12 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



BEET SUGAR. 

 It may be witliin the recollection of some of our 

 readers, that when attempts were first made to 

 extract sugar from the beet, the project was treat- 

 ed with great ridicule. The first experiments on a 

 large scale were made under the patronage of Na- 

 poleon, wlien at the heiglit of his power he at- 

 tempted to enforce his famous continental system, 

 against England, and she, in return, seized upon 

 the colonies, and destroyed the commerce of 

 France. The English, of course, amused them- 

 selves very much at the Emperor's expense, and 

 we recollect a caricature tliat bad a great run at 

 the time representing the imperial family employed 

 in making this sugar ; Napoleon himself standing 

 at a tub, with his arms dyed to the elbows in a 

 liquid whose crimson color might have a double 

 meaning, and the little king of Rome sitting on 



the floor, and sucking a beet root for liis supper. 



But in spite of snniggling and ridicule, and, worst 

 of all, of (leace, which brought back the West In- 

 dia article, the manufacture of beet-sugar contin- 

 ued to flourish, and seems to have thriven all the 

 better for being deprived of imperial patronage. — 

 In fact, it has gradually extended itself until, at 

 the present time, it seems tliere are more than 

 sixty manufactories of this article in the various 

 parts of France. On ; of our latest Havre papers 

 we see mentions that two new establishments for 

 maliing tliis sugar were about to be set on foot 

 near V^alenciennes, and another on a large scale 

 near Paris. And in proportion as the manufiic- 

 lure has increased, it has been unproved by the 

 .science and art of the practical chymist, particu- 

 larly in the boiling and chrystallizaUon, till it is 

 thought that the manufacturers will soon be able 

 to afford their sugar made in this way, as clieap 

 as that whicii is imported from the East or West 

 Indies — jV. Y. Jour-, of Commerce. 



hemp which has prevented its use ; but this pre 

 judice arose fiom the improper manner of prepar- 

 ing it. It has been found tliat the fibre of Amer- 

 ican hemp is better and stronger than the Rus,- 

 sian, when prepared like it. This has been prov- 

 ed by the experiments of the navy commissioners, 

 who were directed by Congress to institute a 

 course of experiments on the subject.— Farmers' 

 Journal. 



August 1, 1828. 



HEMP. 



Tlie high duty on hemp, canvass and duck, will, 



for a time, be a matter of some inconvenience 



and the only way to obviate it, is to set about the 

 business of cultivating hemp, and manufacturing 

 the articles from it that are needed. This may 

 i)e made a ]irofitable business. We are not aware 

 that any considerable quantity- was c\er raised in 

 this State ; but there could not be a better region 

 for it. It is a hardy plant, and will grow in al- 

 most all climates. It is grov/n in India, in Italv, 

 and Russia. It may be cultivated throughout tlie 

 whole extent of the Utlfind States. Our thrifty 

 housewives will tell you, that it will flourish luxu- 

 riant here, for it is their custom to scatter a hand- 

 ful of seeds by the side of their bee-house, where 

 it springs up and grows without care or attention, 

 and continues to blossom and yield food for boes 

 until they retire into winter quarters. One sow- 

 ing, for this fiurpose, is suflicient. It will spring 

 up year after year like the common weeds, from 

 the seed which sows itself. There couid not be 

 n ^ptter or more suitable and profitable crop for 

 - V,- lands. It yields from six hundred to a Ihou- 

 .<nd pounds of clear hemp per acre, and when 

 properly prepared, brings, in the market, if of mid- 

 dling qualify, two hundred dollars per ton. The 

 principal labor is in the dressing and preparing. 

 It should be water-rotted. Every town famishes 

 conveniences for doing this, and a'little experience 

 will soon enable one to regulate tins part of the 

 business understandingly. 



There has been a prejudice against iViiierican 



PREMIUM ON MULBERRY TREES. 



These trees grow readily in om- soil, and re- 

 quii-e scarcely more attention than is given to the 

 c«(rnmon forest tree. But gardeners and agricul- 

 turists have not yet taken the precaution to pre- 



I pare nurseries of tl.em lor an extensive supply 



' If our enterprising husbandmen therefore wish to 

 set these tiees out in great numbers, we fear they 

 must go beyond the confines of t;i;,s State to obtain 

 the best liinds and in suflicient abundance. Un- 

 der tjiese circumstances we respectfully suggest to 

 the Middlesex Society of Husbandmen and Manufac- 

 turers, the propriety of oftering a premium for the 

 best mulberry orchard, to contain not less than 

 .fifty trees, wiiich are not less than three years old. 

 A premium of ten or twenty dollars would turn 

 the thouglits of farmers to the subject, and, in a 

 few years, they would have as many midbenj 

 trees in progress as would be wanted for the culti- 

 vation of silk. A premiii:ri might also be propos- 

 ed for the best mulberry .nursery, which should 

 contain not less than five hundred or even a thous- 

 and trees, not less than one vear old. When the 

 directors of the .Middlesex Society of Husbandmen 

 meet to propose premiums, we trust this subject 



Will not be overlooked or forgotten Concord .Ms 



Gazette. ' " 



and apricot, peach, and nndberry scions in phnn 

 tree stocks. The pear often does wel! in apple 

 stocks, and generally does so in the quince and 

 wild phun or shad bush. 



But we would direct the attciuiou of our farm- 

 ers particularly to the cultivation of the grape 



The wild grape vine grows .spontaneously almost 

 every where. Many of the vines are barren, and 

 a considerable portion of those that are not, yield 

 fruit of but little value. These might be inocu- 

 lated with kinds that are valuable, and thus ren- 

 ;dered productive and profitable. The Isabella 

 I grape, a species recently introduced into New Eng- 

 land from North Carolina, is found to combine hi 

 a remarkable degree, the excellence of the import- 

 ed varieties with the hardihood of our native 

 grape, and is altogether superior to the best of the 

 latter kind. Those who cannot procure buds of 

 the Isabella, may still make their l)arren vines 

 productive, and improve those whicli bear the sour 

 and inferior kinds of the common wild grape, by 

 budding them with the while and pale red varie- 

 ties, which may be procured in almost every town. 

 Worcester Spy. 



From the Worcester JE9;\s. 



INOCULATION. 



The time for budding fruit trees has arrived, 

 and we hope that it may be more generally im- 

 proved than it has been heretofore. The princi- 

 pal reason why more good friut is not cultivated, 

 is that it takes so long to get the trees in a bear- 

 ing state. Tliere are few farmers, liowever, who 

 have not good apple stocks for inoculation, the 

 fruit of which now is of little worth. If these 

 were budded the present sca.son, in tliree or four 

 years they would begin to yield fruit. The diflxjr- 

 ence between indifterent fj-uit and that of the best 

 kiu<l is so great, that {cw wc should hope would 

 forego a hi.\ury so cheaply to be obtained. 



In the Spy of the 2d instant we made some re- 

 marks on the practicability of a more extended ap- 

 plication of grafting and inoculation, and alluded 

 more particularly to the inserting of the Madeira 

 nut, or Ejiglish walnut, on the butter-nut stock. A 

 fnend of oui-s wlio has cultivated that nut, anrl 

 who has inoculated almcst aU kinds of frees, says 

 that t!ie Madeira nut tree so nearly resembles the 

 butter-nut and black walnut, that he has no doubt 

 of its grcwing well in eith. r of them. Wc hope 

 aie e.\periment maj' be made, particularly in those 

 parts of New England, where the >vinters are 

 ii.ost mild, and best adapted to the rearing of this 

 nut. We hope, also, that some of our neighbors 

 mav try the experiment of budding the improved 

 varieties of the shagbark walnut, ujion tlwse of a 

 poorer quality, and also upon tlie pignut tree. 



In confirmation of our former remarks, we find 

 in the New England Farmer, a letter from a cor- 

 respondent, who says he has four thousand scions 

 growing, which were set this spring ; among 

 , which are pears in locust and forest hazel stocks, 



CULTIVATION OF THE GRAPE. 



The cultivation of the Grape has become an in- 

 teresting object of attention. The experiments 

 which have been made, go far to show that the 

 varieties suited to our climate may be made to 

 flourish and be iMoductive of delicious fruits for 

 the table, uniting the luscious coolness of the mel- 

 on with the rich flavor of the peach and ])ear, at 

 an expense not exceeding that of rearing the In- 

 dian corn. On a small scale, the vine may be 

 trained over fences or buildings, to cover their 

 sides whh the deep verdure of its leaves, and 

 wreath tlietr summits with its gracefiU festoon.s. 



Judging from personal knowledge and the state- 

 inent of writers of approved judgement, we are in- 

 duced to believe that inoculating grape vines is 

 liable to some objections : among others to the 

 following. 



1. The operation would be diflicidt for those 

 not very skillful in the use of the budding Icnife. 



2. The vine from which the bud was cut would 

 be destroyed by bleeding. 



3. The stock into which the bud was inserted 

 would be killed from a similar cause. ' 



4. The operation, if practicable witli safety 

 would be comparatively useless : for the shoot 

 sent out from the bud, if it should live, could not 

 ripen so far as to bear the frost when the vine 

 was left uncovered, or to resist decay, if sheltered 

 during the winter. 



I 5. It is decidedly the most difficult, dangerous 

 I and ineffectual method ef all devised for the pro- 

 i pagation of the vine. 



The vine is commonly propagated from seeds 

 layers, cuttings, or grafts ; by seeds for the pur-' 

 pose of obtaining new varieties of delicious fruit : 

 by layers to fiirnish strong and large plants the' 

 fir-t yeai- ; by cuttings for vigorous and healthy 

 vii'cs and for the facility of the operation ; and by 

 grafting, in the early spring, into the root, below 

 the urfacc, for the purpose of changing the char- 

 acter of the fruit. 



The danger of making incisions in the vine at 

 any other jieriod, than when the frost has clieck- 

 ed the circulation, is familiarly known to those 

 who have had occasion to practise the mystery of 

 pruning. The horizontal branches may be re- 



