23S 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I. 



render it unintelligible. If wo remember 

 right, Iiowever, the substance of it is con- 

 tained in the part we now publish. Having 

 lost the name of the writer wo are unable to 

 comply with his request. We hope, how- 

 ever, to hear from iiim again. 



Beet Root versus ITIalt, 



" It ig to vesfpliil'lo productions that commercG owe? 

 its support; tii^y Ibriii our sliips' cordage anrt sails; 

 and it is for vegetable varieties principally that we 

 cross the sea?, and explore every cliine from the equa- 

 tor to the poles." — Phillips. 



To the Editor of the Cabinet: 



Sir — It is probable the following commu- 

 nication will find an appropriate place in your 

 interesting columns, and if it awakens among 

 the farmers, to whom it is principally ad- 

 dressed, a sense of the importance of private 

 brewing, the object of the writer will be at- 

 tained. 



The practicability of brewing ale from the 

 Beet Root, I first noticed some years ago, in 

 the Mechanics' Magazine, a British periodical, 

 consequently lay no claim to originality in 

 thus bringing the important subject before 

 the public. The inestimable advantages at- 

 tending the cultivation of this prolific root for 

 various purposes are such, that no one unac- 

 quainted with its nutritive qualities can duly 

 appreciate. The time will arrive, however, 

 when the Beet Root will triumph in spite of 

 prejudice, and of a general ignorance in the 

 proper mode of culture, management and 

 preservation. 



That ale can be made from the beet root, 

 Buiubers within the sphere of my former ac- 

 quaintance bear ample testimony, and ale too 

 of a wholesome and delightful quality, and at 

 the moderate price of six cents per gallon. 

 My first brewing consisted of one hundred 

 and fifty pounds of the roots, which had been 

 well selected, washed and cut into thin slices. 

 TJiey were then boiled, with no more than a 

 sufficiency of water to cover them, an hour 

 and a half. The whole contents of the boiler 

 were then put into a wash-tub with a false 

 bottom, and the wort allowed to drain ofl^, 

 pressing the palp in the wash-tub as much as 

 possible, the last drop having a tenfold pro- 

 portion of sweetness to the first. There will 

 now be about fifteen gallons of wort of un- 

 •common sweetness, to which must be added 

 immediately, half a pound of the best hops, 

 and reboilcd an hour and a half. The result 

 will be ten or eleven gallons of strong liquor, 

 which must be strained through a seive in the 

 usual way, reserving a good handfuU of the 

 spent hops to be added to the ale when put 

 into the cask, and after the fermentation has 

 ceased. When the liquor has cooled down 

 to 65 or 70 degrees of Farenheit (and the 

 sooner it ifi cooled the better) add halt a pound 



of good fresh yeast, and proceed afterwards 

 as with malt liquors. The addition of a 

 shilling loaf sliced and toasted brown, and 

 put into the barrel previous to making up, is 

 of great service. This gives mucilage in a 

 considerable degree, and which is perceivable 

 in malt liquors only, producing that agreeable 

 fulness to the palate. 



Every article that enlarges the catalogue 

 of human food augments the comforts of ex- 

 istence. How many families in the possession 

 of gardens, often abounding in weeds, who 

 with less trouble than is necessary to clear 

 them away, might have an abundance of this 

 salutary vegetable for the purpose of domes- 

 tic brewing ? Domestic brewmg, whether it 

 proceed from malt or from the beet root, I 

 care little, I wish to see established in the 

 United States, as practiced in Great Britain. 



Plan of John Welch, of Swedeshorovgh, 

 Gloster Co. N. J. 



Fie G5. 



Starting point. 

 



®rT 



Cenfj'e. 



O 



Plan of ploughing so as to prevent deep 

 ditches, also to prevent the earth being packed 

 by the team. 



This plan has been tried and found to pos- 

 sess the advantage of preventing the ground 

 at the ends being packed by the feet of the 

 team : also to prevent deep ditches. The plan 

 is to exactly reverse the usual order of plough- 

 ing — to commence at the centre and plough 

 out. 



