9O BEET-ROOT SUGAR AND 



land broken up in the fall, and planted with beets 

 six months later ; but lands in English grass, which 

 were ploughed, and planted with beets, never produced 

 a good crop the first year. It was always better the 

 second year. 



By intelligent, scientific, and well-directed labor 

 almost any soil can be made suitable for the beet ; but 

 it is to be considered whether, in an economical point 

 of view, it is judicious to force the culture of a plant 

 upon a soil naturally unsuited to it. Heavy expenses 

 will diminish if they do not entirely absorb the prof- 

 its, even on large crops. This consideration is espe- 

 cially entitled to weight in the cultivation of sugar 

 beets, for which it is best to select what is called in 

 Europe a " natural beet ground." 



A clayey, sandy subsoil, which retains moisture and 

 the liquid manures, or a subsoil of marl, is favorable. 

 On the other hand, a subsoil of gravel is unfavorable ; 

 so also is a subsoil of sand, unless the deposit of loam 

 above it is at least two feet deep. 



Drought in the season of early vegetation is perni- 

 cious, but after the plant gets well established it will 

 bear extended dry weather. Too much rain, later in 

 the season, increases the weight of the crop at the 

 expense of sugar ; or rather it diminishes the percent- 

 age of saccharine matter, the same amount existing, 

 but in a less concentrated form. The beets are more 

 watery, and consequently of less value for making 

 sugar. Too much rain early in the season, when 

 the plant needs warmth, is disadvantageous, and re- 

 tards its growth. 



M. Michael, in the "Journal de Chimie pratique," 

 says, 



