1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



153 



sliodlil have more, tliaii they want, which is scarcely 

 possible, they will have siilHciciil demaiul ior the 

 surplus. The profils of the luaiuilacture ol' ani- 

 mal coal, thou!j;h constantly ileclareil to be little 

 or iiolhinir, are, nevertheless, careililly concealed. 

 B'ines are bought liere al from halt' to one cent 

 per pound. 



A great deal of lime is used in the operaiions 

 of the sugar manufactory, say from a peck to a 

 bushel jier day. It is well for manuficturers to 

 make their own. It must be ol finer (|ualhy than 

 that used in masonry. The linie maniili'ctured 

 from t!ie chips and waste pieces of marble is con- 

 sidered the purest of any made oh a large scale. 

 The convenience and economy of having your 

 work situated upon navigable water will not have 

 escaped the attention of yourself and associates. 

 An abundance of pure water is required by a beet 

 sugarv, (sucreric, the word commonly used by 

 t'lie Fretich.) This may be tak^n ti'om a river or 

 canal if it be clean. Here it is generally taken 

 from wells with forcing pumps worked by sieam. 

 Tlie reason is, that the vvaters of the rivers and 

 canals of this country are very dirty. In the 

 mannllictory where I have hitherto been, the quan- 

 tity used is about 15,000 gallons per day. 



Seasonable provision must be made of bricks 

 or wood Jbr a building 150 feet long, 50 wide, and 

 20 high. Besides this, there will be a low part 

 for a steam engine, for a fiimace to re-burn the 

 coal, and a kitchen where part of the utensils 

 must be washed every day. This will be of the 

 above length, and 15 feet in breadth. I am not 

 yet satisfied what is the best plan for a building. 

 £ give the above dimensions as embracing suffi- 

 cient materials for any form. I may Iiereafier 

 think that it would be better to increase the heitrht, 

 and diminish the length. The walls should be 

 thick and substantial, but clay mortar and second 

 quality of brick are used. 



The steam engine can be made as well in the 

 United States as any where. It will be sufficient 

 if the boiler be of 40-hoise power, and the ma- 

 chine 12. Perhaps in the course of three or four 

 years we should want greater powers; but, in that 

 case, an exchange or sale could be easily made, 

 and greater substituted, when operations are sus- 

 pendecl as they will be of course, during the 

 spring and summer. Such an engine would be 

 eufScient for working up 10,000,000 lbs. of beets 

 per annum, producing not less than 500,000 lbs. 

 of sugar. The engine ought to be delivered and 

 the buildings commenced by the first of next July, 

 if you intend to go on this year. I shall send 

 drawings of an enijine when I address you again. 

 Several months later than July would be better 

 than to let the year go by without beginning. If 

 working were commenced this year, although lit- 

 tle were done, every thing would be in readiness 

 to go at it better next year, and you would pro- 

 ceed with confidence and satisfaction to make a 

 large crop of beets. If no more were accom- 

 plished this year than merely to get together the 

 utensils, set up the machinery, and make a fair 

 trial of them for one week, it would be well worth 

 the interest of the capital for one year, in the in- 

 creased confidence, facility, and punctuality which 

 it would impart to all the operations of tlie ensu- 

 ing year. There are seven months from the last 

 days of August, (at which I should prefer to be- 

 gin.) in the very last week of which you might 



Vol. V-20 



make the experiment of which I speak, and ena- 

 ble yourself to detect any liiultsor delicieiicies, and 

 remedy them against the coming year. 



There are portions of the machinery which it 

 would perhaps be advisable, if not necessary, to 

 procure in this country, in order that they might 

 be good, and serve as models to mechanics who 

 have no experieni'e in the matter; thus American 

 mechanics would be able to execute additional 

 ones as they should be wanted. I will name the 

 principal articles wliich would be indispensable to 

 a beginning on the smallest scale, suppose you to 

 procure the steam enixine in the United States. 

 They are those which could not, I think, he well 

 made in the United States, nor made in any man- 

 ner ihere without great delay, troulile, and, in all 

 probability, greater cx[)ense than would he incur- 

 red in '(-ettinix them here: 1 rasp, ^200; 2 presses, 

 .^^1,200; 1 taiile, .^75; 1 desiccating keiile, #250; 

 1 evaporating trough, -S'^OO; 1 boiler, ^150; 1 cool- 

 er, 8100. Total, "S2,175. 



I would also suirgf^st to the company that I be 

 authorized to eiiijaire one or two good workmen. 

 They could be had for less than a common laborer 

 in the United States, and they are willing to make 

 considerable sacrifices for the sake of getting to 

 our country. 



And now, my dear friend, I believe I have said 

 as much as is needliil at this litne. I shall ad- 

 dress you aiiain at no distant day. I propose to 

 continue in this place about three months, and 

 return to the United Slates in all of JVlay and 

 June. It is my wish, not only to perft'ct myself in 

 all the operations of the beet sufjary, but also to 

 observe the several systems which exist, and com- 

 pare them with one another. I, shall return to the 

 United States by way of England, chiefly for the 

 purpose of conferring with an eminent chemist, 

 who has kindly proposed to instruct me in a new 

 method of refining, which he has discovered and 

 patented. 



I am atiisctionately, your friend, 



D. L. Child. 



Geo. Kimball, Esq. 



From tlic Genesee Fanner. 

 AMERICAN FLORA. 



It is a well known fact that America possesses 

 many of Flora's richest gems; and it is to be re- 

 gretted that while they are such universal favor- 

 ites in every other country, our own gardens pre- 

 sent such a barren exhibition of native plants, 

 while we find them frequenily compactly filled 

 with the productions of other climes, their inferi- 

 ors in every respect. 



To sliow the passion that exists Cor our splendid 

 native plants, we may here remark, that a lew days 

 ago we received a visit from IV] r. Alexander Gor- 

 don, formerly a contributor to I he pages of" this pa- 

 per, and who now dedicates his time solely to col- 

 lecting our indigenous plan's lor European eslab- 

 lishments, and has at this time orders for above 

 fifty thousand plants, from various nurserymen in 

 Britain, France, &c. 



Mr. G. informed us that every section of this 

 country abounds with a great variety of plants 

 which are in universal demand in Europe, in 

 every botanical establishment, and sought after 

 with avidity. He is now on a most extensive 

 lour, and purposes exploring the Atlantic states^ 



