146 [ASSEMBLT 



1825 there were 25 such establishments in France. Now there are 

 over 400, and 70,000,000 of pounds of sugar are made in a year. 

 100 parts of beet root yield 2| parts of refined sugar. Sugar has 

 been made from grapes, from turnips, parsnips, and from starch. In 

 Italy, Hungary, and Bavaria, sugar is made from grass equ^l to that 

 obtained from cane. The red sugar beet contains in 1000 parts, 148 

 parts of soluble nutritive matter, 14 mucilage or starch, 121 saccha- 

 rine matter or sugar, and 14 parts of gluten or albumen. 



Turnips (Brassica Rapa) may be found growing wild all over 

 England. The English, however, have never been able to produce 

 by cultivating this wild variety, so delicious a turnip as is grown in 

 Hanover. I believe all the present fine varieties were obtained from 

 seed originally introduced into England from Hanover. They are 

 eaten raw in England and on the continent, as well as cooked in 

 various ways. In hot climates they cannot be grown successfully; 

 they enjoy a rich loam land, finely pulverized, and can be raised ad- 

 vantageously for cattle. There is a variety called the Sweedish, 

 which is considered the best for that purpose. The French have im- 

 proved upon the old varieties, and have succeeded by cultivation in 

 obtaining one particularly fine for the table called Navet, (Brassica 

 napus esculenta,) one of which has as much flavor as 12 common 

 turnips. The turnip contains in 1000 parts, 42 parts of soluble mat- 

 ter, 7 of starch, 34 of sugar, and 1 of gluten. 



The Potato (Solanum Tuberosum) has ahvays been supposed to 

 have originated in South America, somewhere in the vicinity of Peru. 

 It ranks next to the Cerealia as a food for man and animals through- 

 out Europe and the two Americas. How' long it will hold that rank 

 depends upon the continuance or cessation oj the disease now so prev- 

 alent in both hemispheres. The potato w^as first introduced into 

 England from the state of Virginia, by Hackluyt, in 1584, and given 

 to Sir Walter Raleigh, who had it planted on his estate at Gongh- 

 hall, in Ireland, where it was cultivated to some extent, notwithstand- 

 ing they were not generally used as food, until near the end of the 

 18th century. It was originally, and is still a very small, insignifi- 

 cant tuber in Peru and Chili ; its present size and flavor are the result 

 of careful cultivation. It is now used as food throughout the world, 

 and appears to adapt itself to all climates, and all varieties of soil; 

 an acre of land will usually yield twice the quantity of food planted 

 with potatoes, that it will sown with wheat. In 1000 parts of pota- 



