CULTIVATION OF THE BEET. 127 



all those fertilizers which are rich in salts, that, when 

 freshly applied to a crop of beets, they cause the latter 

 to flourish vigorously and give large returns, but the 

 presence of salts is prejudicial to the economical ex- 

 traction of sugar, and the roots abound in saline ele- 

 ments that are absorbed from the manures. In Ger- 

 many, where beets are taxed, and quality is of more 

 importance than quantity, the beet is not sown on 

 freshly manured land, but on soil that has not been 

 enriched for one or two years. In France, on the 

 contrary, where the sugar is taxed, and the object of 

 the farmer is to get large crops, the beet is sown on 

 soil highly manured the preceding fall. The conse- 

 quences of these two systems are, that the crops in 

 France, although considerably heavier than those of 

 Germany, do not possess as rich saccharine properties. 

 The German beet is more than one per cent, richer 

 than the French, owing to the facts, that it is by nature 

 richer, that it grows in a colder climate, and, follow- 

 ing the law of latitudes, secretes more sugar, while, 

 at the same time, its growth not being so much stimu- 

 lated by manures, the same amount of sugar is diffused 

 through a smaller space. The average production of 

 sugar on an acre of land in the two countries is about 

 the same. 



The ordure of cattle produces cleaner, smoother, 

 and handsomer roots, containing fewer salts, than that 

 of men, horses, sheep, or swine. Indeed, there is 

 quite a general prejudice against the use of sheep and 

 hog manure on beets in Europe, whether well or ill 

 founded I am not able to say. Many farmers fatten 

 sheep on the pulp of beets, upon which they thrive 



