94 



Beet Sugar. — Rotation of Ci'ops. 



Vol. V. 



that is, of brown sugar for the refineries — 

 those who know anything of the refining of 

 sugar, will not be likely to err greatly in the 

 cost of that expensive process, wliicli is, 

 strictly speaking, independent of what might 

 be termed sugar-making ; tlie two processes 

 not being carried on in France on the same 

 premises, or by the same persons. 



And another word on the varieties of the 

 beet, as they are described in Mr. Childs' 

 book "on beet and beet-sugar:" he says, 

 "the root of the mangelwurzel is lohite, 

 within and without ; and the white Silesian, 

 or sugar beet, is pear-shaped, and shorter 

 than any other of the species of beets ; it 

 grows entirely within the ground, except it 

 meet with some obstruction, in which case 

 the exposed part becomes green, and loses a 

 portion of its sugar." Now, I have before 

 me at the present time, about 4 acres of these 

 two varieties of the beet, and for my life I 

 cannot tell what he meang ; the mangel- 

 wurzel white, inside and ouf? Why mine 

 are red ! The sugar beets pear-shaped and 

 growing entirely within the ground ! Then 

 mine have all met with obstructions, for I 

 declare there is scarcely one of them more 

 tlian one-third of their substance within the 

 ground, although the land is as liglit as an 

 ash-heap comparatively ; nor can they be 

 very short, to weigh fifteen or twenty pounds 

 apiece, as I expect many of them to do. 



D*. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Rotation of Crops. 



Mr. Editor, — In your very valuable paper, 

 "The Farmers' Cabinet," I have found con- 

 tained much valuable information on the sub- 

 ject of agriculture, from the application of 

 which, in many instances, I have realized im- 

 mense benefit. One question, however, of 

 paramount interest to farmers, still remains 

 unsettled, and that is, as to lohat system of 

 rotation of crops should be adopted, with a 

 view to immediate profits, and the continual 

 improvement of the soil. I have carefully 

 remarked many experiments, which have 

 been made in my own neighbourhood, in this 

 particular branch of husbandry, and, among 

 the many instances of failure, there has been 

 one of success, which it is my present pur- 

 pose to communicate, for the benefit of such 

 as may see proper to improve the hint. The 

 example to wiiich I refer is that of an old, 

 practical, hard-working farmer, who com- 

 menced in the world as a day-labourer, and 

 who is now worth, at least, one hundred thou- 

 sand dollars, not taking into the account many 

 heavy pecuniary losses he has, at various 

 times, sustained. This man, when thirty 

 years of age, by the avails of his industry, 



added to a small legacy, was enabled to pur- 

 chase and pay, in part, for a farm of one hun- 

 dred and thirty acres of land, one hundred of 

 which was under cultivation, but in a very 

 low state. This farm is altogether upland, 

 with a soil composed of lime, clay and sand, 

 in chief of which the latter preponderates, 

 the former being least considerable. When 

 he commenced farming, he adopted a parti- 

 cular system of rotation, to which he has im- 

 plicitly adliercd from that time to the present, 

 which is forty years, and his success is the 

 best comment on the worth of his experi- 

 ment. His mode was as follows : having di- 

 vided his farm into eight fields of equal size, 

 as nearly as possible, three of these fields ara 

 sowed with wheat each year, one witli rye, 

 one planted with corn, two in clover, and one 

 an open fallow, on which corn had been 

 raised the year previous. One of the two 

 clover-fields is kept for mowing, the other for 

 pasture, both of which are ploughed as soon 

 after harvest as possible, and prepared for 

 wheat in the fall. All the manure which is 

 made on the farm for one year is hauled, in 

 the spring, on the field intended for open fal- 

 low, wiiich is then ploughed, and after one or 

 two cross-plougiiings througli the summer, is 

 also sowed with wheat in tiie fall. The field 

 on which rye is sown, is that from which a 

 crop of wheat had been taken the same year, 

 and which had yielded three crops of wheat 

 alternating with crops of clover. Corn is 

 planted on the field from which rye had been 

 gathered the year previous, the stubbles of 

 which are ploughed down in the fall. Clover- 

 seed is sown early in the spring on two of 

 the wheat-fields, those which have been most 

 recently manured. By this method, each 

 field yields three crops of wheat, two of clo- 

 ver, one of rye and one of corn, every eight 

 years. Each field, in the meantime, has lain 

 an open fallow, and received a heavy dressing 

 of manure, perhaps at an average of fifteen 

 four-horse loads per acre. His crop of wheat 

 is seldom less than fifteen hundred bushels, 

 but often much more. His average rye-crop 

 is about four hundred and fifty bushels, and 

 his corn-crop, annually, about five hundred 

 bushels — all which grain, at the present low 

 prices, would amount to more than two 

 THOUSAND DOLLARS ANNUALLY — and at former 

 prices to double that amount — and his farm ia 

 withal very highly improved. 



Yours, P. W. 



The Farmers of Pennsylvania to Dr. Franklin, when 

 lie otiered them Dr. Eliot's celebrated Essays on Field 

 Husbandry. 



" We want no information on husbandry, 

 we know all about it : give us labour, wc 

 want not your books of information." 



