84 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



plants, when out of the reach of insects, thinned to 

 twelve or fifteen inches in the row, as the object is 

 to obtain large size. The table and sugar beet may 

 be sown in rows from twelve to twenty-four inches 

 apart, and left to grow at six to ten inches in the 

 rows, the object being not great size, but good qual- 

 ity : it being found that the quality of medium or 

 small- sized roots is better, both in regard to flavour 

 and saccharine matter, than that of very large roots. 

 Some prefer soaking the seed, and some even sprout- 

 ing it before it is sown ; as it is husky, and, in case 

 of dry weather, frequently does not germinate. But 

 if the seed is put into fresh-ploughed ground, planted 

 early in the season, and a roller passed over the 

 surface after it is covered, or the ground pressed 

 with the hoe or foot, it seldom fails to grow. The 

 seed should be covered from three fourths to an 

 inch deep ; and as the young plants are liable to be 

 destroyed by the grub, and even the turnip-fly, it is 

 advisable to sow thick, say from three to four pounds 

 of seed to the acre. 



In the after-culture, the objects are to keep the 

 crop clean and the soil mellow. The first dressing 

 may be light, with a cultivator, where the breadth 

 between the rows will admit ; but when the plants 

 are well established, the cultivator or small plough 

 should be run deeper, and this operation may after- 

 ward be repeated to advantage. The crop should 

 be harvested as soon as it has ceased growing, which 

 is known by the under leaves turning yellow ; as, if 

 left in the ground longer, the roots deteriorate in 

 value. 



Mangold-wurzel is the German name : mangold a 

 beet, wurzel a root. Their culture was introduced 

 into England, from Germany, about 18*20, and more 

 recently they have attracted considerable attention 

 in this country. In 1830, the Doncaster Agricultu- 

 ral Association, an institution which has rendered 

 vast service to the farming interest, sent abroad a 



