CULTIVATION OF THE BEET. 



As to the cost of producing these crops, the Messrs. 

 Fievet stated that the thorough cultivation of the 

 ground for beets reduced the cost of cultivating suc- 

 ceeding crops enormously.* 



Thus, after deducting the proceeds of the straw, 

 their oats cost them less than thirty cents, their wheat 

 less than sixty cents, and their rye less than thirty- 

 eight cents, per bushel. 



This they attribute to underdraining, to the use on the 

 beet crop of lime, either pure or the carbonate of lime 

 from the filter presses of the factory, to the liberal ap- 

 plication of other manures, to deep ploughing, thorough 

 weeding, and cultivation. The grain crops are not 

 manured, and the ground is so thoroughly prepared 



* The subjoined table shows approximately the average yield of 

 certain crops per acre in twenty- three of the United States, in the 

 year 1865, according to the Report of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture for January, 1866 : 



The productions of the farm at Masny vastly exceed those 

 of the States named. The explanation is to be found not in the 

 soil or the climate, but solely in the cultivation. 



