10 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JIII.T »0, 1S36. 



to fill the vacancies wliicb will always lie foiHid in 

 fields sown hy the other methods. 



But seed mny be s.iwu broad-cast in the same 

 iTianner as grain, and in this case sowing may be 

 commenced as soon as the ground lias been well 

 prepared by ploughing and rolling. 'J'he seed is 

 covered by having a harrow passed over the ground 

 in two directions, crossijig each other. This mctli- 

 od requires at least iVoin eleven pounds and a half 

 to thirteen poumld ami a half of seed per hec- 

 tare. 



This last process is the one most generally 

 made use of, and the one which I myself employ- 

 ed during seven or eight years; but 1 now give 

 the preference to the method of sowing in drills, 

 as being more sure ami more economical. For 

 this purpose, as soon as the ground is ]irepared, 1 

 trace upon the surface, by means of a hariow arm- 

 ed with four teeth, distant about eighteen inches 

 from each other, furrows of an inch in depth ; the 

 seed is dropped into these furrows at intervals of 

 sixteen inches, by women or girls who follow the 

 harrow, and who cover the earth over the seeds 

 with their hands. Each woman can sow in this 

 manner, six or eight thousand seeds in a day. 



The quantity of seed necessary in this method, 

 is a little less than half what is required for sow- 

 ing broad cast, and the weeding of the beets is 

 much easier, and by no means -so expensive. 



The method of sowing beet seed which has 

 been adopted in England, can scarcely fail of be- 

 ing successful : it consists in opening a deep fur- 

 row, in the bottom of which is placed a portion of 

 the manure which is to be used on the land : a 

 second furrow is then drawn parallel to the first 

 and so near it that the earth thrown up shall cov- 

 er that over ; the second trench is prepared in the 

 same manner as the first, and so on: the seeds 

 being sown immediately over the manure. By 

 this <lisposition of the ground the roots easily pen- 

 etrate through the loose soil to the dung, which 

 retains its moisture, and furnishes the plants with 

 nourishment. 



But whatever mode may be followed in sow- 

 ing beet seed, it is necessary to observe the three 

 following rules : first, to sow only new and natu- 

 rally fertile soils : second, not to place the seed 

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

 sow the seeds too thickly. 



ON THE CARiC RKQtJIRfiD BV BEETS BORING THEIR 

 VEGETATIOfJ. 



There are few plants that require more care 

 than beets f tbeir developeinent is greatly .imped- 

 ed by the neigbborhvod of other plants, and if 

 the soil be not light and loose around them, ihey 

 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, tlijs can be done only with the 

 hand oi a small hoc or weeding fork ; all the 

 weeds must he rooted pp and as many of the 

 plants removed as will leave spaces of eighteen 

 inches.between those that remain. If the plants 

 are sown in furrows, the ploiigh may be passed 

 between the rows, and the roots of the plants be 

 cleared with the weeding fork. The sgme oper. 

 ation must be u peated at least twice in a season, 



As weeding opens the earth to the free entrance 

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

 efitted by it: the green of their leaves deepens, 

 tlieir roots increase in size, and their foliage ex- 

 pands, 



Since [ 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 weeiling 

 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 CF BEET ROOTS. 



Beet roots are generally dug during the month 

 of October: the digging should be completed be- 

 fore the commencement of the fro.sts. When snr- 

 ])rised 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 fronv 

 frost than those that have been dug. 



The time mentioned in the preceding para- 

 giaphs is the one most suitable for the vicinity of 

 Paris, and for the centre of France ; but 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 princi])le may disappear, 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. This 

 able chymist, in concert with the Count Dangos, 

 Prefect of the Department of Landes, made every 

 arrangement for the establishment of a sugar man- 

 ufactory. Dining ihe 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 panicle 

 of crystallizable sugar. 



Generally speaking, beets may be dug as soon 

 as their largest leaves begin to turn yellow. If 

 harvested before arriving at maturity, they wither, 

 wrinkle, and grow soft ; the juice is extracted 

 from them in tliis 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 tiie earth has been manured in the spring, and 

 afterwards freed from weeds by repeated hoeings, 

 the corn will grow very large and be very clean ; 

 so that the first tillage and manuring serve for two 

 harvests, and the plonghings which are given in 

 autumn to lands appropriated to the reception of 

 wheat or rye, are saved. 



("To be Continued.) 



,1 Great Calf. — Mr Isaac Clapp of Easthamp- 

 ton, sold a calf a few weeks since, five weeks old, 

 which weighed, after it was dressed, 137 pounds, 

 A fine fellow. — Bost. Pat, 



DAIRY HINTS.-PASTCRAGE. 



The quantity of milk varies much according to 

 the kind of pastures used. In England where the 

 Dairies are large, "the use of the milk whether for 

 butter or cheese, is generally regulated by the 

 pastures the cows feed in. The pasture grounds 

 in England are large in proportion to the dairies 

 which enables them to make such selections. For 

 butter a choice is made of old grass lands, that 

 are tolerably rich and fertile ; for cheese these that 

 have been more recently converted into the state 

 of sward, and are of a more cool, as well as less 

 rich soil." Long experience in England, has 

 proved that the former pastures " afl^ord milk that 

 abounds more in the oily material tn- cream," while 

 the latter, '' which have been less time in that 

 state and are of a more cold nature, are more pro- 

 ductive of such milk as have the ca.?eons matter in 

 a larger proportion than cream." It is also said 

 that the butter made from the milk of cows fed on 

 olil pastures, " is easier made, is more firm and of 

 a better quality." 



The situation of our country will not admit of 

 this arrangement, as the two objects of butter and 

 cheese are made on the same farm, — some useful 

 hints may be taken from the above. Tl ere are ' 

 few farms that have not a variety of soils on it. — 

 The hilly and more elevated, is more fiivorable to 

 white clover and should be selected for pasture 

 land. It is however worthy of consideration 

 whether pastures of more luxurious growth, with 

 a full feed on them may not sn|)port more cows 

 on the same acres, and give more milk, though 

 less of the oilij material in it. It is recommended 

 in all kinds of pastures to use small enclosures, 

 and shift the cows frequently. Objections will be 

 made to the expense, but if a farmer will convert 

 ihe value of a cow or more into fences, to divide 

 his pastures, inclose his poorest mowing, and keep 

 his cows out of what he retains for mowing, he 

 will make more hay from fewer acres, increase 

 his butter and cheese, from his cows having bet- 

 ter feed, and will from the increase be able to 

 re|>lace the cows sold, and add to their number. 



Tlie writer of this was knowing to the following 

 fact in England. He visited a g-entleman whose 

 grounds were limited, but had an extensive fruit 

 garden, and used much cream with his fruit. His 

 situation was about two miles from the city of Bir- 

 mingham. He kept two cows the best he could 

 purchase on two acres of pasture. The two acres 

 were divided into eight squares, and the cows 

 when milked were shifted from the square they 

 were in to the next. The two cows furnished the 

 family with all the butter and cream that was used, 

 and every Saturday the dairy women usually car- 

 ried 14 lbs. of butter to market. If these two 

 acres had not been divided they could not have 

 supported these cows in a condition to give half 

 what was produced. 



FEEDl.NG OF cows. 



The greatest care should be taken to keep cows 

 in good condition at all times. When cows are 

 lean at the jieriod of calving, no after management 

 will aflbrd for that season, near the proportion of 

 milk they would if better kept during the winter, 

 andllie quality would be inferior. Such cows in 

 good feed would first gain flesh, before they would 

 give the owner the milk that a better condition 

 would have furnished. Food of the most nour- 

 ishing and succulent kinds should be regul.irly 

 given in suitable proportions ; in the cold and 



