178 



NEW ENGLAND FARiMHR, 



t>E:ceiiiBER 13, IS3S. 



torics of beet-root susrar in difTcrciit parts of Bel- 

 gium, tlio Flemish farmers in general are not much 

 disposed to raise tlie beet-root for sale. Tliey im- 

 agine, whether correctly or not, that the land suffers 

 from this crop, when there is no return of manure, 

 as much as it would from potatoes sold off the farm, 

 while the hitler are much more profitable ; and the 

 carrianre of this heavy produce to any distance 

 through roads almost impassable in autumn greatly 

 diminishes the return. The manufacturers of sugar 

 • have found, in consequence, that they cannot rely 

 on a regular supply from tlie farmer, and that they 

 must enter into the cultivation of the beet-root to 

 a large extent on their own account, to keep up a 

 proper supply. The company established near 

 Waterloo have purchased a 1 rge tract of land, a 

 great pari of which is in woods, which they are 

 cutting down and converting into arable land for 

 this purpose ; on this fresh soil, which is by no 

 means rich, the beet-root appears to thrive well. 

 A large sugar manufactory is erected at Bruges, 

 another near Ghent, and a smaller near Uixmude, 

 and various other places, which will require many 

 hundwds of acres for beet-root annually, apd thus 

 make this root an important article of cultivation. 

 The mode in which this root is cultivated has noth- 

 ing peculiar in it. The land is ploughed and well 

 manured ; the seed is dibbled, as in the garden, in 

 rows a foot or eighteen inches wide and a foot 

 asunder in the rows; when the plants are up they 

 are weeded and hoed by hand ; the seed is put into 

 the ground in the beginning of May, and the roots 

 taken up in September and October. A common 

 crop is from fifteen to twenty tons of roots from an 

 acre of land. 



This cultivation has not been adopted for a suf- 

 ficient number of years to ascertain what rotation 

 is most profitable, where beet-root is the principal 

 object. Those who are sanguine think that alter- 

 nate crops of beet-root and corn may be kept up 

 by good tillage and manuring. Tlie old farmers 

 are of opinion that there will soon be a great fall- 

 ing-off in the crops. Time will show who are 

 right. In the mean time the cultivation of the 

 white and yellow beet, which contain most saccha- 

 rine matter, is extending rapidly. A small portion 

 only of these useful r^ots is raised for the cows. 

 They are not supposed to be so good for the milk 

 as turnips, and they take up the whole season. 

 Should tlie cultivation be greatly extended, it may 

 have a great effect in causing a variation in the 

 usual rotations of crops, now generally adopted. 

 The advantage to agriculture of the beet-root sugar 

 manufactory, where good land is not over-abundant, 

 is still problematical. 



The Ruta Buga, or Swedish turnip, which is so 

 highly valued by the Br'tish farmer, is not gene- 

 rally cultivated in Flanders. If a few small 

 patches of it are seen, it is only as an experiment 

 made by some rich proprietor. It does not enter 

 into the regular system of cultivation, and is not 

 60 well suited to sandy soils as the turnip. 



Carrots grow well in light soils, which have been 

 trenched to a good depth, and they consequently 

 form a part of the regular rotations in all light 

 soils ; when they are sown as a principal crop, it 

 is generally next after potatoes, buckwheat, or tur- 

 nips. The land, having been well stirred for these 

 crops, is ploughed before winter, and manured with 

 half the usual quantity of cow dung, or of the 

 sweepings of sti-eets, with which is mixed a third 

 part of pigs' dung, from the notion that the smell 

 of this dung keeps off the moles and field mice, 



who otherwise would injure the crop. This is 

 ploughed in six or seven inches deep, and the land 

 is left so all winter. In tlie beginning of April a 

 very deep ploughing is given, two or three inches 

 deeper than tlie last; twenty hogsherids of liquid 

 manure are then poured over this, and 2 1-2 lbs. of 

 carrot seed are sown. The harrows reversed are 

 drawn over the land ; the intervals between the 

 stitches, are dug out with the spade, and the earth 

 thrown evenly over the seed. It is then slightly 

 I rolled. Some put o:i no dung, but only liquid ma- 

 I luire, on the land intended for carrots. If the pre- 

 j ceding crop was potatoes, the ground is already 

 sufficiently manured, and any additional quantity 

 would have a tendency to produce forked carrots, 

 which is the consequence of over manuring ; but 

 if they follow buckwheat, which has had no manure, 

 a fresh supply is necessary to ensure a good crop 

 of carrots. The more the manure is decomposed 

 and intimately mixed with the soil, the better for 

 this crop. When the carrots come up, they require 

 to be most carefully weeded ; this is the principal 

 expense. It is done by women and children, who 

 go on their hands and knees and pull up every 

 weed. If carrots were sown in drills much of this 

 labor might be spared, by using horse-hoes be- 

 tween the rows, and small hand-hoes between the 

 plants in the rows. Should the carrots fail, turnips 

 or spurry are immediately sown, that no time may 

 be lost. In May the carrots are thinned out where 

 they grow too close, and those which are pulled 

 out are given to the cows ; they are left about six 

 inches apart 



'There are two sorts of carrots sown in the fields ; 

 the one is the large Dutch orange carrot common 

 in England, the other is a white carrot which is 

 very hardy, grows to a great size, and is more pro- 

 ductive in light sands than the orange. It has 

 lately been introduced into England ; some fine 

 specimens of the root were exhibited at the Smith- 

 field show in December 1830. From a trial on a 

 small scale, we are inclined to think that it will be 

 a valuable addition to our roots for cattle in winter. 

 The white f arret is that which is generally pre- 

 ferred for sowing in another crop, as flax or barley, 

 which is a common practice. In this case the car- 

 rot seed is sown a week or two after the p'-incipal 

 crop. The flax or corn grows faster than the car- 

 rot, which is thus kept down, and only pushes its 

 slender root deep into the ground without making 

 much top, or swelling to any size. In weeding 

 care is taken not to pull out the carrots, which are 

 easily distinguished from weeds. After the flax is 

 pulled, the ground is gone over and weeded again ; 

 liquid manure is then spread over, and the carrots 

 soon begin to grow, and the roots to swell. If the 

 main crop was barley, the stubble is carefully pull- 

 ed up, and the carrots are then treated as before. 

 Thus by the middle of October a good weight of 

 carrots is produced on land, which had already 

 given a profitable crop that season ; and a great 

 supply of winter food is obtained for the cattle. 

 Carrots are occasionally sown amongst peas. The 

 peas ripen in July, and are pulled up; and then 

 the carrots arc treated as we have been describing. 

 If the rowcu'ture were introduced, and the carrots 

 and peas drilled in alternate rows, the success 

 would probably be more complete. This is done 

 in tlie .ntervals of the colza or rape with good suc- 

 cess. About fif.een small cart-loods of carrots, or 

 about ton or twelve tons per acre, is considered a 

 fair crop. Judging from the produce of about one- 

 eighth of an acre of good sand, in which the white 



carrot was sown in England, in March 18.30, witt 

 I'Ut manure, the rows a foot apart aiid well weeds 

 aiid hoed, the crop would have reached twentytw 

 tons per acr'' ; the common orange carrot in th 

 same ground did not produce half that weight. 



Parsnips are sown in land too heavy for carrots 

 and in a deep rich loam, the produce is very grea 

 They have the advantage of bearing the severei 

 frost, and therefore do not require to be house 

 but may be left in the ground until they are re 

 quired for use. They are not thought so good fc 

 milch cows as carrots, but superior for fatting catth 

 The quality of the soil must decide which of th 

 two may be sown to most advantage 



There is another root, the cultivation of wlac 

 is often very profitable, although of comparative: 

 small use on the farm. This is chicory, of whic 

 the dried roots are roasted and used instead c 

 coffee. A considerable commerce in this root ha 

 sprung up lately, which has caused a duty of 20 

 per ton to be laid on its importation into Britaii 

 It is the same plant which Arthur Young so strongl 

 recommended for its leaves for cattle and sheep 

 but it has not been found to answer the expccta 

 tion in this point of view. The roots contain 

 strong bitter, which may be extracted by infusion 

 it is also used in the brewing of beer to save hopi 

 It is wholesome, and if it does not impart an UD 

 pleasant taste to the beer, there can be ho objec 

 tion to its use. At all evenis the cultivation of i 

 whether for beer or coffee, is a part of Flemis 

 agriculture, and deserves to be noticed. The see 

 is sown in the end of March or beginning of Apri 

 It is treated exactly as the carrot, whpn sown alnn( 

 The ground should be mellow and deep, raflie 

 heavy than light, and ploughed or trenched to 

 good depth. It is sown broad-cast in Flanders, a 

 everything else is ; but it would be much better i 

 it were sown in rows eighteen inches apart. Th 

 leaves may be given to sheep or pigs ; but the 

 give a bad taste to the milk of the cows who ea 

 them. The rods are taken up in September, am 

 are then of the size of a small carrot ; they ar' 

 cut into pieces, and dried in a kiln. In that stat 

 they are exported. The price varies much, accord 

 ing to produce and demand. » It is not an object o 

 general cultivation, but only by particular person: | 

 and in particular soils ; the market is overslockec ' 

 at one time, and a great demand exists at another 

 Such a produce can never nnter into a regula 

 course, but may be raised as circumstances niaj 

 afford a prospect of sale and profit. — Library o, 

 Useful Knowledge. 



MORUS MULTICAULIS SPECULATION. 1 



If our produce in silk is likely to increase in anj 

 thing like the increased demand for this species olj 

 the mulberry, and its ^apid multiplication, we shall I 

 be able, in a few years, to clothe our entire female 

 population in silken fabrics, and to export largely 

 in the bargain. But the demand seems to origi- 

 nate from a hope of making money by speculating 

 in the buds, or trees, rather than in the sUk which 

 they are to produce. Individuals have for some 

 time been traversing the several states, from Can- 

 ada to Florida, buying up these trees, and the prices 

 have kept advancing till they have reached an ex- 

 travagance beyond reason, and almost beyond cre- 

 dibility. The Farmers' Register informs us, that 

 Thomas Hicks, of Virginia, laid out $'Si5, in 1830 

 and 1837, for trees of the multicaulit, and that he 

 has recently sold from their product, 20,000 trees, 



