No. 1. 



AND G A R D K N E R ■ S J O U R N A L 



From the Yankee Farmer. 

 CoJt of raisiu; Sugar Beets aud other Roots. 



In examining an estimate of the expenses of mn- 

 king bCi't sugar in ihis conntiy, many Carnicre will 

 cof»iidcr that tUc expense, of rai.-in:; the rooit^ \a reck- 

 oned toj low; ibis ia owing tD ilij little attention that 

 haa been pnlJ I') root cropa; and tii firmeie, in gor.er- 

 tl, not being made aejuaintcJ wiili tUe best and m:)6t 

 econiniical method of cultnie, and not having mn- 

 chinea and implements to enable them to manage the 

 growing of root crops toadvanlagc. 



Tac3e unfavorable opinion.^ wdl in a measure con- 

 tinue, till root culture u mare in pruc;ice, for, thuigh 

 cases are stated of crops raised at a email expen,-e, 

 they will be regarded as extraordinary t-ar^e^, and Cjti- 

 mitca made on paper, in which no eiror can be point- 

 ed out, will be bolted upon 09 eomething uncertain; 

 yet theiO favorable accounts will lead the enterpriting 

 and intelligent to try whether tbc.;e things are eo, and 

 although their exjiectati onj may not always be re ilized, 

 yet they will find n groat ndvnntnge in attending to 

 root culture, and be led to incpiire into the most frugnl 

 method of pursuing it. Farmers wh 1 dig np a small 

 patch and sow it in beet'', and do not weed it till there 

 are live hundred weeds to one plant, may find thnt the 

 coat of raising a bushel of beets ia one dollar, when, 

 with prUvlent management in raising on a large scale, 

 ten or twelve bushels could be raised with this ex- 

 penie. 



In raising beet9 and some other crops in a garden, 

 we have mnnagod to do the weeding befirt; sowing, 

 Bni tind that it id a great saving of labor; that is, pur- 

 sue thill ninnnor of culture that wid destroy the wee Is 

 before the seed is sown; and the same plan may be fjl- 

 loweJ in ticld culture, aud c.en to a greater advan- 

 tage, as most of the labor can be done by animil labor, 

 which is much cheaper than manual labor in this coun- 

 try, and this, as has been observed in the articles late- 

 Ivpubhohcd on the subject, will cnnble us to raise 

 bee:s as cheap as they aie ras-ed in France. 



O.ir mcLhod has been to put on the manure and etir 

 np tho ground in the fall or eaily in the spring — the 

 foiraer is preferable, as the frost will loosen the soil and 

 miko it mellow, and the weeds will start in the spring 

 before ths soil is dry enough to work: when t'le weeds 

 were well started, we worked the grovm I over again. 

 About the 2dih of M;iy the ground wcs well woikcd 

 over, and the seed sown, alter being soaked, so that i; 

 would come up in a short time; the plants were up 

 and large en lugh to hoe when scarcely any weeds ap- 

 peared, the hieing was d:)ne in a short time, the soil 

 i)oi;rg very light and mellow, anl there was but sery 

 litde trouble on njcount of weeds, through the soason, 

 they having been mostly destroyed before sowing, li 

 ihij plan should be pursued in lield colturc, it would 

 rave nearly one hilf oi' the expense. One hour's work 

 with a h ore anl cultivator, in stirring the earth and 

 destroying weeds before sowing, would save several 

 days in hoeing. 



The following method of culture for n field crop, 

 would be very economical as to weeding, which seems 

 to be the most expensive part of cultivation. A piece 

 of land, a deep, mellow soil, that haa been well manu- 

 red and planted one }'eiir in corn or potatoes, would be 

 in good c-^nditi m for a beet ctop. If it has been 

 ploughed more than one year, there would be dnnger 

 from the grub worm, which we believe is the principal 

 injury from insects to which the sugar beet is 1 able. 



A pieje .should be fclected thut can bo ploughed 

 d^ep, and the stones, if any, re:novei. If there his 

 nit been auilicient manure appl ed to the previous crop, 

 apply the manure and plough the ground very deep jit 

 the f.'dl, if it cannot be .done at this season, then as ear- 

 ly as possible in the spring. When the weeds have 

 (•tnned, go over it with a cultivator, and in a few 

 weeks go over it again in the same way; this will loo- 

 sen and pulverize the soil and destroy the wee.!s. — 

 From the 20th of Miy to the Ist of June, let the 

 earth be thoroughly stirred with a cultivator, or if the 

 eoil be not very loose it may be well to plough it again 

 and then go over it with a light barrow to make the 

 oiufacc level and s.iiooth, and the soil fine: be ready 

 to sow as soon as the ground is prepared, whde the 

 eurfcco ismoin, and that the plants may get the start of 

 the w^eds. Pour water as hot as can be borne by the 

 liand on the seed, and let it soak a day and a half or 

 two days, then it wdl vegetate and b'^ up, end the 

 plants will be large enough to hoe before th" few weeds 

 that are liable to grow, get up so as to be much trouble. 

 Sow the seed with a machine and the expense will 

 be light. Le: the rows be from two to two and a half 

 (eel apart, then a light cullivatir may be used between 

 the rowa; in thinning the iilanie, let them stand about 

 one foot apart. If any pla/-es arc vacant from the seed 

 not growing or the grub worms eating them, the defi- 

 ciency raay bo supplied ly tnmHplanting; thotigh , 



transplanted beets do not form so handsome a root, yet 

 they yield about as much as the other. The expense 



tor weeding and 1 losining the sjil will not be f^rcat. 



In harvesting, if the beets cannot be pulled easily, a 

 I urrow may be ploughed near each row with n horse 

 plough, then they may be pidLd with little lubor. liy 

 thi-, or some belter way, if it can be (levied, bcct^ 

 may be raised at a small cxpene, and as lands and aii- 

 imul labor are ch.aper here th.in in France, and as 

 much labor can be d >no here by animal-, which is per- 

 formed there by the hinds, we think our advantages 

 are e lual to thise of France in tho cheapncej of man- 

 ual labor. Lut suppos.ng our advantages in raising the 

 beets ore not equal as to a cheap pro luction, we hate 

 reckoned the expense higher in the calculations wc 

 hove published, so as to c mfortn to a fair estimate on 

 all expenses. Instead of $;,'-0 per ton, as in Franco, 

 we h.ave reckoned at ."g.") per ton. No calculation on 

 the expense of rai ing been or other crops, can be 

 made exacdy suited I) all ports of the country, as the 

 prices of labor and land are dillercnt. Near cities and 

 large town?, and neir the seaboard, owing to good ad- 

 vantages lor markets and communiention, lands are 

 higher, and the rent of them more, of cuutee, than in 

 the interior; in such cases labor too is usually some- 

 what higher. 



Esthnalcil Expense of an Acre of Sircar Beets. 

 Use of an acre of land well prepared for beets and 

 manured, or managed in the previous crop — jgI2 00 



Ploughing 4 00 



Cultivator-mg-, horje, cultivator and hand two 



hou: 8, - .rjO 



Twice more before sowing, .... * 1 oil 



H.irrowing, v 50 



S;e I, .*v!, 75, sowing with a machine, 75, . . 3 Oil 



First hoeing, 4 00 



Second hoeing, thinning, oiid transplanting to 



supply defic.encies, 4 00 



Hoeing again and lossening the ground with 



machines o oo 



Harvesting, 9 00 



$-10 00 

 Make the rows 2 feet 4 inches apart, and than a cul- 

 tivator con be used in hoeing. If the beets stand one 

 foot apart in the rows, and weigh 1 1-4 lbs. each, the 

 yield will be "JO tons. In rich ground ot that distance, 

 a great number will weigh 4 or 5 lbs. each; twenty tons 

 is a gjod croji, but not extremely large, for in some ca- 

 ses 25 or oO tons to the acre have been raised in this 

 country. At tho above e.xpenie of §10 to the acre 

 wdh a yield of 20 tons, the cost would be $'3 per ton. 

 We make this estimate to show how cheap beets may he 

 raised under favorablo circumstances, such as good land 

 at afiirpiice, convenient machi.-.^ry and im;dcment?, 

 and the most prudent management in the culture, with 

 labor at moderate price, and a favorable seas 'n. We 

 have no doubt that in some parts of New England beets 

 could be produced in greatabundanccat theabove price; 

 but we must not always expect a combination of favor- 

 able circumstances. 



Siippoi-e we reckcui th3 produce only two thirds as 

 much aj above, say 11! 2-3 tons, and the cost 'M-l-'i per 

 cent mo;e, wh ch wdl be §03 33 cents: ihsn tho cost oi 

 the boots will bo only .$4 per ton, one-fifth less than Mr, 

 Boison reckoned in his calculation on the cost of beet 

 sugar. If we reckon 5j pounds to the bushel, 13 I-'-' 

 tons per acre would be only 533 bu-he's, which would 

 be n 1 mo e thin a mid 11 ng crop; not half as much as 

 has been raised in a number of caics that have been 

 named, 



JFVo.Ti thi /\'cto Ene^land Farmer. 

 Agriculta -.il Iinjjroramatits in Sarope. 



Agriculture in Europe is now receiving an attention 

 which it has never received in any preceding time. 

 The long continuance of peace among the great na- 

 tisns, who for so many years, wc had almost said centu- 

 ries, had time to think of little e'se than conquest and 

 military glory, has been in the highest measure favora- 

 ble t) the cultivation of the common and practical arts 

 of life, and of agriculture in an espceinl manner, as the 

 great art involv.ng and deminding too oid of all others. 

 Implements of hucbandiy have been substituted fi>r 

 weapons of war; and fields that hove been watered by 

 the bio id and whitened with the bones of slaughtered 

 thousands, ore now seen glistening and waving with 

 golden hanvsts. 



In England, great as the improvements were before 

 that time, yet within the last fifteen years, it is con- 

 fidently stated, that by on improved cultivation, the 

 agricultural products have increased at least twenty- 

 five per cent, in many parts of that country: that is 

 to say, the amount of crop on the same extent of land 

 is greatly increo-wtl, and the expenses of (niltivotion 



either not increased, or diminished; or, to state in a 

 form perhap.s more intelligible, the j rolits of agricul- 

 ture are advanced one-quaiter by improved cultiva- 

 tion. 



The fame rrsulia ore appearing in France. In 

 England the introduction of the turnip husbandry 

 pro.lucjil the most extraordinary renulls; and of a 

 permanent character. It enabled the farniera to kiep 

 much more stock than could be kept on dry hay and 

 straw, and to keep a superior slock and in much bel- 

 ter condition. It cnoblcd them to enrich ibcir lands 

 very greally by feeding olT the turni|)S on the ground 

 on which they were grown, and scivcd to increaca 

 their manure heaps at the barn, when the turnips were 

 f -d 10 the cattle in the yard. The careful cultivation 

 wh ch good crops of this rool demanded, mode a l.na 

 preparniion for wheat or oats or bail.y; and thus every 

 thing went_ forward by ajoint and riciprocol operation. 

 In many of the counties of England the turnip cultiva- 

 tion has been the f uindalion of their improved hus- 

 bandry; has changed the whole aspect of things; more 

 than trebled or quadrupled in many cases iJie value of 

 estates, as appears by their increased rentol, and I j 

 the groin and wool, and beef and mutton which it haa 

 enabled the liirmers to produce, it has proved the source 

 of immense wealth. 



What the turnip husbandry has done fir England th« 

 sugar beet cultivation is now doing for France; with 

 this superior advantage, that the sugar obtained must be 

 considered as, to a degree, an extra profit. The leaves 

 and the pummice afford a large amount of feed for 

 stock; the cultivation which the plant requires, pre- 

 pares in a capital manner, the giound for other crops; 

 and the increase of live stock on the farm where plenty 

 of feed is produced in older to keep them, curries every 

 thing else forward in o rapid latio. The sugar obtained 

 troin the root aliords a most ample profit, were there 

 noihng else obtained from the cultivation. 



The agricultural publications now going on in 

 France, of which we have rece.ved teveial of a 

 most valuable characte-, ind cate an extraordinary at- 

 tention to this great subject, and a high degree ot im- 

 provenie.it. 



In reference to the manu.'acture of sugar from beet, 

 we learn that so far as cheapness of operation and 

 amount obtained per centage, the businecs was never 

 more prosperous. The improvements which have ta- 

 ken place within a few years, ore very great. The 

 beet is now operated upon by rasping or grating as soon 

 as taken from the field; and this often early in Septem- 

 ber. It is then leeched, if the exjiression be proper, by 

 cold water. Thiscarries down ail the eaccliarine mat- 

 ter, leaving behind all the mucdiage, which has given 

 to the sugar an unpleasant taste; and to get rid of 

 w iiich has long been a great desideratum. The saccha- 

 ri-io matter is then suhjcctei to a pioceseof purifica- 

 t.on, crystallization and refinement, which enables them 

 to obtain at least e glit per cent, of sugar, and at eo 

 moderate a rate, that they can oflbrd to pay the govern- 

 ment excise of eeven cents per pound, and leave a 

 handsome profit to the farmer and manufacturer, — 

 From all that can be learnt, there ia little doubt that 

 the improvements are such that it can soon be made 

 an article of profitable household manufacture. This 

 is n great desideratum, and a jioint wh ch we confi- 

 der.t'y believed at one time had been gained by our 

 respected friend at Stoncham; but in the absence of 

 aU advices from him, we are gratified with this intelli- 

 gence from abroad, which we have received fiom an 

 authentic source, and have only to congratulate our- 

 selves that in spite of all delays and hindioncee, the 

 world will go round. This in'.ellgence is highly grat. 

 ifying. Europe now is only half a month's journey, 

 and a quickened enterprise and public spirit diffase in- 

 tcUigsnce almost with the rapidity of light. H. C. 



Bi:ets in old Dutchess. — A farmer of Dutchess 

 Co. N. Y., has sent the editor of the Poughkeepsie 

 Telegraph, samples of sugar beets and mangel wuit- 

 zel. With a memorandum tiating that hi? crop of beeta 

 then harvesting, would oniount to from 1000 to 1200 

 bushels, from less than an acre of land, and that the 

 average cost of raising them will not exceed G cents 

 per bushel. The six largest of the sugar bee.s weigh- 

 ed 67 lbs,, the heaviest one 13 lbs. — American Far- 

 mer. 



An I.vTEtLiGiBLE Recipe. — A lody at the Springs 



last Slimmer, being desirous of obta'ning the recipe for 

 making a certain pudding, to bo met nowhere but at 

 Congress Hall, applied to the superintendent for the 

 same. It was immediately furnisiicd in the following 

 clear and conspicuous terms : — " Take a few eggs, a 

 quantity of milk, a thingfuU of currants, a thingfuU o4 

 meal, a thingfuU of wine, three ihingfulle of flour, and 

 sweeten to your tost^ ' ' 



