178 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



"The plat of land on which the sugar beets were grown was 

 broken from grass and planted to potatoes in the spring of 18V2. 

 The three succeeding years it was sown to onions. To enrich the 

 land for each onion crop, a heavy dressing of manure from the 

 cow stable was plowed under in the fall, and the following spring 

 nitrogenous fertilizers, such as poudrette, hen and sheep manure, 

 were spread in liberal quantities and worked into the surface soil. 

 Ashes and superphosphates were also used in small quantity. 

 The crops raised were not sufficiently abundant to exhaust the 

 land, it rather increased in fertility. 



In the autumn of 1815 manure from the cow stable was again 

 plowed under. In the spring of 1876 a good dressing of like 

 manure was spread and harrowed in. No other fertilizer was ap- 

 plied to the beets. The ground was sufficiently worked with 

 cultivator and hoe to keep it in good tilth and free from weeds." 



Tiie beets were pulled up about the second week in October. 

 Three or four light frosts had occurred previous to their harvest- 

 ing, but had not been deep enough to affect the beets. The beets 

 were of good shape and size, being generally clean and free from 

 roughness. Most of them grew well under ground, the Vilmorin 

 being especially well covered. It seems probable that richer beets 

 might have been produced had the land been less charged with 

 nitrogenous substances. The leaves of the beets were rather 

 more luxuriant than is common in good sugar beets. 



Analysis of Sugar Beets grown on the College Farm. 



Name of Variety. 



Improved French white sugar beet . 

 Improved Viltuoria do. 



Carter's improved nursery do. 



Silesian sugar beet 



Imperial do 



Silesian do 



FouDER Beet. 

 Lane's improved sugar beet 



Seed obtained from, 



J. J. H Grefjory 



Dept. of Agriculture . . 



do. do. 

 Illinois 



Dept. of Agriculture . . 

 do. do. 



Kendall & Whitney. . 



ID O « w 



< s 2 5 



585 grammes 

 45() do. 



589 

 519 

 CIS 

 575 



do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 



The determinations of sugar percentages were made by mj'self 

 with Fehling's solution. It is but just to add, that I owe many 

 thanks to Mr. A. M. Farrington, a graduate of the course of agri- 

 culture of this college, for his kindness in preparing the juice of 

 the beets for analysis. Had it not been for his valuable aid, I 

 doubt whether I could have found time to do all the work. 



