potatoes and roots. For the
last ten years I have fed to my cows not far from three hundred tons
of squashes, potatoes and roots, (mostly squashes) and never yet lost
an animal or had any very serious trouble from choking. My habit is
to feed them while quietly in their stalls, with a division board
between the feed of each. All cases of choking that have come to my
notice have occurred _where the animal was suddenly disturbed while
eating_. There is a great difference of opinion as to how many roots
can be fed to stock daily without injuring them. The proportion will
depend somewhat on the constitutional peculiarities of individual
cows, but when the bowels are all right the appetite of the animal is
probably the safest guide. I have had a large and extended experience
in feeding squashes to milch cows,--the Boston Marrow, Hubbard and
other varieties; beginning with a half a bushel to each animal, I
increase the quantity until the daily consumption has averaged a
hundred pounds a day to each. Under such heavy feeding, after a while
their appetites clog somewhat, but I am inclined to the opinion
that beginning with a moderate feed, they would soon readily eat
seventy-five pounds daily with a relish, for as long a period as they
might last. When feeding Carrots or any roots, the most economical
method is to give meadow or salt hay, with a small quantity of
flax-seed or cotton-seed meal. The effect of the roots and these rich
meals is to give to these inferior varieties of hay, the nutritious
value of the best upland English.
Carrots fed too liberally to horses, will make them soft, and cause
them to sweat at the least exertion. The manure made by animals fed
on Carrots or any other roots is of poor quality and therefore for
the farm’s (as well as the animal’s) sake a proportion of grain, or
its equivalent, should always be fed with them.
MANGOLD WURTZELS.
What is a Mangold Wurtzel? A number of years ago I raised a piece
of Early Turnip Beet seed in a very isolated location; there was
not another piece of Beet seed growing within half a mile, at
least. A good deal of the seed wasted, as is usual when the seed is
allowed to ripen well on the stock before cutting. From this waste
seed thousands of young plants sprang up, many of which survived
the winter, by the help of the protection of chickweed and snow.
They had got so far along when ploughing time came, I left the
piece unploughed, thinning them out that they might produce early
beets. As the season advanced a good many of them pushed seed
shoots and ripened a crop of seed. Some of the seed I gathered
and the next season planted it to see what it would produce. The
crop was “everything;” all the way from a nice, dark colored Early
Turnip Beet, through different sizes, colors and forms, up to a
light-fleshed Mangold Wurtzel! As the original Beets were a very
pure Turnip Beet, and during several years of careful cultivation
for seed purposes had shown no admixture with any other variety,
the experiment proved either that the coarse variety of Stock Beet,
which we call Mangold Wurtzel are but sports from our fine-grained
table Beets, or that the Beets class are sports from Mangolds,--most
probably the former.
Mangold Wurtzels differ from table Beets in their general coarseness
of structure, and the larger size to which they grow, the elements
which enter into the composition of each being the same in kind.
What is a Sugar Beet? The term “Sugar Beet” is an unfortunate one,
as the word “Sugar” had already been appropriated to express the
sweet flavor of the varieties of Beets raised for table use, while
the word Beet is strictly a misnomer, the vegetable Sugar Beet being
in reality a Mangold Wurtzel. A generation ago our fathers used the
term “Sugar” as a familiar designation for any sweet variety of
beet raised for table use, and at the present by the great majority
of the public the term is still so used. As the new industry of
manufacturing sugar from the beet grew on the continent of Europe,
seedsmen were called upon to supply for commerce seed of the best
variety for this purpose. It was necessary that this variety should
be as free as possible from all coloring substance as this would,
as a matter of course, give a stain to the juice, and impose on the
manufacturer the labor of purifying it. The ones at first selected
were the long, white Mangold Wurtzel, and these were called the
“Sugar” Beet in commercial parlance. These white Mangolds were not
entirely white, the portion that grew above ground being usually
colored a light green by exposure to the sun’s rays; it became
therefore an object for the manufacturer to still improve on them to
the end that all the coloring should be eliminated. The intelligence
and enterprise of the seedsmen of Europe responded to this want, and
in the course of a few years two prominent varieties were produced,
that have nearly completely satisfied it,--one of these was sent out
by the estimable house of Vilmorin Andrieux & Co., of Paris, and is
named “Vilmorin’s New Improved White,” and the other “White Imperial
Extra,” by the distinguished German house of Ernest Benary.
These improved Sugar Beets of commerce grow nearly entirely under
ground, and when grown these beets define themselves to be the
Mangold variety, by the coarser structure of the root, the stouter
ribs and the greater coarseness of the leaves, which spring in larger
masses directly from the crown, than is the case with beets for the
table.
The moral of all this for my farmer friends is, that if you want a
beet for table use do not order “Sugar Beet” or you will be very
likely to find a Mangold growing in your garden, a return, but not a
recompense for the sweat and toil of the husbandman.
VARIETIES.
About twenty varieties are catalogued by seedsmen, many of which are
but strains of the same kind, bearing the name of the grower, who by
careful cultivation has endeavored to improve it. Classified by form
they come under three classes, viz.:--the long, the round and the
ovoid or intermediate varieties. Classified by color we have the red
or scarlet, the pink, the yellow or orange, and the white varieties.
=The Long Varieties.=--Among the more prominent of these are the
Ox Horn, the common Long Red, Norbition Giant, Carter’s Orange
Globe, and the Silesian varieties of Sugar Beet. The Ox Horn is a
very crooked growing variety, as its name would imply, with a small
diameter in proportion to its great length. Growing almost wholly out
of ground it curves about so in the row as to be decidedly in the
way, is apt to break when pulled and in addition to these defects,
storing very badly, it is not in any way desirable. The Norbiton
Giant, Long Red, Gate Post, and Tankard are improvements over the
common Long Red in a greater uniformity in their habit of growth,
their size, and a less liability to grow hollow at the top at the
advanced stage of growth.
[Illustration: LONG RED MANGOLD.]
=The Round Varieties.=--In these are included the common Red and
Yellow Globe, Gate Post and Tankard, with some of the underground
varieties of the Sugar Beet.
=Ovoid= are either red or yellow in color and are intermediate in
form between the long and the round kinds.
=What Kinds to Grow.=--In this country the Long Red are the most
popular, particularly the Norbiton Giant variety. While travelling
in England, Ireland and France, for inquiry and observation, I found
that the round and ovoid varieties were more generally cultivated
than the long sorts. In my experience the ovoid varieties incline to
grow smoother than the long kinds and hence are likely to bring up
less earth with them, which on heavy soil is a matter of some moment.
I think of the two kinds the yellow, under the same circumstances,
makes the larger root. The long varieties pile better in the cellar,
while the round or ovoids cut up rather more readily, appear less
inclined to rot at the top, and are firmer fleshed. The globe and
ovoid varieties appear to be best adapted to hard and shallow soils,
and of these the Yellow Globe and Ovoid are especially valuable, as
they are better keepers than most sorts and remain sound, without
sprouting, until late into the spring, and with special care may be
kept even into the summer season.
[Illustration: OVOID MANGOLD.]
The long Silesian varieties of Sugar Beet vary from each other only
in the color of the part exposed above ground,--being green, grey
or red. The kind introduced to the American public a few years
ago, under the name of Lane’s Improved American Sugar Beet, is a
strain of Long White Mangold. The improved varieties of Germany and
France yield about double the percentage of sugar that is found in
the common Mangold, in some crops the proportion being as high as
sixteen per cent. This would make the Sugar Beets of double the
value of Mangolds for stock, but unfortunately, the roots under like
conditions of cultivation, average but half the weight of Mangolds.
[Illustration: GLOBE MANGOLD.]
The average percentage of sugar found in analysis of beets grown in
this country is exceptionably high. Having land free from alkalies,
of unbounded fertility, readily accessible, and attainable at almost
nominal cost, it is a serious question why we do not follow the
example of other countries and raise our own sugar rather than import
it. Our inducement is the home market that the sugar factory would
afford for unlimited areas of beets, while the refuse pulp would
enable farmers to increase greatly the number of their neat stock,
to the advantage of the manure pile and enlargement of their area
of tillage. The great draw back is the price of labor in our own
prosperous country.
THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION.
In the matter of soil, Mangold Wurtzels will accept a greater
latitude than any other root; thriving on every variety, all the
way from light loam to muck, and from that to as strong a clay as
is sufficiently friable for tillage. Muck (properly drained) and a
strong loam are best suited to develop pounds of crop. Though the
crop grown in the lighter soil is not so great it is much sweeter
than when grown on heavy soil and when extraordinary quantities
of manure have been applied, some of the heaviest crops on record
have been grown on light loam. The great crop of Mr. Fearing of
Hingham, of over sixty tons to the acre, was raised on a sandy loam.
Some years ago I took a purchaser into the field where two lots of
Mangolds were growing; he selected at once the large roots on the low
land. I asked him to taste a slice of those on the upland, when he at
once changed his preference. As a rule it will be found that those
grown on warm upland soil are decidedly the sweeter and this fact has
an important bearing on the feeding value of the crop.
If the soil is in good heart for a foot in depth, plough it to that
depth before putting on the manure. After putting on the manure, if
coarse, it will be well to cut it up with Randall’s wheel-harrow
before ploughing under. After cross ploughing the manure four or five
inches beneath the surface the aim should be to make a good seed bed
by getting the surface level and the soil light and fine. On most
soils this can be accomplished by a liberal use of the wheel-harrow
followed by a fine-toothed smoothing harrow and that by a plank
drag. An old barn door will sometimes answer for this, but as it is
an excellent implement on the farm it will be well to have one. It
should be about three feet wide and six long, with one side about ten
inches high, meeting the bottom at an angle of forty-five degrees;
the planks had better overlap slightly, as they will the better
break the lumps of earth. The team is to be hitched to the turned up
side, and the driver is to stand on the drag, driving it sideways
over the land. The effect of such a drag in breaking up lumps and
generally pulverizing the soil, will be found to be much superior to
that of any roller. Should the soil be of such a character or in such
a condition that the harrow and drag process will not make a good
seed bed, there remains no resource other than to prepare it as for
onions, either raking over the entire surface, or running over it
three or more times with the Meeker Harrow.
[Illustration: MEEKER HARROW.]
THE MANURE AND ITS APPLICATION.
The kind and quantities of food needed to grow any vegetables is
found by an analysis of that vegetable. Having thus learned the
kind and quantity needed for any crop, the next step of the wise
farmer will be to ascertain what manures contain the necessary
constituents and which of these contain them in the cheapest form. A
little knowledge of Chemistry, in its application to manures, is of
incalculable value to the husbandman and no amount of experience and
traditionary knowledge can serve as a substitute for it. I believe
that it is in this direction that the great advance in agriculture
will be made, and were there no other argument for Agricultural
colleges the fact that they are prepared to give thorough instruction
in this one department would be a sufficient reason for their
existence, and for their liberal patronage by their several states.
Prof. Voelcker, an excellent authority in everything that pertains
to chemistry, in its application to agriculture, gives the following
table as the average composition of the ash of the principal root
crops.
This table shows us that the Mangolds require the mineral ingredients
of manure in the following order, when arranged with reference to
their importance:--Potash, Soda, Chlorine, Lime, Phosphoric Acid,
Magnesia, Sulphuric Acid, Silica. In addition to these minerals
other substances enter into the composition of Mangolds, the most
important of which is Nitrogen. Barn-yard manure contains about
all the elements needed by vegetation, but not always in the right
proportion, therefore, when applying it, it is always profitable to
know the proportions of the minerals which enter into crops that the
deficiency may be supplied from other sources. It is perhaps hardly
necessary to say that unleached wood ashes and the German Potash
Salts, Sulphate and Muriate, are the cheapest sources for Potash at
present known, while Soda and Chlorine are obtained from Muriate
of Potash or from the waste salt of the fisheries. Of this I shall
have more to say presently when treating of salt as an auxiliary
fertilizer. Lime is obtained from the common Carbonate of Lime of the
mason, either water or air slacked, and this usually contains more
or less of Magnesia, or from wood ashes which is largely one-third
lime. The great source of Phosphoric Acid is the bones of animals
or corprolites, by which is meant the fossilized bones and dung
of extinct animals; Sulphuric Acid is most cheaply obtained from
Plaster, which is Sulphate of Lime.
Some hold great benefit is derived by the crop of the following year,
from ploughing under the leaves as soon as the roots are topped; the
value of this is just what the analyses of our table shows. The large
crops reported as raised in this country, have been raised on soil
ranging from light to a friable clay loam and have received all the
way from eight to fifteen cords of barn-yard manure to the acre. In
some instances this has been all ploughed in; in others half spread
broadcast and ploughed in and the other half put in the furrows. When
coarse and unfermented I would advise a deep ploughing of it under,
in the Fall as with Carrots; other waste substances can be used as
substitutes for barn-yard manure, care being taken either that such
waste substances are specially rich in Potash, Soda and Chlorine, or
that these substances be added. The equivalents given are roughly
estimated under the article treating of the manure for Carrots
and will be sufficient for practical purposes; I therefore make
no further allusions to these cheap wastes as sources for manure,
further than to mention that sea manures are specially rich in potash
and soda.
Of all roots Mangolds are the rankest feeders, removing more plant
food from the soil than any other root crop. The crop of Mr. Albert
Fearing, of Hingham, Mass., was sixty tons of roots, and if the tops
were in the usual proportion, of about one-third, they weighed twenty
tons more, giving the enormous yield of eighty-tons of green food
from one acre of ground. The crop raised on Deer Island, in Boston
harbor, was about seventy tons to the acre; with a like proportion
of tops the total yield must have been over a hundred tons. In the
sewage farms of England eighty tons of roots have been raised on an
acre of ground. Fearing applied fifteen cords of manure to his acre
of ground; of the quantity applied to the Deer Island crop I regret I
have not the data at hand.
If the mere bulk alone was to be aimed at in the crop, the problem
would be a very simple one, but there are three points to be
considered: first, how to get a crop that shall be great in bulk
and at the same time give us the second desirable point, viz.:
_ripeness_, and thus insure the third desirable point, viz.: _the
highest percentage of sugar it is possible for the roots to acquire_.
This matter of the value of Mangolds, for feeding purposes, being in
about the same proportion as the sugar present, though appertaining
to that part of this Treatise which treats of “Feeding to Stock,”
yet has so direct a bearing on the manuring of the crops that I will
take it up at this place. The recent researches of that distinguished
chemist, Prof. Voelcker of England, than whom there is no better
authority, has thrown much light on the question of manure in its
application to this crop. The Professor takes the position that the
nutritious value of roots is in proportion to the amount of dry
matter in them, and that the percentage of sugar present coincides
with that of dry matter, the proportion of sugar rising or falling
with the percentage of dry matter in the roots. That the feeding
value does not depend on the proportion of nitrogen they contain, is
proved theoretically, by the fact that the percentage is very much
higher in the early stages of growth, before the crop is matured,
than it is later in the season, while in the experiments of Mr. Lawes
in feeding sheep, the lot containing the most nitrogen in the way of
nutrition gave the poorest results.
Assuming with Prof. Voelcker that bulk should not be sought at a
disproportionate sacrifice of sugar in the crop, and that certain
soils and certain manures and certain methods of cultivation are
more favorable than others to the development of this desirable
proportion. I present extracts from his valuable article on “Root
Crops as affected by Soil and Manures.”
“Land highly manured with rich dung from the fattening boxes or
stables, induces luxurious and vigorous growth in root crops, and,
as is well known, has a tendency to develop over-luxuriance in the
tops. This is the case more particularly if the dung is derived from
fattening beasts, liberally supplied with oil-cake and artificial
food, rich in nitrogenous constituents. If the Autumn turns out
fairly dry and warm, the roots in highly manured land continue to
grow vigorously, the bulbs swell to a large dimension, and if the
weather in September and October continues warm and dry, a heavy
weight, and fairly ripe roots, result from the liberal use of rich
dung. But should the Autumn be cold and wet, too liberal application
of good, well-rotten dung is apt to maintain the luxuriant tops in a
vigorous, active-growing condition, at a period of the year when the
crop has to be taken up, and the result is an immature root crop,
of a low feeding value. Although the bulbs may be of a good size,
they turn out, when grown under such conditions, watery, deficient
in sugar, and not nearly as nutritious as they would have been had
a more moderate dressing of dung been put upon the land. The main
cause of the immature condition and low-feeding quality of Mangolds
grown with an excessive quantity of rich dung is the comparatively
large amount of ammonial and nitrogenous constituents in the dung;
for numerous field experiments have shown that the peculiar tendency
of ammonia salts, and of readily available nitrogenous substances
is to induce luxuriant leaf-development and vigorous and prolonged
growth, which results frequently in a more or less immature condition
of the roots. There is thus danger of over-manuring crops; and the
desire to produce heavy crops of Mangolds not unfrequently leads
practical men not to appreciate sufficiently this danger. It is
quite true Mangolds are very greedy feeders, and no doubt some
soils will swallow up almost any amount of dung; but at the same
time it has to be borne in mind that all land is not alike, and
that there are many naturally rich clay loams containing immense
stores of plant food which requires only to be brought into play
by good cultivation in order to become available to plants. I am
much inclined to think that it is a mistake to manure soils of the
latter description too liberally with dung, even for Mangolds, and
that in many cases a more economical result, and certainly a better
quality of Mangolds, although not so heavy a crop, would be given,
if instead of all the enormous dressings of dung which are often
applied to that crop, the lands were manured in Autumn with only
half the quantity of dung, and the seed drilled in with three to
four cwt. of superphosphate or dissolved bones, which manures, as
we shall see presently have a tendency to produce early maturity in
roots. We frequently hear of complaints that Mangolds scour, or do
not keep well. Complaints of this kind are only expressions in other
words for the immature condition of the roots, and in many cases the
cause of this undesirable condition has to be sought in the excessive
amount of ammonial or nitrogenous constituents which are applied
to the Mangolds in the shape of heavy dressings of dung. The same
remarks apply with equal force to the exclusive and to abundant use
of sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, and nitrogenous manures
in general. The special effect of all ammonial and nitrogenous
manures in general, as already stated, is to produce luxuriant leaf
development, to induce prolonged and vigorous growth, resulting in an
immature and watery condition of the bulbs.
“Large roots, generally speaking, are far less nutritious than
better matured roots of a moderate size. For illustration of this
fact I quote the following comparative analyses:
“Small Mangolds approach Sugar Beets in composition, whilst large
Sugar Beets are hardly better than common Mangolds, and monster beets
are even less nutritious than well-matured Mangolds of fair average
size. Monster roots, as is well known, are always very watery, poor
in sugar, and almost useless for feeding purposes.
“Big Berkshire beets,--one weighing 16 pounds and the other 12¼
pounds,--contained only 3.89 or 4 per cent. of sugar respectively,
and in round numbers as much as 91½ per cent. of water. This high
percentage of water is accompanied by a larger amount of albuminous
compounds and of mineral matter, than the proportions in roots,
containing very much more solid feeding matter. A large amount of
albuminous matter and of ash, indeed indicates immaturity and poverty
in sugar, a characteristic of big, excessively manured roots.
“Generally speaking, all nitrogenous manure, either should not be
used at all, or only sparingly, for roots, on stiffish land, and
all soils which contain a good deal of clay, are naturally cold and
unfavorable to a vigorous and rapid growth. Light land, like most
productive sandy soils and friable turnip loams, favors the quick
and vigorous growth of roots, and is conducive to early maturity.
“Nitrate of soda has the same general effect upon root crops as
nitrogenous manures, but it appears to be more energetic in its
action, and, on the whole, to be a useful addition to home manures,
and to increase the produce in roots more considerably than sulphate
of ammonia. Its effect is specially marked upon Mangolds, and, to my
knowledge, heavy crops of Mangolds have been produced upon rather
light land by 1 1-2 cwt. of Nitrate of Soda, two cwt. of common salt,
sown broadcast, and four cwt. of dissolved bones drilled in with the
seed.
“Potash salts in some field experiments which I have tried in
different parts of the country, have shown that Potash has a
decidedly beneficial effect upon root crops, on poor, sandy soils;
while on the majority of land, and notably upon clays or clay
loams, or soils in a good agricultural condition, Salts of Potash
do not increase the produce. The special effect of superphosphates,
dissolved bones and similar phosphatic manures, is to produce early
maturity; and hence phosphatic manures are employed in practice very
largely, and with much benefit, by root growers. In free-growing,
light soils, it is desirable either to use dissolved bones in
addition to half dressing of farm-yard manure, as a manure for roots,
or to spread broadcast 2 or 3 cwt. of salt, or 2 cwt. of guano and 1
cwt. of nitrate of soda and 2 cwt. of common salt, and to drill with
the seed 3 to 4 cwt. of dissolved bones. On the heavier description
of soils it is preferable to use mineral superphosphate for roots,
especially if the land has been dressed in Autumn with a moderate
quantity of dung.”
SALT AS AN AUXILIARY MANURE.
It will be seen by the table of analysis of roots, that the Mangold
has in it a remarkably large percentage of Chlorine and Soda, the
roots yielding respectively 9.9 and 18.4, while the tops give, 17.8
and 23.3. Salt being a combination of Chlorine and Soda, known
to chemists as Chloride of Sodium, must therefore be a valuable
auxiliary manure for Mangolds, that is, one to be used in connection
with other manures. Practice proves what chemistry indicates. Prof.
Voelcker tells us that “salt tends to check over-luxuriance in the
tops, while it prolongs the period of active growth. In consequence
of this specific action it may be employed with benefit as an
auxiliary manure upon light land, in quantities not greater than
five bushels to the acre.” Mr. Lewes, of New York, believes that by
scattering over the surface, when the Mangolds develop the fourth
leaf, four or five bushels of the refuse of the Syracuse salt works,
which is about equal parts of salt and plaster, he has increased his
crop ten tons to the acre. Mr. Lewes finds that salt tends to prevent
a disease which sometimes attacks the leaves, known as “rust.” He
states that it can be obtained at the works for about $3.50 per ton.
Prof. Voelcker believes it would be injurious rather than beneficial
on heavy land.
The quantity to be applied to the acre as given by practical
growers, varies from four to twenty-five bushels. The effect is
not always the same; one season the increase may be very striking
and the next, under the same application, not be perceptible, the
cause of which is not very clear, though it appears to give better
results in dry seasons than in wet. The most striking effect from
the application of large quantities, in my experience, has been on
the borders of meadow land. A number of years ago I manured in the
furrow with refuse herring bait, salt and all, just as taken from
the fish barrels. The crop of Mangolds grown from this manuring was
one of the largest and smoothest I ever raised. The next season the
land was planted to Oats. In the Fall, while laying a heap of this
oat straw in the barn, I chanced to use one as a tooth-pick. It
tasted as though it had been pickled; thinking it was the result of
some accident, I took another; that also was salt. This aroused my
curiosity and on examination I found farther, to my great surprise,
that all the straw tasted as though it had been dipped in pretty
strong brine. Certainly this tremendous salting, over and above what
the crop of Mangolds could use, to all appearance, had not lessened
the bulk of roots. On meadow land, Mr. Ware of this town, thinks that
in a dry season he doubled his crop by the application of refuse
salt, at the rate of twenty-five bushels to the acre. In purchasing
waste salt for this or any other agricultural crop, it is best to get
the dirtiest lot possible, for this dirt is the waste of the fish on
which it has been used, and consists mostly of fish scales, which for
manuring purposes is decidedly the most valuable part of the fish.
For this reason the waste from salted herring is probably the most
valuable of all.
PLANTING THE SEED AND TENDING THE CROP.
Our ground being now ready the next step is to plant it: How much
seed shall we need and how far apart shall we have the rows? The very
best of seed is often disappointing in the matter of vegetating, and
it is therefore best to plant with a liberal hand, for it is better
to have to thin out than not have plants enough. From six to ten
pounds of seed is the quantity used, the larger quality when planted
for sugar purposes, the object in view being to get an even stand
with all the roots the same distance apart, to attain which a great
deal of thinning is necessary. As to the proper distance between
the rows, practical growers will give various replies;--18, 20, 22,
24, 30 inches. The thirty inch men are those who expect to depend
on the cultivator to do about all their weeding. That the crop does
not require so much room to yield the greatest bulk, is shown by the
experience of other cultivators, who have raised from forty to over
sixty tons to the acre, with their rows from eighteen to twenty-two
inches apart, while the greatest, crop on record, viz.:--of over
eighty tons to the acre, was raised with the rows twenty-four inches
apart.
Planting on ridges is often advised, but as far as I have observed,
those who begin this way generally change to the system of level
culture as they advance in experience. The only advantages I have
found in the system of ridge cultivation have been that the Mangolds
appear to grow with fewer roots, and are rather more easily weeded.
These advantages in practice are more than off-set by the extra labor
of making the ridges and preparing them for planting. Mangold seed
is apt to come up badly. In France, where land is cut up into small
areas and labor is cheap, one would expect to find as little waste as
possible, but while travelling there I noted in their fields that the
Mangolds were quite scattering. Mangold seed, like those of beets,
are enclosed in a porous shell which itself is usually called the
seed. By cracking these “seeds” the real seed will be found within,
at the angles, from one to four in number, and when broken, if fresh,
appear as white as flour. One reason why a portion of the seed fails
to vegetate, is, I infer, from the quantity of moisture necessary to
reach and swell the encased seed. For this reason, if planted during
dry spells, care should be taken to get them down to a good depth,
say an inch and a half deep, and then to pack the fine earth closely
over them so that it may hold the moisture. Any machine, therefore,
that is used for planting should have a good roller. To facilitate
and hasten the vegetation, some cultivators practice soaking the
seed, by pouring on water when almost at a scalding temperature, and
letting the seed remain in it from thirty-six to forty-eight hours,
being careful to keep it where the water will not fall below blood
heat, then rolling plaster or dry soil, until it is sufficiently dry
to drop readily from the machine.
Some prefer to plant by hand, believing that the greater certainty
of getting the seed up and the greater regularity of the plants in
the row is more than an off-set to the additional labor. In doing
this some growers will drop the seed on the surface by the machine,
and then follow and push them under to the depth requisite, with the
thumb and finger; others use a strip of plank about four inches wide
and three feet in length, on the under side of which are inserted
wooden pins, every seven inches, the pins being one and a quarter
inches in diameter and projecting two inches. The holes having been
made, the seed are dropped in, and covered by the hand. Where blanks
are found they may be profitably filled by transplanting the young
Mangolds, care being taken to break off the tops of the larger
leaves, and also to loosen the ground a little when planting them.
If a time just after a shower is selected, the result will be very
satisfactory. The transplanted roots when gathered in the Fall will
usually be found with several small roots in place of a single tap
root.
All root crops require prompt and thorough attention in the matter of
weeding, and to lessen this costly department of labor they should
not be raised on land abounding in the seed of weeds. Mangolds will
require two or three hand weedings, besides as many slidings with
the scuffle or wheelhoe. If too thick they should be thinned rather
early in their growth, for I have oftentimes noticed that if this is
left until the roots begin to develop, those left standing are apt
to be dwarfed. It is best to give two thinnings. The plants should
be left from ten to twelve inches apart; the crop of eighty tons was
thinned to twelve inches apart and as the roots are more apt to grow
coarse and prongy, and with less sugar in them, when far apart, I am
inclined to ten or twelve inches as far enough. The object aimed at
should be, as Prof. Voelcker has shown, to get the weight in many
roots of medium size rather than in fewer roots of large size.
GATHERING AND STORING THE CROP.
Unlike other roots, the keeping qualities of Mangolds are destroyed
by a temperature low enough to but little more than freeze the
surface of the ground. In the late Fall when the growth is about
completed, these much exposed roots have but few leaves to protect
them and hence, where freezing weather is feared, the provident
farmer will always give them the benefit of the doubt. If he is so
unfortunate as to have his crop injured, let him at once get the
most he can out of them, in the way of food, for though the injury
at first may appear to be but trivial, the part frozen will become
first corky and afterwards turn black, and ultimately rot. If but
slightly frozen the frost may be taken out by at once covering the
roots temporarily with earth, but such roots must be fed early or
they will rot. Where the globe or ovoid varieties are grown, on land
where they pull hard they may be lifted by running a subsoil plough
with care. In pulling these, or any roots that are to be topped on
the field, don’t do, as is usually done, either scatter them on
the surface, without any system, or throw them into heaps, as in
either way the cost of removing the tops is increased. If thrown
in piles the tops become more or less intermingled, and the small
amount of extra labor thereby caused in topping each individual root
becomes great in the aggregate, when thousands are handled. Still it
oftentimes happens that the weather takes a sudden, unexpected turn,
threatening too low a temperature for the safety of the crop; under
such circumstances the question is how to get it out of danger in the
most expeditious way possible. The quickest way is to pull and throw
into heaps, _roots in, tops out_, by which arrangement, should there
be considerable of a freeze up, the tops would shield the roots. To
protect them still more effectually earth may be shovelled over the
heaps, so as barely to cover them, and when protected in this way
they may be allowed to remain quite awhile awaiting the leisure of
the farmer. Here let me say that this plan of protection will not
answer for all crops, as I have learnt with Cabbages, to my sorrow,
for when covered up this way, but for a few days, when taken out
they will be found to be almost cooked by the great heat which they
have developed.
In gathering all roots the great object is to have as few handlings
as possible, hence, if the tops are not twisted off as the Mangolds
are pulled, they should be laid in rows, tops in and roots out, four
or more rows being put in one. It will be best to have two hands work
together, and so make two of these rows, leaving a small passage-way
between them, the roots being on the inside. Now let the topper
follow with a large and sharp knife, and lop off the leaves to his
right and left as he goes, being careful to so top the roots that
each individual leaf will fall separately, which means that he is
not to cut the top of the root itself, for unlike Carrots, Mangolds
so cut are apt to decay when stored. For economical work the knife
should be a large and somewhat heavy one, the blade eight or nine
inches in length. A small grit stone for the use of the hands engaged
in topping any kind of roots is always a good investment; is saves
running to the barn for an occasional touch on the grindstone.
If the roots are to be marketed they will need to be left to have the
earth on them dry, that it may fall off when loading, but if for use
on the farm it will be rather of an advantage, as it will help keep
them from wilting. The portion of the crop to be fed before Spring
should be stored as near to the place of feeding as possible. The
great object should be to keep them sufficiently covered and cool
to prevent wilting. As all the beet family are good keepers, there
need be but a small per cent. of loss. Store them in a cool, rather
moist cellar, provided it has no standing water. The heap may be
three or four feet in depth, and should be covered with earth that
is rather moist than otherwise, to prevent evaporation. The long
varieties may be piled cordwood fashion. Those to be fed after Spring
opens can be kept in a pit, dug in gravelly soil, on a hill-side, or
where there is no danger from standing water; the pit may be three or
four feet in depth, and be filled to the surface. In covering there
are two methods: one, to throw the earth directly on the roots, and
the other to first cover them with cornstalks, or some dry, coarse
litter before throwing on the earth. In practice I find that when
the litter is used the roots in immediate contract with it are apt
to mould, more or less, and be affected with a dry rot, though it is
an excellent plan to throw over coarse litter up to severe freezing
weather. Which ever course is pursued it is best not to throw on
more at first than is sufficient to barely cover them, and to add
the remainder, making a covering of about two feet in depth in all;
to which is to be added a foot of coarse hay as the weather becomes
cold. The process of thatching with straw and so piling that there
shall be a roof-like slant to the heap, with furnace-like ventilators
opening from it at intervals, I have never found necessary in actual
practice, the elevation of the earth above the bed being a sufficient
water shed, while the cold nature of the root prevents heating. Rats
are the great enemies of root pits. I have had galleries cut by these
vermin through a bed of roots, utterly destroying them for seed
purposes. The best way of killing them in my experience, has been to
drop a little arsenic on buttered bread and put it conveniently near
their holes, but so far hidden that no neighbor’s dog would be likely
to suffer by it.
FEEDING THE CROP.
Besides arguments which are of weight for cultivation of all kind
of roots, there are special ones for the raising of Mangolds. The
vast bulk of yield exceeds that of any annual crop as high as eighty
tons of roots having been raised to the acre on the sewerage farms
of England and when to this is added the weight of leaves that such
a crop would carry, it will be safe to say that a hundred tons have
been given to the acre. Taken as a whole the Mangold has less enemies
and is less apt to fail than any other root. Compared with the Turnip
family, it has several marked advantages, being more reliable in dry
seasons and less liable to disease; and in flesh-forming heat-giving
and fat-producing elements it surpasses it. While the Turnip family
cannot be raised repeatedly on the same land, indeed on most soil
can be raised only intervals of three or four years, Mangolds can
be raised many years in succession, as Mr. Mechi, the distinguished
English agriculturist, has proved by raising sixty tons per annum
on the same tract of land of six acres area, for six successive
years. They will keep longer in good condition than any other root,
under favorable circumstances even as late as July. Experiments in
feeding steers made with care, proved that while a ton of Mangolds
increased their weight sixty-five pounds, a ton of Swede increased
their weight but forty-eight pounds, equal quantities of hay having
been fed in each experiment. Other experiments have established about
the same proportionate value between these two roots, though the
general result was not as favorable. Mangolds, like fruit, undergo a
ripening change after they are gathered, and until this is effected
they are not in the best condition for feeding. The ripening process
for the most part consists in a change of starch into sugar, and
makes the Mangolds both more healthful and more nutritious food.
Before this change is effected they are apt to scour stock if fed
to any degree liberally. The time when this chemical change takes
place will depend on the degree of ripeness of the crop when stored;
and this, as has been clearly shown, is affected by both the soil
on which they grew and the manure with which they were fed; other
conditions equal, those grown on upland ripen earlier than those on
lowland, while rank manures tend to prolong the period of growth and
crops so grown come into condition for feeding later in the season.
In England, a common practice is to begin feeding the Mangolds at
Christmas, while in this country the middle of January is considered
early enough. Experiments carefully made have proved that when fed to
fattening animals they should follow and not precede Turnips. It is
a good rule in feeding this as with other roots or tubers, to begin
with a small quantity and gradually increase the amount up to the
limit which the appetite of the cow, her general health and the tale
of the milk pail indicate. Every farmer who feeds a dairy needs a
root cutter. There are several of these in the market, some designed
for sheep only, which cut the roots into small pieces, others for
neat cattle, while some manufactured by our Canada neighbors can be
arranged to cut for either class of stock. As good a one as I know of
for stock purposes, cheapness, durability and effectiveness combined,
is one sometimes known as the Ames machine of which I present an
engraving. This machine is capable of cutting about two bushels a
minute. Experiments in England have shown that 59 pounds of cooked
Mangolds are equal to 70 of uncooked. Leaves of Mangolds should be
fed with care as they are more apt to scour than those of any other
root. The reason of this is that they contain comparatively a large
quantity of a poisonous acid known by chemists as “oxalic” acid, the
same that is developed in Rhubarb leaves, when slightly wilted, and
which sometimes causes death when such leaves are eaten as “greens.”
[Illustration: AMES CUTTER.]
The practice sometimes followed in Europe, of feeding the leaves of
the growing crop, where labor is very cheap, is thought to pay, as
the leaves are gathered just as they begin to drop from their upright
position and when their usefulness as nourishers of the root have
ended. But with labor as cheap as may be, there is no economy in
this, for, aside from the deleterious effects to animals, when fed
too liberally, by actual experiment it has been found that the wear
and tear to the crop, incidental to the plucking of these leaves by
an average farm hand, injures it more than the value of the leaves
after they are gathered.
Were it not for the enormous bulk that an acre will produce in
roots when compared with its yield in hay or grain, there would
be a serious argument against the growing of them to any extent
beyond what might be needed for medicinal purposes, in the fact that
the manure made from them is of so low a value; and the practical
weight of this argument would grow in proportion as farmers acquire
a knowledge of the most important department of farming. To most
farmers a cord or load of manure of cow or horse, is a cord or load
of equal value; now this is far, very far from being the fact, as
will be seen by the following table which I take from the _Scientific
Farmer_, compiled by the celebrated Mr. Lewes, who, by his careful
experiments, has laid the agricultural world under lasting
obligation. In this table a ton of English hay is taken as the
standard and were all the manure saved, both solid and liquid, from a
ton of each of these varieties of food, the ingredients at the market
value of the Ammonia, Potash and Phosphoric Acid would be worth as
follows:--
This table is very suggestive in many ways:--by it we see that
there are varieties of food, the manure from which is worth more
than the cost of the food itself. In its application to the feeding
of Mangolds, it at a glance suggests the wisdom of feeding at the
same time a portion of something richer and more concentrated. By
so doing the quality of the manure is vastly improved and the crops
will not be slow to discover it. There is still another reason for
feeding these rich foods while using roots; it enables the farmer to
feed with profit his straw or inferior varieties of hay. Says Prof.
Stockhardt, “The full benefit to animals derivable from feeding roots
is secured only when the proper proportion of substances rich in
nitrogen are fed with them; accordingly, about two pounds of oil-cake
should be fed with each hundred pounds of beet root, or other foods
may be substituted in the same proportion as they are rich in
nitrogen.”
Recent researches have determined a fact of great value to
agriculture: that to get the most profitable results from food the
Albuminoid and Carbohydrate elements should bear a certain proportion
to each other, and that while a decrease in either of them from this
proper proportion means insufficient food, and a consequent loss
of flesh, fat or milk, an excess of either means money wasted. The
proportion for cows that are dry and oxen when not at work is about
one of Albuminoids to eight of Carbohydrates; for oxen at work and
cows in milk, one of Albuminoids to from four to six of Carbohydrates.
The following table taken from Prof. Johnson’s excellent work, “How
Crops Grow,” gives the proportion of the Albuminoids, Carbohydrates
and other elements in roots and tubers.
To give the tables necessary to develop this interesting subject to
its full capacity, would be altogether beyond the scope of my little
treatise. I will refer my readers to the appendix of that excellent
work by Prof. Johnson, “How Crops Grow.”
THE COST OF THE CROP.
An average crop of Mangolds may be set down at 22 tons. To grow this
crop would cost the farmer who depends on barn manure mainly, about
as follows:--
DEBTOR.
Ploughing twice, harrowing and dragging, $9.00
Seed, 10 lbs., 3.50
Planting, 1.00
Sliding, weeding and thinning crop, 16.00
Gathering, topping and storing, 12.00
Manure, and handling of 7 cords, 38.00
Refuse salt, 16 bushels, at $1.25 per hogshead, 2.50
Interest, taxes and wear and tear of implements and teams, 15.00
------
Total cost, $97.00
CREDITOR.
By crop of 22 tons roots, at $8.50 per ton, $187.00
“ tops,--4 tons, at $5.00, 20.00
“ value of manure left in soil, 14.00
-------
$221.00
Balance, $123.00
In the above estimate I have assumed most of the labor to be by boys,
who at hand weeding, if they are reliable, can get over the ground
faster than men. I have made no allowance for the cost of cutting
up the roots when feeding, as this does not belong under this head.
Should the land be old the item of weeding would have to be increased
one-half. The salt I have priced at its cost along the sea-coast. I
have estimated the value of the crop at the average value of several
years past, while the manure charge is higher than it should be where
farmers have access to the fertilizing wastes of great cities.
Now, if instead of being contented with a crop of 22 tons to the
acre, the farmer strives for double that quantity, he will get it by
additional expense in but two directions, viz.: his manure bill and
the cost of gathering and storing. If we now double the cost of each
of the latter, and credit the results with double the crop, which
every practical farmer who has had experience in root culture will
allow is but reasonable, we shall have the following results:--
Extra cost of crop of 44 tons over one of 22:
Manure,--7 cords, $38.00
Gathering, topping and storing, 12.00
------
$50.00
Now adding-the credit side we shall have for
Extra 22 tons roots, $187.00
Six tons tops, 30.00
Value of manure left in ground, 14.00
-------
$231.00
Deduct extra cost, 50.00
-------
Profits cleared, $181.00
In other words, by investing $68.00 for six months, we clear
$163.00, which, as any farmer boy can figure, is at the rate of
about five hundred per cent. a year. Mr. Fearing of Hingham, with
the same amount of manure raised over sixty tons to the acre, and
the instances are numerous where over forty tons have been the crop
when even a less quantity has been used. Can any farmer who has
accumulated a small surplus of money do better than invest it in
manure? There is altogether too much money, for the prosperity of
their farming, invested by farmers in Savings Banks. These banks
pay from four per cent. on money, but here is an instance where an
investment made in manure pays over four hundred per cent. Merchants
don’t do so foolish a thing as to put their earnings into Savings
Banks. No; they invest in their business and so keep it and its money
making capacity under their own control; when will farmers be as
wise and become their own bankers? Let me remark that the farmer who
is so wise as to attempt to get the most from his land will do well
to follow Prof. Voelcker’s advice and drill in four or five hundred
weight of dissolved bone to the acre, in place of the same value in
stable manure.
In the above estimates of the value of Mangolds we have assumed that
the farmer sold his crop. Now it is true of this as of every other
crop that the farmer can use on his premises, that it is of more
value to him than the general market price indicates.
Under this head an intelligent farmer of large experience writes:--
“From experiments made in feeding beets, their value has been made
to range from 13 to 20 cents per bushel, with hay at twenty dollars
per ton. An exact estimate of the practical value of beets for
cattle food, is a difficult matter, as it is now, and ever will be,
hid from mortal ken. The improved condition of the cow (when fed
to cows during the winter), her increased usefulness during the
entire season, her lessened liability to sickness and disease which
high feeding with any one of the different kinds of grain induces,
her lengthened lease of life, her evident satisfaction and perfect
contentment, which is so plainly manifested while eating her daily
ration of roots, are each and every one legitimate items to be taken
into the account in estimating the practical, the actual value of
beets as food for dairy stock.
“After carefully looking at the subject in all its bearings, so far
as my experience has given me opportunity to do so, I have come to
the conclusion that beets for cattle food are well worth fully as
many cents per bushel as good hay is worth dollars per ton, without
taking into consideration the increase of the manure; and that the
average cost, when stored in the cellar or put into pits, with every
item of expense included, need not exceed eight cents per bushel.”
I will close my little treatise by remarking that while I cannot
expect to have exhausted so prolific a subject, yet I hope and trust
that it may prove of value as a guide and a stimulus to some of my
many friends in the great community of farmers.
CABBAGES:
HOW TO RAISE THEM.
Price, 30 Cents, by Mail.
SQUASHES:
HOW TO GROW THEM.
Price, 30 Cents, by Mail.
Each of these treatises is amply illustrated and
gives full particulars on every point, including
keeping and marketing the crops.
ONION RAISING.
WHAT KINDS TO RAISE
AND
The Way to Raise Them.
This work, issued by me in 1865, has been recommended by some of the
best authorities in the country and has gone through sixteen editions.
