1837.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



705 



many tortuous defiles which the still higher pow- 

 ers oC their party couuimnd them to pass. But 

 all that it is necessary Ibr their teams to know, is 

 the voice of their teamsters ; to understand how 

 to "gee and haw" at the word of command, or 

 the smack of the whip ; and never to balk, how- 

 ever sorely their harness may gall — however deep 

 may be the mud, the filth, and the stench through 

 which they may be goaded, either by words or 

 the lash, to pull. 



Were I to coimt up all the months worse than 

 wasted in this vile l)arty work, (brthe last thirty-odd 

 years, the whole time, I have no doubt, would 

 have been amf)ly sulHcieiit for five or six entire 

 sessions of our legislature, spent, as they ought to 

 be, in the diliixent, earnest, but calm and dignified 

 discussion ol" the great concerns and interests of 

 the state. But .ever to expect so patriotic a course 

 will be utterlj' vain, unless we can prevail on our- 

 selves to change entirely the standard by which 

 we test the qualifications essential to the wise and 

 fiiithful discharge of all public duties. We agri- 

 culturists are more especially interested in this 

 chitnge than any other class : ibr it is perfectly 

 (lenionstnible, that to the want of it must be as- 

 cribed much of our present depression — much of 

 that utter nei>lect of our interest which has mark- 

 ed the legislation of" Virginia from my earliest re- 

 collection. This neglect, } fear, we are destined 

 to suffer unto death — for fools that we are, sui- 

 icidai fools! we never tjet have co-operated as a 

 class ; and the chance of our ever doing so here- 

 after may readily be calculated by any of those 

 who noticed, (itj indeed, any have,) the utter 

 f;iilure of the late atteiTipt to get up an agricultu- 

 ral convention. But until we do co-operate as a 

 class, I deem it absolutely certain that our relative 

 and leixitimate power of contributing to the gene- 

 ral welfare, and the extent to which that welfare 

 depends upon our condition, will never be cither 

 felt or recognized as a proper subject of considera- 

 tion by those miscalled our representatives. Com- 

 pared with other classes, we still have the nume- 

 rical majority, still possess a larger property with- 

 in the state than any other class, and can still 

 brinij to the polls a larger number of voters. 

 What obstacle therefore, but the most asinine 

 stupidity, or destructive neglect of our own best 

 interests, hinders us from exerting over the legis- 

 lation of" the state, iliat influence to which we 

 have such just and indisputable claims — an indu- 

 ence moreover, which could not possibly be exer- 

 cised in fav^or of our own occupation, without 

 benefiting every other m the community ? Then, 

 why not exert it at once, by determining iinani- 

 mmisly, to vote for no man, at our spring elections, 

 who will not pledge himself to make some certain 

 and earnest effort in favor of agriculture 7 Let 

 this be done — let us establish this as one of our in- 

 dispensable tests in choosing our representatives, 

 and death itself is not more certain than would be 

 as ample legislative aid as we would ask. 

 (7t> be continued.') 



at the latest, ripens in the first fortnight of Au- 

 gust, and never fails." I should be glad to know 

 if this grape can be procured in England. — J. B. 

 JF., Sept. 15, 1S36. — Loudon's Gard. Mag. 



A NEW SEEDLING VINE. 



The Journal of Science and j^rt, vol. xxvii. p. 

 229., contains the following notice: " A seedlinir 

 vine, raised by M. Van Mons, at Brussels, produ- 

 ces fruit as large as a green-gage plum, which, 



Vo,,. IV_89 = ° o 1 ' 



POTASH FROM BEET-ROOT, 



The beet-root, says a French paper, is about to 

 ac(]uire an addilioiiid title to the attention of agri- 

 culturists, by the new produce which, besides mo- 

 lasses and sugar, it is now Iciund can be extracted 

 fi'om it. One of these productions, potash, will 

 be, like sugar, the rival of an exotic commodity. 

 M. Dubrunibnt has 'been the first to discover the 

 means of advantageously extnictingthissulKstance 

 fmm the residuum' left after the distillation of mo- 

 lasses, and which has hiihcrto been thrown away, 

 after the separation of its alcohol. To give some 

 idea of the importance of this nev,' source of na- 

 tional wealth, it will be sufiicient to say that the 

 quantity of potash yielded by M. Dubrunlbnt''8 

 process is e(]ual to one sixth of the quantity of su- 

 garextracfed from the beet-root; thus admiliingthe 

 the fact that, where 80,000,000 lb. of indigenous su- 

 gar are annually produced, we may exjiect to ob- 

 tain fiom the primary materials 14,000,000 lb. of 

 a saline substance, equal in all respects to the best 

 potash imported ; besides alcohol and other pro- 

 ductions. x\t the present rate of prices, the value 

 of thisquanlitj- will be about eight or nine millions 

 offi-ancs; and these facts furnish an additional ar- 

 gument for the protection of our indigenous sugar 

 against foreign competition. (J/or?rmg Chronicle, 

 Nov. 1. 1836.) I have since learned that a kind 

 of coffee is made by the French from some part of 

 the beet-root, after the sugar has been extracted, 

 which is said to be equal, if not superior, to coffee 

 from chicory. Now, as there is an establishment 

 at Limehouse for extracting sugar from the beet, 

 I should be greatly obliged to any of your readers 

 who would inform me, 1st, Whether this manu- 

 factory answers as far as sugar is concerned ? 2dly, 

 Whether potash is extracted from the refuse? 

 3dly, Whether cofl'ee is made of it? and, 4thly, 

 To what other purpose is the refuse applied? 

 The reason I ask is, that I intend trying to extract 

 sugar from the root on a small scale, for the use of 

 my own fanuly, and for teaching my pupils. I 

 give you my address below for your own use ; 

 but wish, if you publish this article, that it should 

 be signed — il. £>. G. iVear Stockport, Nov. 2, 

 1836. — Loudon's Gard. Mag. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 HAY FROM SCOTLAND. 



An English paper says — "It forms a curious 

 item of the agricultural commerce of this country, 

 that we are now exporting hay to America. A ves- 

 sel is about to sail with a cargo of 10,000 stone of 

 hay from Aberdeen, and a larger will follow from 

 Clyde. The hay is pressed by the hydraulic 

 press, and the bulk has been thus reduced [suffi- 

 ciently] for transportation." 



The hay thus spoken of has reached this coun- 

 try and finds a quick sale at from 22 to 25 dollars a 

 ton, principally at Boston. If Great Britain, with 

 nearly three times as many horses, cattle and 

 sheep, in proportion to its population, as are owned 



