198 



Cultivation of the Sugar Beet. 



Vol. IV. 



brown. The influence of drought may bring 

 on these appearances; the observing farmer 

 Will understand when this change is caused 

 by heat, oi* want of moisture, indeed he lias 

 to attend to the weather and the appearance 

 of the approach of winter that he may take 

 advantage of ali the growing season, and at 

 the same time not be too late in harvesting, 

 and thereby expose the crop to be injured by 

 frost. The roots should be pulled by hand or 

 assisted by the spade when necessary, and 

 the person that pulls them must shake the 

 earth off them, and be careful not to strike 

 one against another or in any way bruise 

 them ; bruising has the same effect on beets 

 that it has on apples, in both cases it disposes 

 them to rot. The person who pulls the beets 

 should cut off the tops with a knife, being 

 careful not to cut the beet. The leaves being 

 cut off lessens the disposition of the root to 

 vegetate, and it prepares them to be housed. 

 The beets should lay on the ground until 

 they are dry before they are housed. 



PRESERVATION. 



The roots must not be left long on the ground 

 exposed to air, heat and moisture ; much heat 

 or cold are both found detrimental, as a heat 

 of fifty-six or sixty degrees Fahrenheit in 

 damp weather, will produce a fermentation 

 sufficient to reduce the quantity of saccharine 

 matter, and on the other hand, beets freeze 

 very readily, so that only a few degrees be- 

 low thirty-two will dispose them to rot. 



The best aired cellar is not better for se- 

 curing the beet than a judiciously made pit, 

 wherein the beets are stored and covered 

 with the earth that was dug from the pit. 

 The dimension of pits may be varied to suit 

 circumstances. It is most prudent not to 

 make them large, because if from any cause 

 apart of the contents of a pit begins to spoil, 

 the disease is contagious and will spread 

 through the whole mass. They may be 

 made firom four to five feet wide and eight, 

 ten, or twelve long. One to two feet is deep 

 enough, this hole is to lie filled with beets, 

 and piled up until they form a ridge, and the 

 whole is to be covered with the earth dug 

 from the pit, a drain should be cut round the 

 heap, to carry ofl^ all water, it being of im- 

 portance, that the beet be kept dry, and fJir 

 this reason, ground naturally dry should be 

 selected for the pits — perhaps in our severe 

 climate it may be necessary to spread a little 

 straw or corn stalks on the outside of the 

 heaps, to keep out frost ; if put inside it might 

 rot and sjrail the beets, and it may be useful 

 to open the pits from tinie to time to air and 

 keep them fresh, and if any are observed to 

 spoil, they should be carefully tak^n out. 

 The preserving of beets is the most difficult 

 of all the branches connected witli them. 



GROWING OF THE SEED. 



As the beet is a biennial plant it is only in 

 the second year that it produces seed. The 

 proper time for choosing the roots from which 

 the seed is to be produced next year is, M'hen 

 taking up the crop ; these should be healthy, 

 somewhat above the medium size in length 

 and thickness ; well formed and no M'ays 

 forked, and of a fine light colour; (if for sugar 

 perfectly white,) they should be kept through 

 the winter in sand or dry earth, and placed in 

 a temperate barn or cellar equally guarded 

 from the influence of heat and cold. In the 

 neighbourhood of Philadelphia, they should 

 be planted out in March, or so soon as the 

 land is in good order, and at the distance of 

 two or three feet apart, this will be sufiicient 

 space for yielding the roots and leaves the 

 requisite nourishment ; the stalks will rise 

 from three to five feet, and the branches 

 being liable to split ofijand break down, have 

 to be supported by sticks or frames. When 

 the seed is ripe, which will generally be in 

 September, the stalks are cut off, tied into 

 bundles, and hung up, or laid over fences 

 to dry — and then the seed is beaten off by 

 switching the sheaves over a board set on its 

 edge, or it may be threshed. In France the 

 seed is removed from the stems by hand, 

 taking care to leave the small seeds that 

 grow towards the outer end of the branches, 

 as these seeds do not ripen well in that cli- 

 mate, which is moister than that of the Uni- 

 ted States. The next process is to expose the 

 seed to the sun, and then it is put into sacks 

 and kept in a dry place, where mice or ver- 

 min sliall not have access to it. The aver- 

 age yield of plants in France is from four to 

 six ounces of good seed. The beet in this 

 country has been found to produce very good 

 seed — it will therefore be prudent and a sav- 

 ing for farmers to raise enough for their own 

 wants. And for some time, in all probability, 

 it will be a profitable branch of business to 

 raise some for sale. 



[We shall give the concluding remarks in ourncxi 

 number.] 



Cheap efficacious Manure. — Raise a M^ 

 form of earth on the headland of a field, eif^t 

 feet wide, one foot high, and of any length ac- 

 cording to the quantity wanted. On the firtt 

 stratum of earth, lay a thin stratum of line 

 fresh from the kiln ; dissolve or slake this with 

 salt brine from the rose of a watering pot; rfd 

 immediately another layer of earth, then lilW 

 and brine as before ; carrying it to any conve- 

 nient height. In a week it should be tuiW 

 over, carefiilly broken, and mixed, so that the 

 ma.ss may be thoroughly incorporated. Th* 

 compost has been used in Ireland ; has fflW*' 

 led the crops of potatoes and cabbages, aW 

 is said to be far superior to stable dung. 



