1889] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



70 



Ihe branches will not form at all. The circutn- 

 siances which seem most favorable to the produc- 

 tion and perfection ol" the tuber, are, the exclusion 

 of hffht, a proper degree ol" moisture, and protec- 

 tion Irom the intense heat of tjie sun. The efiect 

 of light upon the tubers, is to render them oreen 

 and bitier, by converting their nutritious nTatter 

 into matter similar to that of which the leaves of 

 the plant are composed. The want of moisture 

 prevents the full developement of the tuber. The 

 cHect of the intense heat of Ihe sun is to harden 

 the tissues of the tuber, so as to unfit them for the 

 perfor.Tiance of their office. Besides this, it is im- 

 portant that tine soil, or whatever it may be in 

 which the tubes grow, should be so loose as not 

 to oppose any obstacle to their increase in size. It 

 should also be borne in mind, that the tubers derive 

 nourishment ii-om the soil, not immediately, but 

 through the true roots. 



With these remarks, I will venture to propose 

 what I should consider the best plan for cultivating 

 potatoes. Let the ground be prepared in the or- 

 dinary way; lay the potatoes in the bottom of the 

 lurrovv, and cover them to a depth of three or four 

 inches with coarse manure, or leaves, and then 

 with two or three inches of earth. After the 

 stalks are six or eight inches above the ground 

 cover ail except their ends under in the sanie man- 

 ner ; and perhaps, this process may be advan- 

 tageously repeated a third time ; after which thev 

 should be surtered to go to seed. The first cover- 

 ing should, unless the land be very rich, consist in 

 part of manure, in order to furnish nourishment 

 to the plant; the second and third, may consist of 

 straw or leaves, as the principal object is to keep 

 the earth loose, and to protect the tubers from the 

 action of the sun. It is not, perhaps, generally 

 known, that there is no more effectual protection 

 tor ground, against the intense heat of the sun 

 than a covering of dry leaves. Where they co- 

 ver the ground to the depth of three or tour inches 

 on removing (hem, even in the hottest weather 

 you will find the ground moist under them. Hence 

 It IS, that they assist a crop of potatoes, even 

 where they are not covered with earth, so as to 

 cause more tubers to form amongst them. I have 

 never known potatoes to be raised in just the 

 manner which I have proposed, but in rnany in- 

 stances, I have known them to be raised, in me- 

 thods somewhat similar ; and so far as my obser- 

 vation has extended, the nearer the method adopt- 

 ed has approached to the method which I have 

 proposed, the better the crop has been. I have 

 known an excellent crop of potatoes to be obtain- 

 ed by simply laying the seed-pototoes in a furrow, 

 and covering them to the depth of a foot or more 

 with dry leaves and straw. Many larmers are in 

 the habit of covering their potatoes with loose sod 

 instead of simple earth, always turning the trrass 

 side of the sod under, so as to prevent its sprout- 

 ing ; and very good crops are raised in this way. 

 But whatever plan we may adopt, a knowledc^e of 

 the nature of the tuber, and of the manner of its 

 growth, would suggest that it should be kept suf- 

 hciently moist, should be protected from the licrht 

 and intense heat of the sun, that the earth around 

 It should be kept loose ; that the lower part of the 

 etalk should be covered under after it has grown 

 to some considerable height; and that the manure 

 which is intended to assist the growth of the 

 plant, should be placed around the true roots, and 



not the tubers, as these last, like the other parts of 

 the plant, derive their nourishment through the 

 true roots. ° 



(To be continued.) 



MEMOIR TO CONGRESS ON THE BEET CUL- 

 TURE. 



To the honorable the Senate ai}d House of Repre- 

 sentatives of the United States of uimerica in 

 Congress assembled : 



The memorial of Charles Lewis Fi.eischmann, a natural- 

 ized citizen of tlie United States, 



Respectfully represents : 



The existence of crystallizable sugar in the 

 beet-root was discovered by the German chemist 

 Markgraf, m the year 1747. He communicated 

 the results ol his experiments to the Royal Aca- 

 demy of Sciences at Berlin; pointed out the im- 

 portance which his discovery would have on acr. 

 riculture and industry, and endeavored to bringit 

 into practice; but at that time, the price of su.rar 

 being moderate, chemistry not advanced to mwli- 

 fy the complicated operations, and the spirit of 

 enterprise not sufficiently awakened to make it an 

 object of speculation, the discovery remained 

 i^'^5°"!.^^'"g P"t '"to practical use until the year 

 1796, (forty-nine years afterwards,) when Achard, 

 another Prussian chemist, repealed the experi- 

 ments of Markgraf, modified them, and erected 

 the first manufactory at Kunnern, in Germany, 



The results of Achard's manipulation created 

 great sensation all over Europe, particularly in 

 t ranee, where the chemists re-examined the pro- 

 cess of Achard, simplified it, and made it more 

 practicable and profitable in its results. 



These simplified manipulations were adopted bv 

 enthusiastic speculators, full of sanguine expecta- 

 tions, peculiar to the French character; but the 

 results were not satisfactory, as the immensely 

 large and costly manufactories were partly esta- 

 blished in places where the soil was not sufficiently 

 productive, where fuel was scarce and hi^rh, the 

 market distant, and the operations directed by men 

 who had not the least idea of agriculture— a 

 science necessarily connected with the manufac- 

 ture of the beet-sugar— nor practical knowledge 

 ol an entirely new process, and a most imperfect 

 apparatus. The consequence of these obstacles 

 was a complete failure, which induced the opinion 

 over the whole world, that the extraction of sucrar 

 Irom the beet, though correct in theory, was fm- 

 practicahle on a large scale. 



This, however, was not the opinion of enhght- 

 ened men; they saw the causes of failure in tlieir 

 true light, and endeavored to overcome and to cor- 

 rect them. The political events of 1812 accele- 

 rated the developement of this new branch of in- 

 dustry; the French government, in want of a 

 substitute for the colonial sugar, encourat^ed the 

 manufacture of the beet-sugar, by establishing 

 tour large manufactories, and teaching the best 

 method of extraction. 



In 1814, these manufactories were in full opera- 

 tion and flourishing, when the peace of Europe 

 allowed the importation of the colonial sugar into 

 1 1 ranee, causing a destructive shock to the manu- 



