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Turnips (Brassica rapa) are low in dry matter, containing often a smaller percentage thereof than mangels (less than 10 per cent, on the average); the yields obtained are similar to those of mangels. They are especially valuable for sheep feeding, and are also sometimes fed to cattle. When fed to milch cows they impart a strong turnip flavor to the milk, unless fed after milking; the same difficulty is likely to occur in the case of rutabagas and other crops of the mustard family (Crucifera). Turnips do not keep as well as mangels or rutabagas, and must be fed out during the fall or early winter.

Sugar beets (Beta vulgaris) are grown for the manufacture of beet sugar in the western States and in Michigan, Wisconsin,

Fig. 24.-Carrots for stock feeding (Improved Rubicon and Danvers Half-long), fairly

easy to harvest and capable of good yields. (Cornell Station.)

and other central States, and are of minor importance for stock feeding. Their culture is more difficult and exacting than that of other root crops, and the yields obtained are smaller, viz., about 12 tons, on an average; owing to their relatively high per cent of dry matter, 15 to 18 per cent (of which at least four-fifths is sucrose), they will, however, generally yield nearly as much dry matter per acre as other root crops.

Sugar beets are greatly relished by stock and often fed, pulped or sliced, to milch cows, fattening cattle, sheep, anl swine, especially when these are being fitted for exhibitions.

Carrots (Daucus carota, Fig. 2) are considered particularly valuable as a horse feed, but are also fed occasionally to dairy cows.

The red or yellow varieties impart a rich color to the milk, owing to the coloring matter (carotin) which they contain, and produce a yellow cream and butter, making unnecessary the use of artificial coloring in butter-making. Stock carrots will yield 10 to 20 tons per acre, according to the character of the soil, the season, etc., and still more under favorable conditions. They contain, on the average, about 12 per cent of dry matter, of which the greater portion is sugar (sucrose and glucose). They may be used to replace a portion of the oats in the ration of horses that are hard worked, feeding about six to eight pounds per head daily.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are used extensively for stock feeding by European farmers, but only to a small extent in this country. The growing of this crop for the purpose of furnishing feed for farm animals cannot be recommended, on account of the relatively low yields obtained (average, 200 bushels at 60 pounds, or six tons) and the expense of production; but on most farms a supply of cull potatoes is available, and in potato-growing districts large amounts of such potatoes may be profitably used for feeding farm animals.

Potatoes are primarily a fattening feed and are used especially for feeding swine. They may also be fed to advantage to other classes of stock,-horses, wethers, and milch cows, as a partial substitute for grain. They are generally cooked for swine, and are fed sliced, mixed with grain feed, to other classes of farm animals.

Potatoes contain about 20 per cent of dry matter, of which over 80 per cent is composed of carbohydrates, largely starch. Like all roots and tubers, they are low in fat; the high starch content places them among our foremost starchy feeds and renders them especially valuable for fattening purposes. Danish feeding experiments have shown that four pounds of boiled potatoes are equal to a pound of mixed grain for feeding swine, and that for dairy cows it takes six pounds of raw potatoes to equal a pound of mixed grain (1 feed unit; see p. 79).

Unripe potatoes contain a poisonous nitrogenous compound called solanin, which also accumulates in considerable quantities in the sprouts; in feeding old sprouted potatoes the sprouts must, therefore, be carefully removed to prevent accidents.

During recent years machinery for drying potatoes has been greatly perfected in Germany, and dried potatoes in the form of flakes or chips are now a regular article of commerce in Europe. It takes, on the average, about 3.8 tons of raw potatoes to make a ton of dried potato flakes. These are pronounced “much cheaper than oats, and, pound for pound, as valuable as a feed for horses.” Experience from abroad suggests a fruitful line of experimentation for American feed manufacturers with this product, as there can be no question but that our potato industry can be readily further developed, and that it would be of great benefit to potato growers as well as to feeders to have cull or other potatoes made into a feed of unquestioned merit which can be kept indefinitely.

Miscellaneous Succulent Feeds.-A number of miscellaneous succulent feeds of minor importance for stock feeding, like cabbage, rape, kale, pumpkins, etc., may be conveniently considered at this time.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) is a favorite feed among many sheep men, especially for fitting sheep for shows. It is also occasionally fed to milch cows and laying hens. On account of the relatively small yields obtained and the expense of growing cabbages, it will not pay to use them for stock feeding, except in the case of unfavorable market conditions, or where the cost of the feed is not an important factor, as in the case of feeding for exhibition stock or preparing cows for official tests. As with other plants of the mustard family, cabbages are likely to taint the milk when fed to dairy cows, unless fed after the milk has been removed from the stable. Cabbages contain, on the average, less than 10 per cent solids, 2.6 per cent digestible protein, and 6.1 per cent digestible carbohydrates and fat, the nutritive ratio being 1: 2.7. A considerable proportion (30 per cent or more) of the protein is, however, present in amide form, in this as in other green plants, making it less valuable as a source of protein than is indicated by its narrow nutritive ratio. Trials conducted at the Cornell station showed that on the average for three years cabbages yielded 22.5 to 43.8 tons to the acre, containing 1.8 to 3.1 tons of dry matter (average dry matter, 6.3 to 7.1 per cent). Much succulence is obtained, but little dry matter.

Rape (Brassica napus) is a valuable forage crop, especially adapted to a relatively cool and moist climate. It does well in northern United States and Canada, but can also be successfully grown further south and in the semi-arid sections of the country, either with or without irrigation. The parts of the plant eaten by stock are the numerous leaves and fleshy stems. Rape is used either for pasturage or as a soiling crop for sheep and swine, generally the former, while it is cut and fed green to cattle. It may be sown broadcast in the early spring and later at intervals of

• Bulletin 242.

two to three weekş. This will secure a succession of green feed for summer and fall feeding that will serve to make the farmer independent of short pastures and will keep the stock in a vigorous, thrifty condition (Fig. 25). Rape is also sown in drills, about 30 inches apart, with the plants two to three inches apart in the row, either with spring grain or with corn just before the last cultivation. This will furnish an abundance of green forage for fall feeding. Rape may be cut or pastured from eight to ten weeks from the time of seeding, when it will be 12 to 15 inches high.

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This crop forms a very valuable succulent feed for pigs and sheep.

(Wisconsin Station.)

The variety of rape generally sown is Dwarf Essex, which is a biennial. Nearly all the seed of this variety on the market is imported. The seed of bird-seed rape, which is an annual, is sometimes sold as Dwarf Essex, and care should, therefore, be taken to buy seed from reputable seedsmen only, as the former variety is worthless for forage purposes.

Rape contains about 14 per cent dry matter and 2 per cent digestible protein, its nutritive ratio being about 1:4.3. Both on account of its relatively high water content and its narrow nutritive ratio, it will not give satisfactory results when fed alone, but should be supplemented with grain feed, preferably with low-protein feeds, such as Indian corn and other cereals, wheat middlings, or

dried beet pulp, or with grass pasture, mixed hay, cornstalks, etc. Rape has proved an excellent feed for sheep, swine, and cattle. At the Ottawa station a bunch of 22 steers made an average gain of 50 pounds live weight in three weeks on an area of two acres; about 30 sheep had been allowed to pasture on a part of this field for ten weeks. The sheep also had access to a limited area of natural grass pasture. In an experiment with pigs, 60 pigs were fed on an acre and a half of rape; in addition to the rape pasture, about 500 pounds of grain were required for each pig from weaning time to an average of 185 pounds weight in October or November.5

The value of rape as a forage plant has also been established by experiments at the Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and other stations. At the Wisconsin station a gain of 413.5 pounds of mutton was obtained from 934 tons of rape and 1439.8 pounds of grain (wheat and oats). The highest yield obtained from three cuttings at about four inches from the ground was at the rate of 36 tons of green forage per acre. An'acre of rape was found to have a feeding value equivalent to 2657 pounds of grain fed to pigs four to ten months old. Young pigs did better when pastured on rape than on clover, grain being fed in both cases. Rape has an excellent effect on the milk secretion, and therefore makes a valuable soiling crop for dairy cows. As in the case of turnips, "eabbages, and other plants with strong flavor, it should be fed after milking. Rape can be used to good advantage as a part of the ration for animals that are being fed in “ dry lots” for market or for the show ring. It is also a valuable feed for young lambs and pigs at weaning time. Rape can stand quite cold weather, and will, therefore, last a long time after the pasture grasses succumb to frost; by the use of this crop stock can be put into good condition for the holiday markets or for winter, and there need be no check in growth, fat, or milk production through insufficient succulent feed during the late summer and autumn months, as is too frequently the case.

Kale (Brassica oleracea, var. Ase phala) belongs to the mustard family and stands quite close to the cabbage in composition and feeding value. It is only grown to a small extent for forage purposes in this country, the only States where its use appears to have spread being Oregon and western Washington. On rich land, well supplied with moisture, it gives an immense amount of nutritious

• Ottawa Bulletin 42.

• Farmers' Bulletins 11, 164; Div. Agrost. U. S. Dept. Agr., Cir. 12; Wis. Report 20, pp. 46–55 and 281-283.

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