37—1851.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



- ■■■ 



587 



but I think there was little difference at the time they 



pulled. I do not mean by this to say any thin 

 against guano, for I have found in other experiments 



it the° best results were from guano and poultry 

 manure, being mixed in the proportion of two or three 

 cwts. of the former to a ton of the latter. The cocks 

 gell best about Christmas, but they do not do so 

 trell after. There is a very great deal of difference 

 the price from one market-day to another ; some- 

 times 35. or 4s. in the cocks — it is quite a lottery. 

 1 consider 1 fit. a pair a fair price, and I have found 

 jlus about the average during some years. 



I have no doubt that the remarks I have made re- 

 ipecting the rearing of poultry will bring forward many 

 Criticisms, and some ridicule ; but if they induce only 

 one farmer to give it a fair trial and the necessary 

 attention, it will give me all the satisfaction I require. 

 JHL X, near Bruintree, May 5. 



in 





* ON THE CULTURE OF FIELD BEET. 



The land intended to be planted with Mangold Wurzel 

 fmst be ploughed in the early autumn, and immediately 

 on the grain being carried from the field. The first 

 ploughing must be deeply done, not less than 8 inches, 

 which may require three horses in the plough to move 

 that depth. The autumn will permit a fallowing of the 

 land, to be done in the common way of ploughing, 

 harrowing, and rolling ; and if the process cannot be 

 folly accomplished, the land may be one half or two- 

 thirds prepared, and in that condition remain over 

 winter, to wait the spring operations. It may be 

 advantageous to gather the land into ridges by the last 

 autumn ploughing, which will keep it drier in winter 

 than when lying in the flat and newly ploughed state, in 

 which it becomes " bleached ; " and most certainly 

 receives damage. The first furrow in the spring may 

 reverse the ridges, and by filling the open meetings of 

 the ploughings, a level surface will be again obtained. 

 This one ploughing, accompanied by a severe harrowing 

 in the last week in April, may be sufficient to fit the 

 land to be dunged and planted, if the autumn fallowing 

 was tolerably performed ; or a cross ploughing may 

 follow, and will prepare the land very fully, and also 

 favour the drilling, which is best done after a cross 

 plonghing ; as the drill plough, in following a longitudinal 

 ploughing, always slips into the furrows that have 

 preceded it. If the land be only ploughed in winter, it 

 most be fallowed in the end of March, and during April, 

 by the common processes of ploughing, harrowing, and 

 rolling, and repeated till the proper clean tilth be 

 produced. The cool atmosphere of these spring months 

 does not admit well the cleaning of grounds, and it forms 

 objection to Beet-root, that it requires an early, and 

 often an imperfect preparation of the land. This 

 circumstance may be very much palliated by the autumn 



following of the ground, which much relieves the spring 

 labour, imparts a consistency to the soil, and keeps much 

 moisture to be husbanded for use throughout the summer. 



Beet-root is planted during the first two weeks of 

 the month of May, and the quantity of seed used 

 on an acre is 4 to 7 lbs. The land being made 

 ready, either by spring or autumnal fallowing, is made 

 by the common plough into drills of 26 inches of 

 interval, in which the farm yard dung is deposited 

 and spread. 



active fermentation, which has been commenced for 

 # or 10 days, and provoked by the turning over of 

 the trampled heap in the corner of the field, which has 

 been placed there during winter. It is essential that 

 the dung be covered by reversing the drills immediately 

 on being spread, in order that the gaseous effluvia 

 which arise from the incipient fermentation may 

 penetrate the newly stirred soil, reach the seed, and 

 stimulate the vegetation. For this purpose, the drill 

 ploughs must move close behind the dung carts, and 

 cover the manure as fast as it is spread. The seed is 

 steeped for 48 hours in urinary water, suds, or lyes, 

 Ifcd dried with quick-lime, to suit the purpose of being 

 ■own. It is deposited on the tops of the drills in holes 

 toade by hand dibble, about 15 inches distant from each 

 other. The two drill machines, as Hornsby's drop drill, 

 **& provided with cylinder cups, and coulters, which 

 Bow the seeds in a continuous stream, and with much 

 accuracy. The quantity of lime that adheres to the 

 laoistened seeds has been proved to give a superiority 

 the crop, arising from the speedy decomposition 

 <»used by the lime of the albumen which the seed 



mains, and whioh is so very beneficially converted 



nla°t - for tne y oun S germination. And when a 

 p t Quires a superiority at this early stage of growth, 



* never loses it during the whole season. In either 

 ™y of planting the seeds, the drills must be roiled 

 without delay, which will level the cloddy surface, press 

 i 8ee ^ t<> the dung, and secure the benefits of the 



*™enting dung, and the exhalations from the newly 



^^a ground. The drill machine may be the better 



/ of sowing the seed, as dibbling always makes 



* ftmness on the sides of the hole made by the in- 

 *ned prong, and it may be hurtful to the very young 

 Papulation. 



i 



The dung must be in the state of an 



mencing the working of green crop lands, pe< lly of 

 the stiff-bottomed kinds, the narrow pointed due* of 

 the common plough pierces and moves the soil in a very 

 superior manner beyond the knives, tines, or duck-footed 

 shares of any seufner yet known. But after the land 

 has been " once" ploughed in the intervals, the two- 

 knived scuffier will do Well for the remaining work of 

 the summer. 



The hand-hoeing follows the scuffling of the intervals 

 of the drills, which thins the plants singly to the distance 

 of about 15 inches, always leaving the most healthy and 

 vigorous growth of stein. At the same time, the hoe 

 moves and breaks the ground between the plants, and 

 cuts every weed. Unlike the Turnip, the Beet-root 

 plant does not thrive by being laid prostrate, and attached 

 to the ground by a small thread ; it must stand upright, 

 and be covered with earth to the neck of the young set. 



After this process of scuttling and thinning, the Beet- 

 root ground remains till the weeds are again risen, when 

 the scuftter must be constantly employed, and repeated 

 till the weeds are completely destroyed. In dry weather 

 the benefit is very great of moving the ground in the 

 intervals of the drills, as the stirring raises exhalations 

 to be imbibed by the leaves of the plants, which, 

 being broad and succulent, derive a great part of their 

 food from the atmosphere. The sen filing must never be 

 discontinued, except in very wet weather, and the second 

 hand-hoeing will be done during the end of summer, as 

 the growth of the weeds may require. It removes all 

 weeds, singles the plants where two have been left 

 together, moves the soil around the sets, and pfeces 

 them in the proper direction. The scuffling may be 

 afterwards continued, if necessary. 



In autumn, the outer leaves of the Beet-root plant 

 begin to droop, and to show symptoms of decay. Some 

 persons recommend that these leaves be gathered, by 

 being stripped from the plant, and given to young cattle 

 and sheep ; while others assert, that the future growth 



of the plant is hurt by the leaves being pulled. But it 

 may be very reasonably supposed, that leaves which are 

 in decay, and which are nearly parted from the stem, 

 have ceased to perform any office, and that the 

 removal of them cannot be hurtful ; and this observation 

 has been confirmed by practice. In the end of the 

 month of October, the crop is pulled, the earth and 

 fibres cut away, and the Beet carried to the homestead ; 

 where the roots are built into a pile ab< ut G feet in width 

 at the bottom, and about 4 feet in height, tapering into 

 a narrow ridge at top, with the thick end of the roots 

 outwards on the sides of the pile. The heap of roots is 

 covered with a coat of straw in thatch, which admits 

 the air, to prevent the perspiration of the roots ; and 

 severe frosts may be met with a covering, timely applied, 

 of fresh stable dung in the rough strawy state. In this 

 way, Beet-root can be kept in a very fresh condition till 

 May and June of the year after they are grown. The 

 tops and leaves are given to young cattle and sheep, and 

 spread thinly over dry stubble, or lea pasture, where 

 they are eaten greedily by cattle, but with much danger 

 of hovin in moist weather, from the gaseous fluids which 

 they contain. The quantity is to be restricted on that 

 account. The leaves are not much relished by sheep ; 

 but to swine they are most particularly grateful ; and in 

 the open yard of store pigs, the herbage affords much 

 juicy food, and an ample remnant for manure. 



Beet-roots, either in a raw or steamed state, are very 

 beneficially given to milch cows throughout the winter, 

 and are found to increase the quantity of milk very 

 much, but the milk is thought to be thin, and more 

 watery in quality. In a raw state, there is no better 

 food than Beet-root for pigs and young cattle. In the 

 feeding of cattle, opinions differ about the value of 

 Beet-root and Swedish Turnips ; the most general 

 opinion prefers the [latter ; and the experiments made 

 by feeding cattle ofequal age and the same breed, on the 

 two different roots, have proved altogether inconclusive 

 — because no two animals of any age or breed can be 

 found to increase in equal weight, in the same time, 

 from a given quantity of the same food. Beet-root is 

 equally grateful to sheep ; and in the spring months of 

 the lambing season, it is most assuredly superior to the 

 Swedish Turnip, when milking and not fattening is 



planted in autumn, live through the winter, and produo* 

 a In avier crop than by the spring-planting ; and pro- 

 bably Beet-root might show the same results. The seed 

 being in the ground would produce an earlier crop than 

 the spring sowing. 



Einhof states that 18 tons of Mangold Wurzel ant 



equal to 1 5 tons of Ruta-baga, or 7 tons of Potatoes, or 

 3| tons of good meadow hay, each quantity containing 

 the same nourishment : 



but then the nbove quantity 

 of roots can be grown on less than an acre, whereas it 

 will take about three acres of meadow land to produce 



a plant 



required. And the preserving of the roots in a fresh 

 state till March and April is a matter of no difficulty. 



Beet-root yields a greater weight per acre, both in 

 roots and leaves, than any other root crop yet known, than that which Nature gave, aud still gives us 



the equivalent quantity of hay. 



It was very early observed that Beet-root 

 of a very saccharine nature, and that crystallisabW 

 sugar was easily to be obtained from the juice of th# 

 roots. The manufacture of Beet-root sugar sprung up 

 in France under the superintendence of Chaptal, tbi 

 eminent chemist, in consequence of the d« crees that 

 were issued to exclude the colonial produce of Britain. 

 When the sugar is refined, it cannot be distinguished 

 from the cane sugar, either by the taste or appearance. 

 Five tons of clean roots produce about 47 cwt. of coarst 

 sugar, which give about 160 lbs. of double ratified sugpr, 

 and 60 lbs. of inferior lump sugar. The nest is molasses, 

 from which a good Spirit is distilled. By distilling the 

 juice of Beet-root, after it has aodsBgone'the vinous fer- 

 mentation, a very good spirit is obtained, and also * 

 kind of beer, which is said to be pleasant and wholesome 

 in warm weatln 



Professor Lampadino obtained from 110 lbs. of roots 

 4 lbs. of well-grained white powder sugptr, and the 

 residuum afforded 7 pints of spirit. Achard says that 

 about 1 ton of roots produced about 100 lbs. of raw 

 sugar, which gave 55 lbs. of refined sugar, and 25 lbs. of 

 treacle. This result is not very different from that of 



Chaptal in France. 



Another variety of Beet has been lately introduced 

 called the * Turnip-rooted or Orange Beet," from the 

 colour of the root. There has not yet appeared to be 

 any difference in the quantity or quality of that variety 

 of the plant that is deserving of any special notice. /. D* 



Home Correspondence. 



Tillage Excursions. — The inliabitants of Whitfield and 

 Falfield villages have to thank Prof, Hens-low, and hia 

 suggestion on this subject, for one of the pleasantest 

 days that ever was spent On Tuesday last about 80* 

 including some of the farmers of the neighbourhood and 

 their friends, with many of their labourers and their 

 friends, and about 30 of the girls and young men of our 

 village singing class, crossed the Severn, visited Chep- 

 stow Castle, Tintern Abbey, and the banks of the Wye, 

 where we found the old echoes answering more merrily 

 and musically than perhaps ever before they had been 

 known to do. Some of us, who could speak of other parte 

 of the island, agreed that no where is there a more delight- 

 ful spot for the visit of a holiday party ; and it was voted 

 unanimously, that if there never was such a place, cer- 

 tainly there never was such a happy party of visitors, nor 

 such a splendid day as they had for their enjoyment* 

 VVhat with gigs and carts and waggons, we reached 

 home at 10 o'clock of a magnificent moonlight night — 

 sang our last songs in the midst of the village, sur- 

 rounded by those who had not been able to jein us, and* 

 after three hearty cheers, bade one another good night. 

 I send you this short notice of our experience, because 

 I think it may induce farmers in other localities to unite 

 with their neighbours in the enjoyment of a holiday 

 after a similar fashion. M. $., Gloucestershire* 



The Sugar Beet and Irish Tobacco.— You are quite 

 right in believing that « it is not due to misgovernment, 

 that the sun in its natural course does not rise much over 

 60° above our horizon," but quite wrong if you suppose 

 that the sun of Irish prosperity is not lowered by the 

 snme cause. Such, at least, is the u idolatry " of 99 

 out of every hundred men in Ireland capable of judging 

 between right and wrong ; and such I believe is the 

 opinion of man^ Englishmen, too, on both sides of the 

 Channel that divides us. And much as we " idolise * 

 Dr. Lindiey, as a great philosopher, we never for a 

 moment supposed his power to be Joshua-like, in tho 

 case of the sun over our natural horizon ; but we believed, 

 and still believe, he has damaged our cause (uninten- 

 tionally) in Irish Tobacco growing, which, to be again 

 successful as it has been before, requires no higher sua 



but o£ 





the 



*enn 



and must be placed near the head of the cultivated plants. 

 But the general utility is inferior to that of the Turnip. 

 The Beet requires a more particular kind of soil, which 

 is of comparatively rare occurrence 

 be moist : and the seed is more troublesome in the 



whose benefits man has deprived us by bad, taxing laws. 



Facts are stubborn things, and here is one out of hundreds 



which I could give of my own knowledge. We have 



The climate must 1 made from 50t to 60Z. per statute acre, or from 801. to 



120& per plantation acre, of Tobacco grown in this 



management than that of the Turnip, and the crop must I county ; nor did we ever, to my knowledge at least, even 

 be wholly protected from the winter's cold. Probably J require Dr. Lindiey's aid to enable us to do so % All we 

 from a lengthened cultivation and a gradually extended 



When weeds 

 *° inches 



are grown, and the plants are risen 



bW k V A tne intervals of the drills must be 

 r^ghed and scuffled deeply and widely, to cut the 

 "**!& and move the ground. In the first operation, the 

 JJijj down of the sides of the drills is best done by a 

 goint ° r Sma ' 1 P Iou 8 h drawn by one horse, which, by 

 Sm? fh^ r ? turll * n S in tne same interval, takes a furrow 



jjj th C **^ ° n eae ' 1 s ^ e ' an< * ^ orms a STna 'l ridgelet 

 e ^atre of the interval. In every case of corn- 



exposure, the plant may become acclimated, and with- 

 stand the severity of winter, as well as Turnips* This 

 result might be attempted, by planting the roots of the 

 strong** And most vigorous appearance, and by pre- 

 serving the seed for future propagation, of those hearts 

 that escaped destruction during winter, and bore seed 

 the next summer. By persevering in this way for a 

 period of years, it is very probable that the persistent 

 quality might be conferred. The winter Vetch has 

 been got from the summer variety in the above — 

 chance directs the accidental productions of nature, and 

 observation must adopt the exhibitions. When the land 

 is autumn-fallowed for a crop of Beet it might be tried 

 if the seed will withstand the severity of winter, by 

 dunging the land and sowing the seed in the late autumn, 

 as before directed. It is now proved that Potatoes, 



required of him was, and is, to throw no obstacle in our 

 way if we attempt to do so again by legitimate means, 



in the repeal of what we know to be a bad law. And all 

 we require of you is, to suspend your opinion on th© 

 subject of sugar manufacturing from Irish-grown Beet, 

 till by our own industry we can enable you to form a 

 more correct idea of what we can do in that respect* 

 If you cannot conscientiously aid our efforts, you can, 

 in my humble opinion at least, without any qualm of 

 conscience, allow us to try our hands at our own risks, 

 without, as I before said, " throwing cold water " on our 

 infantile struggles. I have already told you that Irish- 

 grown sugar Beet delivered to the sugar manufacturer 

 at the clear price to the farmer of 10s. a ton, would pay 

 him better than Wheat delivered to the miller at 25$. 



barrel. I am now better prepared with proofs practical, 

 and mind I am speaking of some of the best ordinary 





