TUBEROUS ROOTS, AND GRAIN. oil 



Caroline. And, should both fail, we have the resource of 

 feeding on the cattle, who are themselves deprived of food. 



Emily. It is this, no doubt, which explains what ap- 

 peared to me very unaccountable, that meat is some- 

 times cheap, when bread is dear. 



Mrs. B. If forage fail, whether it be owing to a scarc- 

 ity of grasses or of roots, a greater number of cattle will 

 be sent to market, and the meat will consequently be low 

 priced, but it will be of inferior quality ; for, under such 

 circumstances, the cattle cannot be fattened. 



The culture of tuberous roots requires very deep plough- 

 ing. Beet is of various colors, most commonly of a rich 

 crimson. It is raised from seed, and the young plants af- 

 terwards thinned : the soil should be neither very moist 

 nor very dry : the seed ripens only the second year. This 

 plant contains so great a quantity of saccharine matter, 

 that, during the prohibitory system of Buonaparte, the 

 French had recourse to it for the fabrication of sugar. In- 

 deed, the manufacture is still carried on, and I understand 

 that some recently-discovered mode of facilitating the 

 process enables them to compete with the West Indian 

 market. 



There are three species of turnips ; turnips, Sivedish 

 turnips, and the Kohl Rabi, or turnip-rooted cabbage. 

 The leaves of the first are rough and hairy, those of the 

 second smooth, and those of the last form a medium be- 

 tween the other two, being hairy when young, and be- 

 coming smooth afterwards. There are many varieties of 

 turnips ; the white are the most delicate, the yellow the 

 most robust : they require a light loose soil, and a good 

 deal of manure ; for being of the cruciform family, which 

 contains azote, they must be furnished with the means of 

 obtaining this element, and it is animal matter which yields 

 it in greatest abundance. 



The Topinambour, or Jerusalem artichoke, produces a 

 great number of tubers, which are much eaten in England, 

 but they are not relished on the continent. This plant is 

 cultivated in some parts of America, and is brought to 

 Europe from the mountains of the Brazils. 



1844. If forage is deficient what will be the consequences'? 1845. 

 Of the raising of beets what is said! 1846. And of their being cul- 

 tivated for sugar, what is said! 1847. What are the three species of 

 turnips! 1848. And of the different varieties of turnips, and of the 

 mode of cultivating them! 1849. Of the Jerusalem artichoke wha; 

 in said! 29* 



