30 



good soil renovater and is fully equal to the field pea in this 

 respect. Its slow growth at first, however, is rather dis- 

 couraging, and great care is required to prevent weeds from 

 choking the young plants, but proper attention the first year 

 will enable the roots to take good hold of the soil and there- 

 after it will far more than repay the farmer for all his pains- 

 taking. An excellent way to grow this plant is to sow the 

 seeds in a small bed in the garden, properly enriched with 

 phosphate fertilizer and calcareous matter, and then trans- 

 plant to the field in the same manner adopted for growing 

 potato slips. As soon as the weather becomes mild in early 

 spring the seeds may be sown. 



SuGAB Beets. 



Daiug the season of 1894 some experiments were made 

 on sugar beets to determine if the climate of Alabama would 

 permit the development of sugar in sufficient quantities to 

 Avarrant the culture of this plant in the State for the manu- 

 facture of sugar. 



Three varieties of seeds were planted viz: Wohawk, 

 Wanzleben and Vilmorin's Improved. The experiments, 

 however, were greatly damaged by the attacks of Nema- 

 todes causing a rapid decay early in the season. The re- 

 sults secured before this decay was too far advanced are of 

 such encouraging nature as to warrant the repeating of ex- 

 periments another year under more favorable circumstances. 

 The chemical analyses made under the direction of Prof. 

 Ross give the following results : 



Wohawk 8.5 per cent, of sugar. 



Wanzleben 11.4 " 



Vilmorin's Improved 10.4 " " " 



These results are much more encouraging than we would 

 be led to hope for judging from the reports sent out from 

 the Chemical Bureau of the United States Depatment of 

 Agriculture in which it is stated that beets will not mature 

 the standard per cent, of sugar when grown as far south as 



