36 



Sugar Beet — Sleeping with old Persons. 



Vol. V. 



cows, the butter becoming contaminated by 

 the slightest ill-flavoured article of diet; and 

 then, too, they are of less value as food for 

 dry stock, as it is but reasonable to suppose ; 

 and if given in this state, in large quantities, 

 unaccompanied with hay or other dry food, 

 the effects will, of course, be bad. At all 

 times it is most proper to accompany the 

 feeding of the sugar beet with a portion of 

 dry food ; and if this mode of proceeding be 

 observed, while the roots are fresh, I have no 

 fear for the result; all I wish is, that those 

 who have experienced disappointment in the 

 cultivation of the sugar beet, would make 

 known, through the pages of the Cabinet, the 

 particulars relating thereto, that they might 

 be examined into, and compared with the 

 thousands of instances of success experienced 

 in almost every part of the country. .1 have 

 a friend who brought me, late in the spring, 

 several roots that had been deposited through 

 the winter in a dry but mouldy cellar; and, 

 although they had been preserved sound and 

 free from frost, they had contracted a very 

 disgusting smell, (arising in some measure, 

 no doubt, from having been made the beds of 

 the rats, who congregated there for the pur- 

 pose of feeding on them) and no other animal 

 would eat them. Now, the roots themselves 

 are not at fault; but until a proper mode of 

 preserving them has been decided upon, it is 

 but reasonable to expect such conflicting tes- 

 timony. 



I beg to copy a few remarks from an excel- 

 lent article in the " American Farmer" on 

 this subject, written by an extensive grazier, 

 and await, from those of our friends who have 

 experienced disappointment in the culture of 

 the beet, a particular account of the same ; 

 as also, tlie mode adopted by them for the 

 preservation of the crop during winter, and 

 the expenditure to their cattle. 



" I use my roots as follows : cut hay of the 

 best kind, oats cut in the sheaf, and beets cut 

 fine ;* a small quantity of Indian meal and 

 oats ground, or bran, all mixed with a small 

 quantity of water, just to make it moist. I 

 preserve my roots in a large stone- walled cel- 

 lar, commencing as follows — first, I provide 

 a quantity of sandy lime and place it handy 

 for use ; then I place the beets, three tiers 

 thick, against the walls all round the cellar, 

 and, between every stack of them, strew the 

 sandy lime ; and so continue on, as high as a 

 man can reach ; the middle of the cellar is 

 then filled with the turnips. I have been 

 taking them out for feeding every day since 

 the middle of December, and expect to do so 

 until the grass takes their place. And when 

 my ewe sheep begin to lamb, I expect to be 



* A perfectly unnecpssary labour bestowed upon the 

 sugar beet, but necessary for ruta baga. 



able to increase the quantity which I now ex- 

 pend. In fine weather I open my cellar 

 doors, but am careful to keep all closed dur- 

 ing cold frosty nights. In this manner I 

 have preserved my root crops for several 

 years, and think the plan worthy of imitation." 

 The lime-sand here spoken of, may have 

 the efl'ect of neutralizing any acidity that 

 might be engendered during the keeping of 

 the roots in the cellar, and thus, very possi- 

 bly, tend greatly to their preservation. 



Your constant Reader. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Observer — No. 22. 



I have been a long time absent from the 

 Cabinet, yet my time has been occupied in 

 making observations on men and things. — If 

 I could flatter myself with the greetings of 

 my readers for the return of a long absent 

 friend, it might prove an inducement to fur- 

 nish an occasional article for their amuse- 

 ment, if not instruction. 



Perhaps it may not be inexpedient to oc- 

 cupy a page of the Cabinet with a pseudo- 

 medical essay, divested of most of its techni- 

 cal garb. There are some subjects of a pro- 

 fessional character, which non-professional 

 readers are quite competent to understand, 

 and to apply to their own benefit. It is my 

 intention to notice one of these in the present 

 article, viz. — 

 The pernicious practice of allowing children 



to sleep with grandparents, or other old 



persons. 



This is a theme which has a particular re- 

 lation to the conservation of health — it is one 

 of universal concernment — and is equally in- 

 teresting and important to the prince and the 

 peasant, to the agriculturalist, the mechanic, 

 and the professional man. 



The fact is so well ascertained as not to 

 admit of any reasonable doubt, that when 

 children are allowed to sleep with aged peo- 

 ple, they speedily lose their health and ra- 

 pidly decline. It is indeed probable, that the 

 same result will follow at any period of life, 

 where two persons whose ages are essentially 

 different sleep together. The same is proba- 

 bly also true, where the sick and the healthy 

 habitually lie in the same bed. In all these 

 cases, the younger and more healthy will be 

 the sufl^ercrs. It is some consolation to be- 

 lieve, that the infirmities of the aged and the 

 afilictions of the sick would be alleviated — 

 but this benefit would not be in proportion to 

 the injury sustained by the healthy. 



The following case, reported by Dr. Cope- 

 land, affords a clear illustration of the subject. 



" I was a few years since consulted about 

 a pale, sickly and thin boy, about five or six 

 years of age. He appeared to have no spe- 



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