282 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



It should be remembered that this is not a mere 

 waste of water, but of all those constituents 

 which are elaborated by chemical changes going 

 on in the soil during the winter, and placed it. 

 proximate conditions for wood and fruit-making 

 by the vital action of the roots in spring. With 

 fall trimming the stand of the vine remains in 

 degree more moist than the lower portions of an 

 untrimmed vine. They are not called on to yield 

 up their aqueous contents, and their capillary 

 tubes are kept pliant and ready for early spring 

 action. We do not approve of spring trimming 

 of grape vines. — Working Farmer. 



For the New En;ila7>d Farmer. 



ON" THE CULTIVATION AND USE OF 

 BEETS. 



Mk. Editor : — It may not be generally known 

 to the cultivators of the soil, in this part of the 

 country, the various uses to which this root can 

 be applied. With regard to its nutritious quali- 

 ties, as food for cattle and swine, il^'c., all are pret- 

 ty much agreed ; and even in its superlative ex- 

 cellence as a milk and butter producing vege- 

 table. But comparatively few may be aware of its 

 intrinsic importance, in the manufaccure of su- 

 gar, brandy, vinegar, &c., &c., and last hut not 

 least, that of paper. In a British journal, I read 

 lately that for the last mentioned purpose, it is 

 now extensively cultivated, both in France and 

 England, as a Held crop, for its paper-producing 

 properties, &c., &c., and consequently, its pro- 

 duction in these countries, and other parts of 

 Europe, has become of no small nati nal impor- 

 tance. The London Times newspaper is now 

 printed exclusively on paper made from beets; 

 and as it requires seven tons daily for that gi- 

 gantic journal, the saving in that material, when 

 compared with paper made in the usual way, is 

 said to be nearly $200,000 per annum, to the 

 stockholders ; and the quality is much superior 

 to paper made from any other known substance ; 

 being more tough and elastic, resembling vellum, 

 or parchment, and consequently more durable, 

 and impervious to damp, &c., &c. In France 

 and England, where beet sugar and brandy are 

 extensively made, the pulp, or fibre is extracted 

 from the syrup by means of a peculiar kind of 

 "^ieve and press, made on purpose, and is gener- 

 ally sold to paper-makers, after undergoing a 

 process of washing and drying, to prepare it for 

 transportation, and is represented by recent trav- 

 ellers in these countries to be a lucrative and 

 money-making business, to those engaged in it. 



Now, as many sections of New England pre- 

 sent better facilities for producing the ditt'erent 

 varieties of beets, than most parts of P'rance, and 

 decidedly superior to any part of Britain, both as 

 regards soil, and climate, I am surprised that 

 Yankee enterprise has been so long asleep, on 

 such an interesting subject as the cultivation and 

 manufacture of beets. 



It is a well-established and incontrovertible 

 fact, that large sums of money are paid yearly by 

 this country to France for brandy ; and that at 

 least four-fifths, of that impor ed, by our most 

 respectable wholesale liquor dealers, is distilled 

 from the beet, instead of the grape, as by them 

 represented; and some of our most distinguished 



connoisseurs, in s\ich articles, have often been 

 baffled, to detect the difference of the one from 

 the other. That they are about alike for pro- 

 ducing intoxication and stupefaction of the brain, 

 is pretty much all the use of either of them ; but 

 if people will have such stuff, it may be as well 

 to provide it for them at home, as to trouble them 

 with sending their money to fore'gn countries 

 after it; especially when such cuuulries take 

 little or none of our produce in return ; but only 

 V ur own hard specie. 



A superior article of brandy, to that to be 

 found in our first-class hotels and drinking sa- 

 loons, under the name, I think, of Cognac, could 

 be made in this country at from one to two dol- 

 lars ])er gallon, and be a very profitable business 

 to the distiller ; as beets raised in these northern 

 States produce a third more juice in proportion 

 to bulk, than that raised in any part of Britain 

 or France. And with a proper machine for 

 planting the seed, at regular distances, in the 

 lovv, so as to obviate the present slow, and ex- 

 pensive process of dropping it by hand, far- 

 mers and gardeners would find it a remunerat- 

 ing crop at 2<j cents per bushel ; provided they 

 could alwa}s find a ready market for it; which 

 is cheaper by nearly one-third than what the 

 French and British manufacturers generally have 

 to pay for it. And taking into account that 

 eight bushels of good beets generally produce one 

 hundred-weight of sugar; and that the pulp, or 

 residue for the making of paper will almost cover 

 the cost of the raw material, I do not see any 

 very formidalile obstacle in the way of making 

 the manufacture of beets into these articles, in 

 this country, a very profitable investment for 

 capital, provided any enterprising individual of 

 adequate means, or joint stock company, would 

 take hold of it in real earnest. 



Should the editor of the Farmer consider this 

 subject, worthy of a corner in the columns of 

 that interesting journal, the writer will be willing, 

 at any time, to communicate what additional in- 

 formation he can, and answer any questions 

 through the same medium, or otherwise, regard- 

 ing this interesting new branch of industry, that 

 he, the editor, or any of his numerous contribu- 

 tors, may think proper to ask ; as the writer has 

 had considerable experience in the cultivation of 

 beets, and is cognizant, in some degree, with the 

 process of transforming it into the different ar- 

 ticles above stated ; having witnessed the several 

 operations on a large scale, in various parts of 

 Europe. Thomas Cruickshank. 



Beverly Farms, March 21, 1859. 



Death of Mr. Henry Partridge. — The in- 

 telligence of the sudden death of this gentleman 

 came to us with a startling reality. It occurred 

 on the 19th inst., in the 68th year of his age, 

 while he stood at the post of duty, engaged in 

 his usual avocations. Mr. P. had a wide spread 

 reputation as the manufacture of the unequalled 

 manure forks, now in general use all over New 

 England ; the excellence of his work fitting well 

 his excellence of character. He was an upright, 

 worthy man — a man whose usefulness to the 

 world will not cease with his departure ; his 



