A 4 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



soil. Good soil will furnish 100,000 lbs. per hec- 

 tare, (2 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches English ;) a poor 

 soil only from 10,000 to 20,000 lbs. 



Upon several hectares of lands of very different 

 nature which I put in cultivation each year, the 

 average rate of production is 40,000 lbs. 



The value of beets cannot be calculated by the 

 gross weight ; the large roots, which often weigh 

 from ten to twenty pounds, contain a large propor- 

 tion of water, and the specific gravity of the juice 

 extracted from such will not be more than 5° or 

 6'= of the hydrometer (= 1.036 to 1.044) whilst that 

 of beets weighing a pound less vyill rise as high as 

 8= or 10° (= 1.060 to 1.075,) so that the juice of 

 the last contains in the same volume nearly twice 

 as much sugar as does that of the first, and the ex- 

 traction of it is easier and less expensive, because 

 less time and fuel are required for evaporation. I 

 therefore prefer in my manufactory, beets which 

 weigh one or two pounds, though the soil upon 

 which 1 raise them should not yield me more than 

 from 25,000 to 30,000 lbs. j)er hectare. 



OJV THE PREPARATION OF TH2 SOIL. 



Generally speaking, I cultivate beets upon all 

 such lands as are appropriated for sowing grain 

 upon in the fall. The lands I prei)are for receiv- 

 ing the seed by three good tillings, two of which 

 are performed in the winter, and one in the spring : 

 by this last ploughing the^dung which is thrown 

 upon the groimd after the second, is mixed with 

 it: the quantity of manure employed is the same 

 as if the ground was to be immediately sown with 

 wlicat. 



When the cultivation of the beet was less known 

 than it is at present, it was thought that the use of 

 dung rendered the root less rich in sugar, and 

 more disposed to produce saltpetre ; my own ob- 

 servations have never verified the truth of this 

 opinion, nor have I ever perceived any other dif- 

 ference than that of size between beets raised in 

 ground dressed with barn yard manure, and those 

 raised in a soil not so prejjared. That which has 

 given rise to this error is the greater quantity of 

 sugar contained in the same volume of small beets, 

 ju consequence of the more concentrated state of 

 jheir juices. 



ON THE MANNER OF SOWING EEET SEED. 



Beet seed may be sown in either of the three 

 following methods. 1. in a seed i)lot: 2. in drills : 

 3. broad cast. The first of these ways olfers to 

 the agriculturist the advantage of requiring much 

 tlie least time at a season of the year when every 

 moment is precious : the young jilants may be 

 transplanted in June before the commencement of 

 the hay harvest, so that the cultivation of beets 

 need not in any way impede the ordinary labors 

 of the fields. There are however, some serious 

 inconveniences attendant upon this mode of sow- 



ing ; the first of these is the care that is requisite 

 in pulling up the young plants so as not to leave 

 behind a portion ofth:; root; for if a tap root be 

 broken off, it ceases to increase in length, but 

 grows in circumference, and throws out radicles 

 from its surface in every direction. The second 

 difficulty is, that if in placing the root in the earth 

 its long and very slender point be bent upward, 

 its growth in length is frustrated in the same man- 

 ner as if it was broken off. It is however, advis- 

 able for the farmer to sow a portion of his best 

 seed in a seed plot, in order that he may be able 

 to fill the vacancies which will always be found in 

 fields sown by the othei' methods. 



But seed may be sown broad-cast in the satne 

 manner as grain, and in this case sowing may be 

 commenced as soon as the ground has been well 

 prepared by ploughing and rolling. The seed is 

 covered by having a harrow passed over the ground 

 in two directions, crossing each other. This meth- 

 od requires at least from eleven pounds and a half 

 to thirteen pounds and a half of seed per hec- 

 tare. 



This last process is the one most generally 

 made use of, and the one which I myself employ- 

 ed during seven or eight years; but I now give 

 the preference to the method of sowing in drills, 

 as being more sure and more economical. For 

 this purpose, as soon as the ground is prepared, I 

 trace upon the surface, by means of a harrow arm- 

 ed with four teeth, distant about eighteen inches 

 from each other, furrows of an inch in depth ; the 

 seed is dropi)ed into these furrows at intervals of 

 sixteen inches, by women or girls who follow the 

 harrow, and who cover the earth over the seeds 

 with their hands. Each woman can sow in this 

 manner, six or eight thousand seeds in a day. 



The quantity of seed necessary in this method, 

 is a little less than half what is required for sow- 

 ing broad cast, and the weeding of the beets is 

 much easier, and by no means so expensive. 



The method of sowing beet seed which has 

 been adopted in England, can scarcely fail of be- 

 ing successful : it consists in opening a deep fur- 

 row, in the bottom of which is placed a portion of 

 the manure which is to be used on the land : a 

 second furrow is then drawn parallel tb the first 

 and so near it that the earth thrown up shall cov- 

 er that over ; the second trench is prepared in the 

 same manner as the first, and so on : the seeds 

 being sown immediately over the manure. By 

 this <lisposition of the ground the roots easily pen- 

 etrate through the loose soil to the dung, which 

 retains its moisture, and furnishes the plants with 

 nourishment. 



But whatever mode may be followed in sow- 

 ing beet seed, it is necessary to observe the three 

 following rules : first, to sow only new and natu- 

 rally fertile soils : second, not to place the seed 



