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.