The Stock-Feeder's Manual Part 18

Water 8778 Flesh-forming matters 154 Sugar 610 Gum, pectin, &c. 250 Woody fibre 112 Mineral matter (ash) 096 ------ 10000

It is difficult to accurately determine by a comparative trial the relative feeding properties of mangels and turnips, for the former are only in a fit state to be given to the animals when the latter are deteriorating. However, by comparing the composition of the two substances, and the results obtained from numerous feeding experiments, it would appear, that on the average 75 lbs. weight of mangels are equal to 100 lbs. weight of turnips. Of the different varieties of the mangel the long yellow appears to be the most nutritious, and the long red the least so.

The leaves of the mangel--some of which are occasionally pulled and used for feeding purposes, during the growth of the bulb--are an excellent feeding substance: their composition indicates a nutritive value but little inferior to that of the root; but as their const.i.tuents cannot be in a highly elaborated condition, it is probable they are not more than equal to half their weight of the bulbs.

One _questio vexata_ of the many which at present occupy the attention of the agricultural world is, whether or not the leaves of mangels may be removed with advantage during the latter part of the development of the plants. This practice prevailed rather extensively a few years since, but latterly it has fallen somewhat into disuse.

Those who adopt this plan urge, as its advantages, that a large quant.i.ty of food is obtained at a time when it is urgently needed, and that instead of the removal of the leaves exercising an injurious influence on the development of the roots, the latter are actually increased in size.

In 1859 an experimental investigation was carried out at the Glasnevin Model Farm, with the view of throwing new light on the question. The outside leaves were very gradually removed on different occasions--from the 12th August to the 15th October. In this way five tons of leaves per statute acre were removed, and subsequently made use of for feeding purposes. The experiment was conducted on a field of four acres, of which the produce of 12 drills, each 200 yards in length, was left untouched. The result was that the produce of the roots of the untouched plants was only 40 tons 8 cwt. 6 qrs. per acre, whilst the roots of the plants which had been partly denuded of their leaves weighed at the rate of 45 tons 1 cwt. This experiment afforded results which are apparently favorable to the practice of stripping the leaves; but it is to be regretted that it was not rendered more complete by an a.n.a.lysis of the roots, as a great bulk of roots does not necessarily imply a great weight of dry food, and it is just possible, though not very probable, that the roots of the stripped mangels contained a larger proportion of water than those of the untouched plants.

The results of the experiments of Buckman, and of Professor Wolff, of the Royal Agricultural College at Hohenheim, are at direct variance with those obtained at Glasnevin. Both of these experimenters found that the removal of the leaves occasioned a diminution in the produce of the roots to the amount of 20 per cent. Nor was this the only loss, for it was found by the German professor that the roots of the untouched plants possessed a far higher nutritive value than those of the stripped mangels.

When doctors differ, who is to decide? Here we have high authorities in the agricultural world at direct variance on a matter of fact. The names of Buckman and Wolff are a sufficient guarantee that the experimental results which they announce are trustworthy, and I can testify, from observation, that no field experiments could be more carefully conducted than those carried out at the Albert Model Farm. We can only, then, under the circ.u.mstances, admit that both Mr. Boyle, on the one side, and Professors Buckman and Wolff on the other, are correct in their statements of fact; but as it is evident both cannot be right in the general inferences therefrom, it is desirable that the subject should be still further investigated, and the truth be placed beyond doubt. It is a question which appears so simple that one is at a loss to account for the discrepant opinions in relation to it which prevail. "Let nothing induce the growers," says Mr. Paget, in a paper on the cultivation of the mangel, "to strip the leaves from the plant before taking up the root. A series of careful experiments has convinced me that by so doing we borrow food at a most usurious interest." "Although," says Mr. Boyle, "the practice of stripping has been followed for many years on the farm without any perceptible injury to the crop, these results, showing so considerable an addition to the crop from taking off the leaves, were hardly antic.i.p.ated." It certainly does appear somewhat at variance with our notion of the functions of the leaves of plants, that their partial removal could possibly cause an increase in the weight of the roots; but granting such to be the fact, it is not altogether _theoretically_ inexplicable. We know that highly nitrogenous manure has a tendency to increase the development of the leaves of turnips at the _expense_ of the roots. Gardeners, too, not unfrequently remove some of the buds from their fruit trees, lest the excessive development of foliage should r.e.t.a.r.d or check the _growth_ of the fruit. _Theoretically_ an excessive development of the leaves of the mangel may be inimical to the growth of the root. Probably, too, it may be urged, the outer leaves, which soon become partially disorganised and incapable of elaborating mineral matter into vegetable products, prevent the access of light to the more vigorous inner leaves. In conclusion, I may say of this subject that it is worthy of further elucidation; and I would suggest to my readers, and more especially to the managers of the various model farms, the desirability of fully testing the matter.

The _White Beet_ is a congener of the mangel. It is largely grown on the continent as a sugar-producing plant, but is seldom cultivated in these countries. It produces about 15 tons of roots per acre, and its roots on the average contain--

Water 830 Sugar 100 Flesh-formers 25 Fat-formers 15 Fibre 20 Ash 10 ----- 1000

This plant is deserving of more extensive growth in Great Britain.

The _Parsnip_ is, after the potato, the most valuable of roots. It differs from the turnip and the mangel in containing a high proportion of starch, and but little sugar; and its flesh-forming const.i.tuents are largely made up of casein, instead of, as in the case of the turnip, alb.u.men.

The average composition of the parsnip is as follows:--

Water 8200 Flesh-forming principles 130 Fat-formers (starch, sugar, &c.) 775 Woody fibre 800 Mineral matter (ash) 095 ------ 10000

The parsnip is extensively grown in many foreign countries, on account of its valuable feeding properties. As a field-crop it is but little cultivated in Great Britain, and its use is--if we except the table--almost restricted to pigs. Its food equivalent is about double that of the turnip; that is, one pound of parsnips is equal to two pounds of turnips.

The _Carrot_ bears a close resemblance to the parsnip, from which, however, it differs, containing no starch, and being somewhat inferior in nutritive value. According to Voelcker, its average composition is as follows:--

Water 8850 Flesh-formers 060 Fat-formers (including woody fibre) 1018 Mineral matter (ash) 072 ------ 10000

As carrots contain a high proportion of fat-forming matters, and a low per-centage of flesh-forming substances, they are better adapted for fattening purposes. Dairy stock greedily eat them; and they are given with great advantage to horses out of condition.

_Kohl-Rabi._--This plant, though early introduced into the agriculture of these countries, has made but little progress in the estimation of the farmer. It belongs to the order and genus which include the turnip, but differs widely from that plant in its mode of growth. Its bulb--which is formed by an enormous development of the overground stem--is, according to some authorities, less liable than the turnip to injury from frost. It is subject to no diseases, save anbury and clubbing; and, owing to its position above the soil, it can be readily eaten off by sheep. The bulbs store better than Swedes, and, according to some farmers, keep even better than mangels. With respect to the flavor of this bulb, there is some difference of opinion. Professor Wilson, of Edinburgh, quotes several eminent feeders to prove that "whether in the fold for sheep, in the yard for cattle, or in the stables for horses, it will generally be preferred to the other descriptions of homegrown keep." Mr. Baldwin, on the contrary, states that although good food for sheep, it is too hard-fleshed for old ewes, and that carrots are better food for horses, and Swedish turnips for cattle.

An accurately conducted comparative trial to test the nutritive value of the Kohl-rabi, was conducted at the Glasnevin Model Farm, under the direction of Mr. Baldwin. The experiment was commenced in January, 1863.

Four oxen were selected, and divided into two lots. Nos. 1 and 2 (Lot 1) were fed on Kohl-rabi, oil-cake, and hay, and Nos. 3 and 4 (Lot 2) on Swedish turnips, oil-cake, and hay. As the animals supplied with the Kohl-rabi did not appear to relish it, and as it was desirable to gradually accustom them to the change of food, the experiment did not really commence till the 12th January. On that date the weights of the animals were as follows:--

cwt. st. cwt. st.

Lot 1. {No. 1. 10 1 Lot 2. {No. 3. 7 5 {No. 2. 7 4 {No. 4. 10 2 ------- ------- 17 5 17 7

The lots, therefore, counterpoised each other pretty fairly. From the 12th to the 28th January they received the following quant.i.ties of food per diem:--

1. 2. 3. 4.

Roots stones 7-1/2 6 6 7-1/2 Oil cake pounds 4-1/2 3 3 4-1/2 Hay pounds 10-1/2 10-1/2 10-1/2 10-1/2

The animals fed upon the Kohl-rabi evinced from the first a disinclination to it, but they nevertheless ate it before their meal of oil-cake was supplied to them. On the morning of the 28th January they were put upon the dietary shown in the table, and which induced them to eat the Kohl-rabi more quickly.

1. 2. 3. 4.

At 6.30 a.m. {Roots, Stones 3 2-1/2 2-1/2 3-1/2 {Cake, lbs. 1-1/2 1 1 1

At 12.30 a.m. {Roots, Stones 3 2-1/2 2-1/2 3-1/2 {Cake, lbs. 1-1/2 1 1 1

At 6.30 p.m. {Roots, Stones 3 2-1/2 2-1/2 3-1/2 {Cake, lbs. 1-1/2 1 1 1

At 9.30 p.m. Hay, lbs. 7 7 7 7

On the 11th February the cattle were again weighed, when their increase was found to be as follows:--

Weight on Weight on Increase in Jan. 12. Feb. 11. 30 days.

cwt. st. cwt. st. st.

1} Lot 1, fed on Kohl-rabi,} 10 1 10 4 3 2} &c. } 7 4 7 6 2 --- Total 5

3} Lot 2, fed on Swedes, } 7 5 8 3 6 4} &c. } 10 2 10 7-1/4 5-1/2 ------ Total 11-1/2

The results of this experiment show that the animals fed upon Swedish turnips, hay, and oil-cake, increased in weight at a rate more than 100 per cent. greater than the lot supplied with equal quant.i.ties of Kohl-rabi, hay, and oil-cake. The superiority of the Swedish turnips was rendered more evident by the results of subsequent experiments. Nos. 1 and 4 were not tried after the 11th February; but Nos. 2 and 3 were kept under experiment. No. 2 was put on Swedes, and No. 3 on mangel-wurtzel, and after an interval of a fortnight No. 2 had increased much more than they had done on Kohl-rabi.

Specimens of the Kohl-rabi and Swedish turnips employed in this experiment were submitted to me for a.n.a.lysis by Mr. Baldwin, and yielded the following results:--

Swedish Kohl-rabi. Turnip.

Water 8762 8884 Nitrogenous, or flesh-forming principles 224 166 Non-nitrogenous, or fat-forming principles 778 607 Woody fibre 134 273 Mineral matter (ash) 122 070 ------ ------ 10000 10000

These results show a slight superiority of the Kohl-rabi over the Swedish turnip; the great difference in their nutritive power, as shown by Mr.

Baldwin's experimental results, must therefore be due to the superior flavor and digestibility of the turnip.

Dr. Anderson's a.n.a.lysis of Kohl-rabi afforded results more favorable to the highly nutritive character a.s.signed by some feeders to that bulb than those arrived at by me. The bulbs, it should however be remarked, were grown, no doubt with great care, by Messrs. Lawson and Son, the well-known seedsmen:--

a.n.a.lYSIS OF KOHL-RABI, BY DR. ANDERSON.

Bulbs. Tops.

Water 8674 8668 Flesh-forming principles 275 237 Fat-forming principles 862 829 Woody fibre 077 121 Mineral matter 112 145 ------ ------ 10000 10000

The _Radish_ is a plant which deserves a place amongst our field crops, though hitherto its cultivation has been restricted to the garden. At one time its leaves were boiled and eaten, but in these latter days they are subjected to neither of these processes. The root, however, in its raw state, is, as every one is aware, considered one of the dainties of the table.

Many of those who devote themselves to the important study of dietetics, consider the use of raw vegetables to be objectionable; but be their objections groundless, or the reverse, it is certain that a vegetable which, like the radish, may be eaten raw with apparently good results, cannot be otherwise than a good article of food when cooked. I once tried the experiment of eating matured radishes, not as a salad, but cooked like any other boiled vegetable, and I must say that I found their flavor rather agreeable than otherwise. Boiled radishes--roots and tops--form excellent feeding for pigs. How could it be otherwise? for what is good for the family of man must surely be a luxury to the swine tribe. I have known horses to eat radishes greedily, and I am certain that they would prove acceptable to all the animals of the farm. But it may be asked, why it is that I recommend the use of radishes as food for stock, when there are already so many more nutritious roots at our disposal--turnips, mangels, and potatoes. Simply for this reason:--Between the departure of the roots and the advent of the gra.s.ses, there is a kind of interregnum.[33] Now we want a good tuberous, bulbous, or tap-rooted plant to fill up this interregnum. Such a plant we have in the radish. The root is certainly a small one, but then it grows so rapidly that a good supply can be had within thirty days from the sowing of the seed, and a crop can be matured before the time for sowing turnips. Two crops may be easily obtained from land under potatoes--one before the tops cover the ground, the other after the tubers have been dug out. The yield of radishes, judging from the produce in the garden, would be at least six tons of roots and three tons of tops. I would suggest, then, that the radish should at once get a fair chance as a stolen crop. If it succeed as such, it will not be the first gift of the gardener to the husbandman. Was not the mangel-wurtzel once known only as the produce of the garden?

The composition of the radish indicates a nutritive value less than that of the white turnip. I have a.n.a.lysed both the root and the tops, and obtained the following results:--

a.n.a.lYSIS OF THE RADISH.