19 



and many others ; varieties which all stand pretty nearly Nitrate of 



equally high. A slight superiority among the several Soda for 



1 . / 5 .,, -1-L1 j i Sugar-Beets 

 varieties may still exist, but it has long ceased to be as 



great as it was ten years ago, so that really bad varieties of 

 beet no longer come into the market and it is not necessary 

 to be so anxious about the choice. The varieties have 

 been so much improved by selection and scrutiny, that 

 almost all are suitable for our climate ; and therefore it is 

 not necessary that we should exercise any extraordinary 

 care in this respect. 



Finally, I come to yet another question which is very 

 important in its relation to beet cultivation, but which may 

 readily be disposed of, and that question is : In carrying on 

 an intensive cultivation of the sugar-beet, what am I to do 

 with my farm-yard manure ; am 1 to apply it all to the 

 beets, or, if not, on which crops should it be used in carry- 

 ing on an intensive cultivation of sugar-beets ? 



Gentlemen, for a long period we had y - p rm 

 great doubt about the direct application of ar( j jyf anur 



farm-yard manure to sugar-beets, but those . , IT 



, J , 5 i i i Kinds to Use. 



doubts have been removed by the experi- 

 ments first of all made in Wanzleben by Counsellor Schaper, 

 who may well be called the father of intensive and rational 

 beet cultivation, and it has been demonstrated that there is 

 scarcely a crop which shows itself so responsive to the 

 application of farm-yard manure as the sugar-beet; always, 

 indeed, subject to certain conditions. The application of 

 farm-yard manure must not be overdone ; we must not give 

 fifteen or twenty tons of farm-yard manure, but eight to 

 twelve tons are a dressing which is quite suitable for the 

 beet. But here a proper selection must be made among 

 the different kinds of dung which are at disposal, and sheep 

 dung must be avoided ; not because it would be in any way 

 a poison to the beets, but because in sheep dung, which 

 is collected in deep stalls, far more immediately assimilable 

 combinations of Nitrogen are contained than in yard dung, 

 the available combinations of Nitrogen of which are in great 

 part lost in consequence of unfavorable circumstances. 

 This, indeed, is one of the most important questions of the 

 day in connection with agricultural economy. Sheep dung 

 is so intensive in its action because all the important con- 

 stituents, and in particular the urine, are present in it, whilst 



