Vo). VII.— No. 46. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



363 



of tlio rcsidiic of the beets, wliicli is considered the 

 best nourisliment that can be iiroduccd for the 

 fattening of cattle, and which will also serve in 

 the winter for sheep and horses ; and I think I 

 can assert, that in this respect, and in the making 

 of syrups, there is no doubt that the American 

 cultivators will find a great profit in growing the 

 beets at large ; atid that the numerous distilleries 

 will find in the syrups, an advantageous substitute 

 for the West India molasses. 



MAKING OF THE SYRUP. 



The beets are to be deprived of their tops, 

 necks, roots, and then washed ; they are after- 

 wards to be scraped. This is the only way of ob- 

 taining easily the juice. Bruising, beating, &c. 

 hiwe been tried, but without success. The pulp 

 of the beet is then placed in bags of strong cloth, 

 (but not too firm) and submitted to the action of 

 a strong pressing. The juice, thus obtained, 

 should, with the shortest delay possible, be pour- 

 ed into a kettle. It is to be most carefully ob- 

 served that the juice of the beet never come in 

 contact with wood ; and if it should happen so at 

 any time, the wood ought to be frequently wash- 

 ed with lime water. The juice placed in the ket- 

 tle, should be raised as quickly as possible to 210 

 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, and so kept 

 for 15 or 20 minutes. The froth should then be 

 removed ; and if none has been formed, there 

 should be added to the juice from 4 to 6 ounces 

 of Ume for every 1000 lbs. of juice, and the whole 

 should be well stirred and boiled. (The lime, 

 which is used, is obtained from lime-stone, by 

 soaking and dissolving it in hot water.) The 

 liquid .should be kept boiling, taking care to re- 

 move the froth, and after a half or three quarters 

 of an hour, it should be filtered through some 

 woollen stuff. The strained liquid is again pour- 

 ed, quite hot, in the same kettle, or even one not 

 quite so large, and it will evaporate in a very 

 short time, until it has acquired a specific weight 

 of 1,200 ; that is to say, until it weighs one-sisth 

 more than water. It is to be again filtered 

 through something woollen, and when it has cool- 

 ed to 150 or 160 degrees Fahrenheit's thermom- 

 eter, it is to be replaced in a kettle, and to it there 

 should be added from 4 to 5 lbs. of animal or veg- 

 etable carbon, reduced to a very fine powder ; the 

 whole is to be swiftly stirred; and then fur every 

 100 lbs. of syrup, there should be added 1-2 lb. of 

 blood, diluted with half its weight of water, the 

 whole behig well mixed together. After this llie 

 temperature of the liquid is to be gradually raised 

 to the boiling point, but it should not boil very 

 fust. The froth, which has formed on the surface, 

 is to be carefully removed. It is then to be again 

 filtered, and if the syrup alone is wanted, the 

 liquid is to be kept together until it gains a spe- 

 cific weight of 1,300. After being kept in a cool 

 place for a few days, it will be ready for use. 



FABRICATION OF SUGAR. 



Those who intend to extract from the syrup, 

 the sugar which is contained in it, should not be 

 discouraged, if they are unsuccessful the first 

 time. It is a nice operation, and requires experi- 

 ence, besides a knowledge of. numerous little de- 

 vices which although seeming to be of little im- 

 portance, make a great difierence, and the reason 

 for which can be readily assigned. The follow- 

 ing is the manner of proceeding and the particu- 

 lar case required : The kettle for boiUng the 

 syrup should be very thick at the bottom ; a small 



quantity of syrup, not exceeding 4 inches (pouccs) 

 is to be poured into it. A brisk fire is to be made, 

 that the syrup may quickly boil, the froth being 

 continually removed. If the liquid rises much in 

 the kettle a small quantity of butter is to be ad- 

 ded, and it will immediately sink. Some refiners 

 make use of a thermometer in the syrup, and when 

 it rises as far as 234 degrees Fahrenheit's ther- 

 mometer, they remove the fire, or cover it instan- 

 taneously, and taking out the syrup, put in anoth- 

 er quantity of it. That syrup which is poured 

 out, should be poured into a copper kettle, and 

 carefully covered. Three or four quantities are 

 to be atlded to it, one after another as they are 

 boiled, taking care to stir it each time, and to de 

 termine the ehrystalization of the syrup, a little 

 raw sugar is to be added. After the syrup has 

 become a little cool, it is to be poured into vessels 

 of a conic form, having a hole at the smaller end. 

 This hole is to be closed. Two or three days 

 after, when the sugar has well formed itself, the 

 hole is to be uncovered, so as to let the molasses 

 flow ofl^; while the sugar remains in the vessel — 

 In order to purify the sugar still more, that which 

 is in the cones is to be pressed, and afterwards 

 placed over soft clay worked up with water, 

 which, permitting a part of its water to escape, 

 finishes the washing of the chrystals of sugar. — 

 This is called bleaching (terrer.) Some persons 

 bleach the sugar several times. After these 

 bleachings, the sugar remains in the forms and the 

 molasses is found all together in the pots, which 

 are used to support the cones. 



It is evident that this manner of obtaining the 

 sugar from beets does not essentially differ from 

 the manner of obtaining it from the cane ; and it 

 is a fact worth observing, that since the discoveiy 

 of sugar in beets, many improvements have been 

 made in the method of procuring the sugar in the 

 colonies, and even the operations for refining the 

 sugar have been considerably improved. Making 

 sugar has now become an art, which before was 

 trusted to common laborers only. 



From the American Sentinel. 



POTATOES. 



A rich loamy soil is best for potatoes, but they 

 will grow on almost any land if it is manured, 

 unless it be very wet, yet very dry land will not 

 generally produce luxuriantly. 



The earth, should be well ploughed, and if it is 

 subject to grubs, it is well to plough it in autumn, 

 and the winter will destroy at least part of them. 



Potatoes should be planted about even with the 

 surface of the ground, (or a little below in dry 

 land ) and well covered when they are planted ; 

 but after the young potatoes have formed in the 

 hills (which will be before blossoming,) they ought 

 not to be hilled, for they being formed at a proper 

 distance from the surface, if more earth be added, 

 it will obstruct their growth, and others will form 

 nearer the surface and many more small ones be 

 produced, therefore it is best to give them their List 

 earthing, before the tops are large, and if weeds 

 appear, pull up those in the hills, and if necessary 

 scrape over the ground with a hoe between the 

 hills. Tiiey may be planted any time in the 

 months of April, May, or June, but I generally 

 plant them in the fore part of May, except a few 

 to dig early, which are commonly planted the fore 

 part of April. One question is, whether it is best 

 to cut the large ones. My own experience has 



satisfied me to the contrary. From my youth up, 

 I always practised planting the small ones whole 

 and cutting the large ones, until the year 1789, 

 when I planted one row of large ones whole, 

 with one potato in each hill, also one row of small 

 ones of equal measure, and one row of equal 

 measure cut in the usual manner :-^In autumn 

 they were dug and laid in separate heaps — the 

 large whole potatoes produced a little the most, 

 the small ones the next, and the cut ones the least 

 of all, yet the diflfereuce was not great. Since 

 which time I have never practised cutting pota- 

 toes to plant, unless to try whether they will do 

 better to lay the cut side uppermost, which I have 

 not fully ascertained, yet I believe if the largest 

 are planted it is well to cut them and lay the 

 chits downwards, for a large potato is more than 

 is needed for one hill. I do not generally plant 

 the largest, for small ones will produce more than 

 large ones which are cut. I have seen potatoes 

 produce well from the chits, which may be a good 

 method, especially this year, when they are so 

 scarce. If the land is not rich, I sometimes 

 spread manure over the ground, and then ridge it 

 by turning two furrows together which covers the 

 manure, in which case they may be planted in 

 continued rows, at one or two feet apart accord- 

 ing to the size of the potato, and ploughed but 

 one way, for if the ridges are crossed in plough- 

 ing, it uncovers part of the manure, yet I com- 

 monly plant across the ridges and plough both 

 ways, because it saves labor in hoeing. 



Plaster of Paris is of great use in the culture of 

 potatoes, and ought not to be neglected when it 

 can be easily obtained ; it ought to be put on to 

 the potatoes after they are dropped in the hills at 

 the rate of about one bushel per acre, or on the 

 tops after first hoeing, or both : but if any person 

 has doubt about it, let him try it partially first. 



I believe orange potatoes are the best kind, for 

 they are good to yield, and to eat ; but there is a 

 kind which are called Long Johns, that are said 

 to produce more luxuriantly, and equally good for 

 horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, &c. ; but I have tried 

 them but one year. 



Potatoes may be kept well until new ones are 

 large enough to dig, by drying them a few hours 

 in the sun, and rubbiug off the chits, and putting 

 them in a place, not very dry or very damp. The 

 digging them is in dry weather in autumn, when 

 the leaves and stalks begin to decay. If they are 

 planted in hills it is a good method to dig them 

 with a dung-fork with four or five tines, or with a 

 fork standing like a hoe, that they be not injured 

 by digging ; but if they are planted in continued 

 rows, they may be turned out of the ground with 

 a plough and finished with a hoe. 



A FARMER. 



Tin in Massachvsetts. — The last number of Sil- 

 limau's Journal of Arts and Sciences, contains a. 

 letter from Amherst, to the Editor, accompanied 

 with a specimen of genuine New England Tin. — 

 It is well characterized, and said to be the first 

 that has been discovered in the United States. — 

 It occurs in Goshen, Hampshire county, Mass. — 

 The writer of ihc letter gives the result of various 

 experiments to test hs qualities, and pronounces it 

 to be undoubtedly genuine tin. — Courier. 



The last Medical Intelligencer contains an ac- 

 count of two cases of cancer upon the tongue and 

 lips,' both produced by the use of tobacco. 



