Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 November 1894 — FARMS AND FARMERS. [ARTICLE]

FARMS AND FARMERS.

Inter Ocean. . i , The drought of the past season suggests additions to our cropping system that will provide plenty of feed for all the animals on the farm at ill times, so that the yield of prodacts may not be interrupted and losses entailed. Blue grass and timjtby and corn and hay have had abundant trial and have been found wanting in some of the requirements >f a complete succulent and nutri;ious ration. The advocates of the silo maintain its contents is all that Jan be asked for in this regard: it is valuable, but it is only corn in anither form. The roots and the legumes present fields for investiga;ion that have not been explored jeyond the edges. The lowa station has been doing lomething in the line of summer foiling of dairy cows and something with winter dairy cows fed with roots under experimental conditions ;hat promises to be of interest. ‘Bulletin No. 25” tells of feeding iwenty cows on cabbage, turnips, nangels, corn fodder, and silage, vhere composite samples of milk were taken daily and tested during linety-seven days, and the performance of each cow as affected by the teveral rations during that time was loted. Ten of the cows were fresh ind ten were advanced in their periods of lactation.

During the whole time all the feed •ations of hay and grain were fed is nearly uniform as could be controlled. The bulletin gives the analysis of the cabbages, turnips, and nangels, the varying per cents, of ’at and amounts of milk from each 'ation, the scoring of the butters nade from each, and the cost per sound of butter from each article ,’ed. It cost 10.3 cents a; pound to nake butter from cabbage, 11 cents :rom mangels, 12 cents from turnips, 1.6 cents corn fodder, and 10.8 cents from silage- an average of 10.7 from ill. While eating cabbage the average of all the composite tests was 1.43 per cent, butter fat; while eatng mangels, 3.62: while eating turnips, 3.37; while eating corn fodder, LB7, and while eating silage, 3.50. The cabbage butter scored 38 on a basis of 45 for perfection, the mangel butter 43, the turnip butter 40, the corn fodder butter 43, and the lilage butter 40. All these butters sell in the highest class but that from the cabbage. Butter from the mangels is colored without artificial help, rhe turnip butter was pale in color, but not injured in flavor to prevent it from selling in the highest glass, although its flavor was not equal to nangel butter or corn fodder butter. The experiment gives strong indications that the mangel can be arofitably added to our system of farm crops, especially for milk makng.