Carrots, mangold wurtzels and sugar beets

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.