PRACTICAL FARMER 



45 



at the depth of more than one inch ; third, not to 

 sow the seeds too thickly. 



ON THE CARE REQUIRED BY BEETS DURING THEIR 

 VEGETATION. 



There are few planta that require more care 

 than beets : their developement is greatly imped- 

 ed by the neighborhood of other j)lants, and if 

 the soil be not light and loose around them, they 

 languish, turn yellow, and cease to grow. 



When beet plants begin to show their second 

 leaves, they must be weeded : if they have been 

 sowed broad-cast, this can he done only with the 

 Jiand or a small hoe or weeding fork ; all the 

 weeds must he rooted up and as many of the 



plants removed as will leave spaces of eightepii 

 inches between those that remain. If the plants 

 are sown in furrows, the plough may be passed 

 between the rows, and the roots of the plants be 

 cleared with the weeding fork. The same oper- 

 ation must be r«j)eated at least twice in a season. 



As weeding opnais the earth to the free entrance 

 of air and water, the plants may be seen to be ben- 

 efited by it: the green of their leaves deepens, 

 their roots increase in size, and their foliage ex- 

 pands. 



Sinee I have sown my fields in drills 1 have 

 practised passing the plough through them three 

 times in the course of a summer, and at each 

 time I have made thorough use of the weeding 

 fork around the roots of the plants. 



Haifa day's use of the plough is sufficient for 

 half a hectare, and the rest may be completed in 

 a day by five or six men. I find that I save one 

 half the expense of weeding by employing this 

 method. Each weeding with the fork costs at 

 least twenty francs per acre. The produce of a 

 field which is well taken care of, is at least double 

 that of one which is neglected. 



ON THE GATHERING OF BEET ROOTS. 



Beet roots are generally dug during the month 

 of October: the digging should be completed be- 

 fore the commencement of the frosts. When sur- 

 prised by untimely frosts, if the roots cannot 

 readily be transported to a place of shelter, they 

 may be collected in heaps upon the fields and 

 covered over with their own leaves : those that 

 remain in the earlh are in much less danger from 

 frost than those that have been dug. 



The time mentioned in the preceding para 

 graphs is the one most suitable for the vicinity of 

 Paris, and for the centre of France; Ijut as vege- 

 tation is more forward in the southern depart 

 ments, it is necessary that beets should there be 

 gathered earlier in the season, otherwise the sac 

 charine princii)le may disajjpear, in consequence 

 of a new elaboration of the juices after maturity 

 The fact appears to me to have been fully ascer- 

 tained by the experiments of M. Darracq. 'i'his 



r.ble cl ymist, in concert with the Count Dangos, 

 Prefect of the Department of Landcs, made every 

 arrangemeut for the establishment of a sugar man- 

 ufiictory. Duiing the months of July and Au- 

 gust, he made experiments upon beets every eight 

 days, and always obtained from three and a half 

 to four per cent, of good sugar. Satisfied with 

 these results he discontinued his experiments, in 

 order to devote all his time to the care of his es- 

 tablishment; but how great was his surprise at 

 finding towards the end of October that his beets 

 yielded only sirup and saltpetre, and not a particle 

 of crystallizable sugar. 



Generally speaking, beets may be dug as soon 

 as their largest leaves begin to turn yellow, if 



liuivested l)efoie arriving at iniitiirity, flipy wither 



wrinkle, and grow soft ; the juice is extractecl 

 from them in this state with more difficulty, and 

 the sugar does not grain so well. 



The leaves, which are separated from the roots 

 as fast as they are taken from the ground, may be 

 left upon the spot and there eaten by the cows, 

 sheep or swine ; but they are so abundant that 

 there will still remain enough to serve as a half 

 manure for the land, and it is in this soil, after 

 having slightly ploughed it, that I sow my grains. 

 As the earth has been manured in the spring, and 

 afterwards freed from weeds by repeated hoeings, 

 the corn will grov/ very large and be very clean ; 

 so that the first tillage and manuring serve for two 

 harvests, and the ploughings which are given in 

 autumn to lands appropriated to the reception of 

 wheat or rye, are saved. 



ON THE BEST METHOD OF KEEPING BEET ROOTS. 



Beets are afl^ected both by cold and heat : they 

 freeze at a temperature one degree below the 

 freezing point of water, and they germinate with 

 a degree of heat but little above freezing: freez- 

 ing softens them and destroys their saccharine 

 principle, and they decay as soon as they are thaw- 

 ed. Heat developes the stalks of the necks of the 

 roots, and decomnoses the juices which supply 

 their growth. During the first stages of germina- 

 tion, the alteration of the juices is only local, so 

 that if the neck of the root be cut off, the remain- 

 der of it may be made use of without any incon- 

 venience. In order to keep beets, it is necessary 

 to preserve them both from heat and cold. 



The first care of the farmer must be, to have 

 his beets thoroughly dry before being housed. 

 The best way is to leave them in the fields ti.l ail 

 their dampness have evaporated When, howev- 

 er, a large harvest is to be gathered in autumn, a 

 suflicient number of fine days to effect this can 

 hardly be hoped for, and the roots must therefore 

 be stored for the winter in such a manner as will 

 be most likely to prevent decomposition. 



I have an immense barn, where I pile up my 

 beets to the height of seven or eight feet. I make 



