196 



Cultivation of the Sugar Beef. 



Vol. IV. 



on this occasion they use the term " calccire- 

 ous ;" possibly it may be -by them applied to 

 chalk soil, a kind of land we have none of, 

 and not refer to the limestone land that 

 abounds here, and is justly held in high e.4i- 

 mation, as it answers well for all crops. The 

 farmers of America must not be deterred 

 from trying to cultivate beets on limestone 

 land, because it is said of other countries, cal- 

 careous soils are not suited for growing that 

 root ; in this, as in many other cases, we must 

 determine the fact by our own experience. 

 Here, on limestone land, the beet may suffer 

 from drought, but all crops grown upon it are 

 exposed to the same effects. In France, the 

 products of different soils vary very much, 

 and are greatly influenced by better or worse 

 management, the difference rating from fifty 

 to two hundred. 



cilitates the fixture hoeings and horse-hoe 

 weedings. 



OF SOWING. 



PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



This will vary according to the nature of 

 the soil, and here, as in all other departments 

 of the farming business, much of the success 

 depends on the skill and judgment of the 

 farmer. In many cases, three ploughings 

 will be necessary, and one of these plough- 

 ings should be before winter, that the turned 

 up soil may be mellowed by the frost, the 

 last ploughing has to be in the sprmg im- 

 mediately before planting the seed; two 

 ploughings in this country will be found 

 sufficient ; in all cases it should be well har- 

 rowed, and rolling will be an improvement 

 that amply repays the expense. Deep plough- 

 ing is generally useful, but the farmer has to 

 consider the nature of the substrata. It would 

 be improper to turn up much of the poor clay 

 or gravel bottom, and where the substrata is 

 an open sand, deep ploughing is not required. 

 Manure, in which the process of fermentation 

 has not advanced far, will answer best for 

 beets, nevertheless all kinds are useful; but 

 the half rotten best divides the soil and suffers 

 the roots freely to expand. In the state of 

 Delaware, marl has been found an excellent 

 manure for beets, and marl is found in many 

 places in the low light soils on the Atlantic 

 coast south of Sandy Hook. Some -irmers 

 in France allow the beet leaves that are cut 

 ofTat harvest-time to remain on the land, and 

 consider them a tolerably good manure, but 

 this practice is not so good as having them 

 carted into the barn-yard to be eaten and 

 trodden on by the cattle. It will be found 

 that straw of any kind when properly Liid 

 into the farrows and covered with the mould, 

 will give good crops ; and this open species 

 of manure is suited to clay soils and the beet 

 root. The roller is especially necessary on 

 clay soils ; by it clods are well broken, which 

 favours the coming up of the plants, and fa- 



There are four ways of sowing beets, first 

 in beds as in a nursery ; second, broad cast as 

 in sowing wheat; third, sowing or droppino- 

 by the hand in drills ; and fourth, drilling by 

 a machine. 



By the first of these methods the whole rf 

 the seed is sown on a small portion of land 

 compared with what it is mtended to occupy; 

 these plants will be fit to pull up and plant 

 out where they are finally to remain, in ii 

 month or six weeks from the time of sowing; 

 this planting is performed by means of a dib- 

 ble with which holes are made in the ground, 

 always a little deeper than the length of the 

 plant that is to be put into them, and with 

 this dibble the earth must be careflilly pressed 

 close to the root. This method is attended 

 with several inconveniences; it requires 

 much manual labour, the roots are exposed 

 to injury during the process of transplanting, 

 and if the root is bent in the plantmg the 

 beet will form badly, and in place of having 

 the shape of a cone will be deformed and un- 

 thrifty with numerous roots filled with earth, 

 which will be detrimental to the crop, whe- 

 ther used for feeding cattle or employed to 

 make sugar. This mode of sowing should be 

 thought of only where seed is scarce, the 

 quantity to be sown not great, and labour 

 easily procured. 



Broad cast. This manner is the simplest, 

 but requires a large quantity of seed, and will 

 be expensive where that is dear, and seed in 

 the European market, has on some occasions 

 been five times dearer than on others. In 

 this practice it will be found that six pounds 

 of seed will be required, were two and a half 

 or three would have been enough when 

 planted in drills by the hand. The whole of 

 the soil in the broad cast sowing is occupied, 

 but it is difficult and expensive to hoe the 

 crop, and keep it free of weeds, and the pro- 

 duce is never as great as by the followin 

 method. 



Rows or drills. The little furrows ini 

 which the seeds are to be dropped are m 

 by a harrow, having the teeth at the dislan 

 one from another that the rows of beets ai 

 intended to be from each other and the sei 

 is dropped two or three into the drills at 

 distance of twelve to eighteen inches api 

 from each other. This work can be pel 

 formed by young people ; in France it is m 

 fre([uently done by women, as more depei 

 ence can be placed in them than in bo; 

 After the planting is finished, the seeds ai 

 covered by jiaving a light harrow witli plei 

 of teeth in it drawn over the ground. In ti 

 way there is a great saving of seed and the 



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