STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 299 



movement of the soil is beneficial, and it is not unusual to see the 

 second year's crop much bettor than the first. The soil which has been 

 assiduously cultivated and exposed in hills for a year to atmospheric 

 influences is well adapted to the growth of a second crop. The cost of 

 cultivating- the beet in hills is no greater than in drills, all things being 

 considered; the plow takes the place of the hoe to a great extent, a 

 larger surface of ground is exposed to the influence of the air, and the 

 cultivation is deeper than that possible under any other system of cul- 

 tivation. 



PRESERVATION OP THE BEET. 



The proper conservation of the beet root plays an important part in 

 the manufacture of sugar or alcohol. Man}' manufacturers lose large 

 sums of money annually by the roots being attacked by the frost, which 

 renders them useless for manufacture, or by their becoming blighted, 

 which causes the root to sprout, and eventually deprives it of the best 

 part of the sugar and renders the extraction of what remains extremely 

 difficult. The beet should be so preserved as to be in exactly the same 

 condition when worked up as it was when taken from the ground. 



In France, and other countries, when the climate will permit, the 

 roots are usually stored in heaps in the field or open air, and are pro- 

 tected by a covering of straw and earth, provision at the same time 

 being made for drainage and ventilation. In making one of these 

 places, or root-houses (silos) for the storage of the beet, a trench ia 

 first cut in the ground, over which the beets are afterwards placed in 

 piles. The trench is made eighty centimetres wide and from sixty-five 

 to seventy centimetres deep. The length varies according to the quantity 

 of beets to be stored ; it must be, however, at each end about one metre 

 longer than the pile of beets. This trench is then covered with branches 

 of trees or shrubs sufficiently thick to prevent the beet from falling 

 through, but not too thick to prevent the air from freely circulating 

 upward through the roots. In the middle of the pit a triangular chim- 

 ney, made roughly of pine boards three centimetres thick, twenty 

 centimetres broad, and one and a half centimetre long, is set up. The 

 beets are then piled up over this trench so as to form heaps with 

 sloping sides about three metres wide at the base, and from twenty to 

 twent}'-five metres long, according to the length of the trench. No 

 special care need be taken to make the piles regular in appearance, the 

 beets roughly thrown together will naturally arrange themselves to the 

 required shape. The height of the pile is usually about one metre and 

 a half, corresponding to the height of the chimney. The upper part of 

 the pile should be regular, so that the roof with which it is covered may 

 fit evenly. The cover or roof is made of three pine boards so arranged 

 as to fit the top of the pile. The sides are braced together at certain 

 distances by grooved tie pieces, the groove of which is .08 centimetres 

 square. The width of the boards which form the gutter is from two 

 hundred and twenty to two hundred and fifty millimetres. The length 

 is of less importance, as the gutters or roofs can be placed one after the 

 other, according to the length of the pile. The most convenient length, 

 however, is from three to four metres, which enables them to be handled 

 with ease. At the end of the season they are stored away, and may be 

 used until entirely worn out. 



As soon as the pits are ready they must be covered with straw and a 

 layer of earth, from ten to twelve centimetres in depth. This may be 

 done on any day, not rainy, whether warm or cold. The straw spread 



