10G 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



of John Johnston, in Seneca County, N. Y. He 

 had a field summer fallowed for wheat, but gave 

 up the idea of sowing it on account of the rav- 

 ages of the midge. He sowed it to barley the next 

 spring, and had a noble crop. These instances 

 show that thorough cultivation will enable some- 

 what heavy land to produce large crops of barley. 



COFFEE SUBSTITUTES-CULTIVATION OF CHICOK'f. 



Joseph Harris, Esq.— Dear Sir: Knowing you 

 to he well posted on English agriculture, stock 

 raising, etc., and, I presume, with the specialities or 

 miscellaneous branches of agriculture which abound 

 in England, it has occurred to me that you would 

 be the most likely person to be able to tell us some- 

 thing about the culture of chicory; but more es- 

 pecially what the prospects for profit and success 

 would be to introduce its culture into this country. 

 I know that chicory is used very extensively in 

 that country, by coffee roasters and dealers, to 

 adulterate their coffee with, and by families and 

 those who prefer to buy it unadulterated, i. e., 

 whole, to mix with theirs; that it comes nearer to 

 coffee than any other substitute, is not easily de- 

 tected, and is said indeed to improve the coffee 

 itself; that people there do not object to the use 

 of chicory, but object to pay coffee price for it, and 

 mix it themselves, and prefer to have it rather than 

 their coffee without it. 



Now, coffee is high in this country, and is likely 

 to continue so, and everybody is looking arouud 

 for., and using some substitute, either wholly or to 

 mix with coffee, and are generally falling back upon 

 the old articles, rye, corn, peas, etc., while dozens 

 of other articles are suggested by one and another, 

 all of which are, after all, really but poor substi- 

 tutes, being insipid, flavorless, not stimulating, and 

 the merest makeshifts. 



Chicory has not, I presume, been much used 

 heretofore in this country. But there is now a 

 tariff on it (I am told) as well as on coffee; and the 

 high price of the latter, with the people loudly 

 calling for substitutes, and the tariff on chicory, 

 would it not be likely to become a special crop — 

 one th.it a demand might be created for, and be 

 made to pay if introduced? Can you oblige me 

 with any information, or your opinion, first, on 

 these points ; second, on its mode of culture, pre- 

 paration for market, average yield and price, and 

 any other statistical matters concerning it, with 

 reference to England, and if any examples of its 

 culture have come under jour observation in this 

 country? If you can, would it not be worth em- 

 bodying in an article in your excellent Genesee Far- 

 mer, as it is a subject claiming a good deal of atten- 

 tion, and I think would prove interesting to very 

 many of your readers? 



I do not see that the seed is named in any seed 

 catalogue that I have got hold of — Thorburn's, 

 Buist's, Dreer's, and others. It can not probfbly 

 be procured in this country. Yours truly, 



St. Lends, Mo. C. SANDEES. 



Chicory (Cichorium intyous) was first introduced 

 into England by Arthur Young, in the year 1780. 

 It was principally grown for sheep. It was found 



to flourish upon almost any kind of land, and it is 

 thought that it will keep more sheep per acre, du- 

 ring the early summer months, than any other kind 

 of herbage plant. For this purpose the seed ig 

 sown broadcast in the spring, at the rate of from 

 seven to twelve lbs. per acre. 



When raised for fodder, the seed is sown in drills 

 about nine inches apart, and the plants thinned out 

 with the hoe six inches apart. With clean culture, 

 the plants will last for eight or ten years, and pro- 

 duce abundant crops. When sown in drills, 4 lbs. 

 of seed per acre is sufficient. 



The plants grow from six to eight feet in height, 

 The stem is branched, and clothed on all sides with 

 leaves, up to its very top. It is, therefore, very 

 desirable that the plants be not too thick. 



It will be seen that the cultivation of chicory for 

 fodder is very similar to that of lucerne. There is 

 this difference, however, between the two crops; 

 lucerne requires very rich land, while chicory will 

 grow on the poorest soils, and is, therefore, well 

 adapted for renovating impoverished farms. 



Chicory has been grown on the continent of 

 Europe, as a "substitute for coffee," for many 

 years, and it is now extensively cultivated in York- 

 shire and other parts of England for the same pur- 

 pose. "Morton's Cyclopedia of (English) Agri- 

 culture," speaking of it, says: "As a plant of such 

 speedy growth, and in all seasons, wet or dry, it 

 can not be too strongly recommended for general 

 use, and more particularly for the small occupiers. 

 Cow-keepers would do well to cultivate it, and cot- 

 tagers ought by all means to employ it in a doubU 

 manner." 



The " double manner " refers to the use of the 

 roots for coffee, while the stems are used for fod- 

 der. Von Thaer, a well known and reliable Ger- 

 man agricultural writer, says: "Of all plants 

 which have been proposed as substitutes for coffee, 

 and which when roasted and steeped in boiling 

 water yielded an infusion resembling coffee, chico- 

 ry is the only one that has maintained its ground.'* 

 When grown as a root crop, the cultivation of 

 chicory is very similar to that of the carrot — in; 

 soil, preparation, manuring, seeding, weeding, har- 

 vesting, etc. 



When dug, the tops are neatly cut off, and the 

 roots washed and cut into slices by hand or with a 

 turnip cutter. The slices are then dried in a kiln, 

 and afterward sold to the grocers, who roast and 

 grind it as they do coffee. 



An average crop of fresh roots may be stated at 

 eight tons per acre, and the price in England at 



