CULTIVATION OF THE BEET. 143 



tons of pulp, and the beets furnish 4,800 tons of 

 leaves an amount of fodder sufficient to feed nearly 

 2,000 oxen, or 2,500 cows, or 24,000 sheep for five 

 months. 



The following method is adopted for preserving 

 leaves of the sugar beet : 



Ditches are dug and walled with brick, backed with 

 clay, and laid in cement, so that the interior is nine 

 feet long, seven feet wide, five feet deep, and perfectly 

 impervious to water. A layer of leaves, three or four 

 inches thick, is spread on the bottom ; this is sprinkled 

 with coarse salt ; then a layer of chopped straw one 

 inch thick ; then another layer of leaves ; and so on, 

 until the reservoir is filled. These are all packed 

 down as solid as possible, and are then covered with 

 six or eight inches of long straw ; the whole is pro- 

 tected with earth, or, better still, with boards, held in 

 their places by stones. About 225 pounds of salt 

 are required for each pit. 



Advantages of JBeet Culture to Farmers. 



The introduction of beet sugar manufacture into the 

 United States would be of great benefit to farmers. It 

 would insure to them superior methods of agriculture, 

 increased crops, more remunerative prices, home mar- 

 kets, and enhanced value of farms. It would create 

 industry, and diversify labor, thereby increasing the 

 general prosperity, intelligence, and happiness of the 

 community. It would eventually reduce the prices of 

 sugar, of bread, and of meat, and render the United 

 States more independent of foreign countries. 



