VOL. XVIII. XO. 31. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



185 



IMPORTANT FACTS. 

 Wc observe witli astonishment and regret, the 

 onclusive eviilonce which appears in every direc- 

 ion, that the businc:is of agriculture does not re- 

 eive the attention due to it in lliis country, but it 

 3 treated with absolute neglect, compared with 

 ther pursuits. This ought not to be, and the in- 

 abitants of this country will yet learn, tliat tlicy 

 ave committed a gross error by abandoning the 

 ultivation of the soil, for less independant and 

 nore precarious modes of obtaining a livelihood. 



Who has ever heard of such a state of things as 

 low exists here ? We have a soil as fertile as any 

 hat the sun ever shone upon : a country almost 

 oundless in e.ttent, and so cheap that any man 

 nay purchase a farm with the proceeds of a few 

 nonths labor, yet we are actually importing for 

 :onsumption, immense quantities of agricultural 

 )roduct3 from foreign countries ! A people thinly 

 cattered over a land unequalled in fertility, and ex- 

 laustless in its resources, are buying their bread 

 it enormous prices, from countries so overburthened 

 vith inhabitants, that political economists have 

 eared that the earth would fail to produce suffi- 

 ;ient to support them. Sucli an extraordinary and 

 mnatural circumstance should excite attention and j 

 iwaken the inquiry as to its cause. 



The fault, as we have seen, is not in the soil, 

 lor is the country overrun- witli inhabitants. It is, 

 herefore, evident that the cultivation of the soil is 

 leglected, otherwise we should be exporting agri- 

 ;ultural products, but it is easier to show the fact, 

 ;hat agriculture is neglected, than to find a suffi- 

 cient reason for this neglect. We apprehend, how- 

 3ver, that it v.'ill bo found to spring in a great 

 measure, from the same causes which have produ- 

 ced much evil in this country, and the bitter fruits 

 of which we are now reaping. The first and chief 

 of these causes, is the inordinate thirst for wealth, 

 which pervades every class of society, and induces 

 men to abandon their legitimate business to en- 

 gage in some wild, hazardous speculation, in the 

 hope of becoming suddenly rich. It is also too 

 often the case that the farmer becomes tired of the 

 moderate and gradual accumulation of property by 

 the products of his land, and leaves the cultivation 

 of it to engage in ihe business of commerce or man- 

 ufactures. He finds out his egregious mistake 

 when it is too late. The property he had accumu- 

 lated is often squandered and lost in conscipience 

 of his ignorance of his now business, and he again 

 sighs for the cheerful and independant mode of 

 life which he has abandoned, when it is out of his 

 power to resume it. We have in our miiiJ num- 

 berless instances of this kind, where industrious and 

 prosperous farmers have been lured to their ruin, by 

 being induced to lay aside the implements of hus- 

 bandry, and engage in the univers.al scramble. after 

 sudden wealth. 



There is another g.'eat error prevalent upon this 

 subject, and that is, tlip "business of agriculture is 

 generally looked upon as less respectable than that 

 of commerce, manufactures, or the professions ; and 

 wealthy farmers, instead of teaching their sons 

 their own business, most usually transform them in- 

 to merchants, lawyers, doctors or doininees. This 

 is all wrong. Agriculiure is the very back-bone 

 of all bu iiness, the mainspring of all wealth, and 



lated to perpetuate the free institutions of our liap- 1 milch cows is very groat. It improves both the 

 py country. The truth of the eloquent panegyrics : quantity and quality of the milk, without imparling 

 of the ancients upon this employment, may be more to it any disagreeable flavor.— ^j;/>ani/ paper. 

 easily realized here, than in any other country upon j 



earth. We confidently hope to see public opinion 

 speedily righting itself upon this subject, and to | 

 find people seeking their permanent interests, and | 

 advancing the prosperity and glory of our wide do- 

 main, by engaging more generally in this healthful, jagt spring, of Gideon B. Smith, Esq. an car of the 



From ihe .American F.iriiier. 



THE CHINESE TREE CORN. 

 .ToHN S. Skixner, Escp — Dear Sir — I purcliased 



honest and independent business. — .V. 1'. Sun. 



THE SUGAR BEET. 



The culture of this root has, in many instances, 

 boon attended with the most extraordinary success. 

 The Harrisburg Keystone gives in the following 

 extract of a letter from Judge Lewis, some impor- 

 tant testimony upon the subject: 



" In the month of April last, I planted about an 

 acre of sugar beets, for the purpose of feeding the 

 cattle during the winter season. The ground con- 

 sisted of several patches, some of which had been 

 used for potatoes the year before. After it was 

 properly prepared, deep furrows were run through 

 it two feet apart, in which manure was afterwards 

 deposited, which was covered by running a furrow 

 on each side of the first, and thus forming a small 

 ridge over the manure. Along this the beets were 

 dropped and covered by means of a species of hand 

 drill of my own invention, composed of a piece of 

 2 inch plank, about a foot long, in the shape of a 

 triangle, with throe old harrow teeth formed like 

 small shovels of the proper shape, and a handle of 

 about 4 1-2 feet long, with a calibre about the size 

 of a rifle bore, through which the seed were made 

 to descend into a furrow formed by the front tooth : 

 they were covered by the two hind teeth. The 

 seed were deposited in the row about a foot apart. 

 On the 1st of Nov. instant, the beets were taken up. 

 The product of 440 feet was weighed on the hay 

 scales, and amounted to 020 lbs., which, counting 

 GO pounds to the bushel, would be 13 1-2 bushels. 

 The whole product of the acre at this rate is 18.53 

 bushels This will ensure me plenty of good milk 

 and butter during the winter, and may serve to 

 show that the beet is worthy the attention of far- 

 mers who have no intention to make sugar. I con- 

 sider a busl^el of beets nearly equal in value to a 

 bushel of oats. 1353 bnshels at 30 cents would 

 make tlie yield of an acre §40.5 90." 



As we ourselves dabble a very little in farming, 

 we will add the particulars of an experiment of our 

 own in raising the sugar beet. 



A patch of three quarters of an acre was twice 

 ploughed very deep and vcnj richly manured with 

 stable manure, after having been well limed (100 

 bushels to the acre) the preceding year. 



The seed was planted by hand in drills, and 

 when the plants were up, they were thinned out by 

 hand, so as to leave them about a fi)Ot apart in the 

 drill. 



'i'he ground was kept tolerably free of weeds 

 till the plants had obtained a considerable growth, 

 after which they were not much attended to. 



The beets were gathered during tiie first week 

 of this month, aiid the produce was (wO bushels^— 

 weiahing fourteen tons six hundreds! 



The hogs and the cows eat them greedily, either 



above corn which had been grown by Mr Grant 

 Thorburn, of Hallett's Cove, New York, a part of 

 which I planted in a bed in my gardeh, and as the 

 success which has attended this pxpcriment may, 

 in part, be owin^ to the preparation of tlie ground 

 and mode of culture, it may be as well to detail it. 

 The bed was at first highly manured with fresh 

 stable dung, then spaded deep. The ground being 

 thus prepared, I had holes dug four feet apart, about 

 four inches deep, in each of which I dropped two 

 grains of corn, the which I covered with a compost 

 of equal parts of spent ashes and rich mould. — 

 When the corn first came up it looked yellow, and 

 supposing that it might be owing to too much acid- 

 ity being in the ground, I sprinkled over each hill 

 about half a gill of equal parts of air-slaked lime 

 and plaster of Paris, whicli I mixed with tlie soil 

 by gently stirring the earth around the plants of 

 corn. I subsequently gave it three thorough weed- 

 ings and hoeings, taking care each time to make 

 my hoe penetrate deeply into the earth, and each 

 time increasing the size of the hill around the roots. 

 As directed by the notice piiblished by Mr Thor- 

 burn, I have, suffered the suckers to remain, and 

 from the luxuriant appearance of my corn, and its 

 prolific yield, I have no doubt he has hit upon the 

 right plan of cultivating it. 



Attracted by its fine appearance, I was induced 

 a day or two sirco to go into the patch and count 

 the number of ears upon some of the hills. Upon 

 one I counted ten, upon another fourteen, and upon 

 a third nineteen ears. This, being from two grains 

 of cern planted, must^be considered a good yield. 

 This corn is a pearly white, of the flint variety, 

 the ears, medium size, and I have no doubt win 

 make an excellent crop of corn. It grows 1o the 

 ordinary height, yields a great abundance of fodder, 

 and is withal an early corn, having been sufliciont- 

 ly advanced two weeks since, for roasting ears.— 

 On strong ground, we'd manured, with suitable cul- 

 ture, I have no doubt it may be made to yield an 

 average acreable product of a hundred bushels. 



Bysome mistake, two dozen cars of the same 

 corn were pulled some days since for table use, and 

 I have no hesitation in saying that it is equally as 

 sweet as the sugar corn, with this in i'-S favor, that 

 the ears are nearly twice the size. 



Whether this corn or;gin;;ted from a few grains 

 found in a chest of tea, as asserted by Mr Thorburn, 

 I will not pretend to say ; but of this I am certain : 

 it is a most excellent variety, and is worthy of ex- 

 tensive cultivation. 



Should thfs hastily written note be deemed wor- 

 thv of insertion, you can give it a place, and oblige 

 vour obedient servant, 



EDWARD P. ROBERTS. 

 Mulherr>j Grove, Baltimore Co., July 'i\, 1S39. 



should bo regarded as a profession of the highest raw or boijed. The horses as yet refuse, although 

 respectability. It gives those engaged in it a feel- mixed with meal — orsprinkled witli salt — or wheth- 

 ing of independence, genuine nobleness without os- er raw or boiled, 

 tentation, lienor, honesty, and firmness, well calcu- 1 The value, however, of these vegetables for 



The wool raised in Vermont this year is worth 

 three millions of dollars, estimating it at an ave^ 

 rai-e price of fifty cents a pound. 



Snow fell to the depth of .-jix inches in the wes- 

 tern part of this State on Thursday last. 



