SUGAR BEET FOR STOCK FEEDING. 265 



other, and cannot at the present time be raised at a profit; conse- 

 quently its culture has been abandoned in this vicinity, and the 

 sugar beet has taken its place in our farm economy. 



When Merino sheep were considered more valuable than they 

 are at present, sheep breeders in Addison county very generally 

 adopted the practice of having their lambs dropped in March, 

 thus requiring, besides hay for their ewes, extra feed for two 

 months before coming to grass. By actual experience we found 

 that no food would produce so great a flow of rich milk, or milk 

 that would grow a lamb so fast as the sugar beet. We first raised 

 the Silesian and the white French sugar beet. These varieties 

 grow almost entirely in the ground, and are of medium size. In 

 order to produce a good yield the drills and plants in the drill 

 must be at about the same distance, apai't, requiring nearly the 

 same labor in their culture as the carrot, and their weight and 

 food- product per acre was far below an ordinary crop of the variety 

 now raised. In 1858, 1 received from the A gricultural Department 

 at Washington seeds of three varieties of the sugar beet, and two 

 of mangolds. Those seeds I sowed separately, gave them good 

 culture, and watched their growth with much interest. At har- 

 vesting the crop, the variety sent to me with the name, " Imperial 

 Sugar Beet," best filled my idea of a good beet to raise for stock 

 feeding. The shape of the root, size, yield and quality, I thought 

 was nearly all that could be desired in this root. All that I raised 

 that season of this variety were saved for seed, and set out the 

 following spring. From these I selected for seed the six beets 

 which approached nearest to the particular type I wished to 

 obtain. From the beets grown from the seed of these I again 

 selected the best six for seed, and so on each year until the pres- 

 ent time. Three years ago seed was first distributed outside of 

 my own neighborhood, and to the beets thus obtained, by con- 

 tinued selection, I gave the name of The American Improved 

 Imperial Sugar Beet. But earlier than that I gave seed to my 

 neighbors, to sow side by side with the Silesian and white French 

 varieties. After various trials the old varieties were discarded, 

 and this has come into general cultivation. This is the only 

 variety now raised in Cornwall and vicinity. It is such a^lecided 

 favorite that I have often heard farmers say that they would 

 rather pay five dollars per pound for seed of this variety to sow, 

 than to raise the common varieties, even if the seed were given 

 them. The cheapness with which they can be raised, and the 



