1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



267 



■work ; all we can do is to mention them so 

 that those interested may find them and exam- 

 ine and test for themselves. 



It will be noticed that the two great points 

 with the society were depth and fineness. In 

 a climate like ours, subject to such droughts 

 as have several times occurred within the last 

 ten years, the matter of deep ploughing be- 

 comes one c f great importance to the farmer. 

 It is well illustrated in some observations of 

 Mr. Dalton, of England. He proved that 



"A cubic foot of earth may contain peven inches 

 of water in deptli, and that it; miiy pavt witli one- 

 half of this water and not be too dry for support- 

 ing vegetation. He used a cylindrical vessel, 10 

 inches ii diameter, three feet deep, filled with 

 gravel, sand, and soil, having a discharge pipe at 

 the Ijottom, by which to measure the quantity of 

 water that ran off, and which gave perfect drainage, 

 — the top of the .soil being covered with grass, the 

 whole buried so that the top was even with the 

 ground, shows that earth that is moderately moist 

 will take up three inches of water without carrying 

 it beyond the point of saturation. This amount 

 had in the preceding dry month been taken up by 

 the plants and evaporated, and, without making 

 the soil too dry, had so diann upon it that it could 

 imbilie tlirce inches which fell in four days. Land 

 ploughed only 6 inches deep holds only 1^ inches 

 of water, sulject to the use of vegetati(jn, ituo ac- 

 count is made of v/ater rising up through the hard 

 earth beneath. Ten days of dry weather in June, 

 July or August, will tell injuriously on plants that 

 have only six inches of earth beneath them from 

 which they can draw moisture; but give plants 

 three feet (as in Mr. Dalton 's experiment) of mel- 

 low earih, and there would be 9 inches in depth 

 of water for the use of these plants — sufficient to 

 mature any crop our farmers raise, without one ad- 

 ditional slioioer after the first day of June ! 



"Mellow earth holds water, and the larger or 

 deeper the restrvoir, the better guaranty against 

 the injurious etfects of dry weather ?" 



BEET SUQAK. 



The Department Report for 18G7 contains 

 an exhaustive report by the chemist of the 

 Agricultural Department upon the subject of 

 beet sugar. This subject is one cf great im- 

 portance to the farming and commercial inter- 

 ests of this country. About one-third of the 

 sugar now used in Europe is made from beets, 

 and the manufacture is rapidly increasing. In 

 18G5-6 about thirteen millions hundred weight 

 of sugar were made from beets, principally in 

 l ranee and Germany. 



Beets for sugar are cultivated as one in a 

 rotation of crops, and an important fact in con- 

 nection with their culture is that the cake re- 

 maining after the juice is pressed out is very 

 valuable as food for stock. It is both nutri- 

 tious and agreeable to cattle, and thej thrive 

 upon it. In those sections in which sugar is 

 made, there has been great improvement in the 



cultivation, more stock being kept and the 

 quantity of manure being greatly increased. 



Factories are established in various places 

 by capitalists, and the beets are furnished by 

 the small farmers in their vicinity, in addition 

 to the large quantities raised upon the farms 

 belonging to the factories. 



White sugars, of the very best description, 

 are made at these establishments. It is stated 

 that beets in the northern parts of France and 

 "Belgium yield a larger per cent, of sugar than 

 they do in the South of France. This seems 

 to indicate that a very warm climate is not re- 

 quired for successful sugar making from beets. 

 A good supply of rain during the growing sea- 

 son, especially in August and September is re- 

 quired, and something depends upon the vari- 

 eties used. 



There seems no good reason why this branch 

 of industry cannot be undertaken in this coun- 

 try. The climate of a majority of the States 

 would seem to be suited to their growth, and 

 a ready market would be found at home for 

 any quantity produced. Unlike cane sugar, 

 cotton, tobacco, hops, and some other crops, 

 beets do not exhaust the soil without leaving 

 anything to be returned to it. The tops and 

 cake will feed a large amount of stock, and 

 thus increase the fertility of the soil. In Eu- 

 rope much of the labor is done by women, and 

 in this country skilled laborers woukl not be 

 required to any great extent in the cultivation. 

 One or more establishments have been already 

 commenced in Illinois, where German labor- 

 ers are employed. 



The making of sugar from Sorghum, in this 

 country, has thus far been a failure, although 

 considerable quantities of good syrup or mo- 

 lasses are made. 



It is a little more than fifty years since Na- 

 poleon started the manufacture of beet sugar. 

 During this period much has been done by 

 chemical investigation and mechanical con- 

 trivance, to improve the processes of manu- 

 facture. « 



Having the advantage of European experi- 

 ence and skill, we may start in the business 

 under favorable circumstances. 



Grafting Wax. — J. J. Thomas recommends 

 one pint linseed oil, six pounds rosin, one pound 

 beeswax, melted together, to be applied warm 

 with a brush, or to be worked with wet hands into 

 a mass and drawn out into ribbons. 



