SUGAR BEET. 



SUGAR BEET. 



that afford starch, or substances that by chemi- 

 cal process can be converted into gum, as flax, 

 linen rags, &c.; still none have yet been found, 

 which can successfully enter into competition 

 with the cane. 



SUGAR BEET. The white beet already 

 jneritioned under the head BEKT. As it is not 

 probable that this root will soon be brought into 

 requisition for the production of sugar in the 

 United States.wheresomany other sources exist 

 from which this may be readily procured, we 

 shall confine our observations to it as an article 

 of food for farm-stock. 



The following information relative to the 

 beet culture, &c., is from Mr. Col man's Fourth 

 Rtport upon the Jlgricullure of Massachusetts: 



"Beets are often a very profitable crop. 

 They are raised in considerable quantities; are 

 packed in barrels and shipped to the south. 

 One dollar and a half is a common price for a 

 barrel containing 2 bushels. The farmer 

 giving this statement has often produced 600 

 bushels to the acre. They are planted on 

 ridges about 4 feet apart, in double rows ; and 

 the intermediate spaces are often sown with 

 turnips. The ridge planting is decidedly pre- 

 ferred here for all vegetables of this kind. In 

 my opinion, and so far as my own experience 

 goes, which has not been small, it would be 

 better to make the ridges about 27 inches apart, 

 plant the beets in single rows, and cultivate 

 them with a plough. A very useful machine 

 for planting beets is a wheel, set like that of a 

 wheel-barrow, with pins projecting from the 

 rim 2 inches, and placed 8 inches apart, which 

 is passed along on the top of the ridge, and the 

 seeds dropped by hand into the holes marked 

 by the pins. They may then be covered by 

 drawing a rake-head along the top of the ridge. 

 Too much care cannot be taken to perform all 

 operations in planting, where the vegetable is 

 afterwards to be cultivated, in straight lines. 

 The work is by this means greatly facilitated." 



A crop of sugar beets was raised at Nahant, 

 in 1840, by Mr. Frederick Tudor, of 42,284 Ibs. 

 on 93 rods, or at the rate of 36 tons 746 /y^ Ibs. 

 net weight per acre, being about 1300 bushels 

 per acre, allowing 56 Ibs. per bushel. One of 

 the roots cropped and cleaned, weighed 31 Ibs. 

 The ground was trenched to the depth of 20 

 inches, and well manured, the stones removed 

 being all laid at the bottom of the trenches. 

 Allowing the beets worth $5 a ton, this would 

 give $180 to an acre, leaving the land in high 

 tilth for further rich crops. The expenses of 

 cultivating an acre of sugar beets in the New 

 England States, have been thus stated by the 

 editor of the Yankee Farmer. 

 Use of an acre of land well prepared for beets, 



and manured, or managed in the previous 



crop ........ ^12 oo 



Ploughing 4 00 



Cultivator-tn^, horse, cultivator and hand, two 



hours ---__._. 50 



Twice more before sowing .... 1 00 

 Harrowing -----.. 50 



Seed $2 25, sowing with a machine 75 - . 3 00 



First hoeing - 400 



Second hoeing, thinning, and transplanting to 



supply deficiencies - - ... 4 00 

 Hotinst again, and loosening the ground with 



machines -----.. 200 

 Harvesting -----.. goo 



1020 



$4000 



I This we think a high estimate. Still, it must 



be admitted that the cost of cultivating an acre 



of sugar beets much exceeds that of an acre of 



( Indian corn. In some places the proportional 



I expense of a root over a corn crop is double, 



i in others treble. The following observation* 



I upon the mode of cultivating the beet crop, are 



also taken from the Yankee Farmer. 



Make the rows 2 feet 4 inches apart, and 

 then a cultivator can be used in hoeing. If 

 the beets stand one foot apart in the rows, and 

 weigh 2$ Ibs. each, the yield will be 20 tons. 

 In rich ground, at that distance a great number 

 will weigh 4 or 5 Ibs. each ; 20 tons is a good 

 crop, but not extremely large, for in some cases 

 25 or 30 tons to the acre have been raised in 

 this country. At the above expense of $40 to 

 the acre with a yield of 20 tons, the cost would 

 be $2 per ton. We make this estimate, to show 

 how cheap beets may be raised under favour- 

 able circumstances, such as good land at a fair 

 price, convenient machinery and implements, 

 and the most prudential jnanagement in the 

 culture, with labour at a moderate price, and 

 a favourable season. 



Supposing we reckon the produce only two- 

 thirds as much as above, say 13$ tons, and the 

 cost 32 per cent, more, which will be $53 33; 

 then the cost of the beets will be only $4 per 

 ton, one-fifth less than Mr. Bosson reckoned in. 

 his calculation on the cost of beet sugar. If 

 we reckon 50 Ibs. to the bushel, 13 tons per 

 acre would be only 533 bushels, which would 

 be no more than a middling crop ; not half as 

 much as has been raised in a number of cases 

 that have been named. 



In estimating the value of sugar beets for 

 feeding stock, &c., Mr. P. Diehl, of Pennsyl- 

 vania, says that in his neighbourhood, persons 

 feeding the beet to cows, readily procure 2 

 cents per Ib. more for their butter than their 

 neighbours who do not use the beet. His hogs 

 are wintered entirely on beets and kitchen slop, 

 and kept in fine condition. He states that he 

 has fattened solely on sugar beets, beeves, 

 which when sold, were pronounced by the 

 butchers the best they had killed for many 

 years before. In contrasting the probable 

 amount of profit to the farmer, per acre, of a 

 crop of corn and a crop of beets, he says : Al- 

 lowing for the average crop of beets 1000 bu- 

 shels per acre, which is moderate, this quantity 

 will fatten 11 head of steers in 90 days, at one 

 bushel per day for each steer. Allowing the 

 average corn crop to be 50 bushels pr acre, 

 which is very large, this product will fatten 

 only 1$ head, in the same time, feeding at the 

 usual rate of 1 pecks per day. This leaves 

 a balance in favour of beets, fractions aside, 

 of about 800 per cent. (See Cultivator, vol. viii. 

 p. 119.) There is perhaps no food which will 

 contribute in winter so much to increase the 

 quantity and quality of the dairy products as 

 the sugar beet But it should be used along 

 with good hay, fodder, and other dry pro- 

 vender. 



Under the head of MANGEL WURZKL, a tabular 

 view is given of the comparative nutritive ma- 

 terials in several of the roots most usually cul- 

 tivated for agricultural purposes. From this 

 it will be seen, that in saccharine matter as 



