446 The Cultivation of Sugar-Beet. 
' ' The cultivation of roots in England is not understood. Nitrate 
of soda is the sheet-anchor of beet cultivation. For dairy cattle 
sugar-beet gives capital results." 
It may be added that the experiments on the cultivation of 
sugar-beet at Rothamsted were conducted during the years 1871 
to 1875. Since that time, sugar-beet seed — and the quality of 
the seed is of the greatest importance — has been much improved 
by selection. 
The subjoined statement, expressed in English equivalents, is 
given as representing the cost and result of beet-cultivation in 
Germany : — 
Cost of Growing, &c. Amount Realised. 
£ j. A J £ ». d. 
Topping stubble, 6i.; twice 33,070 lb. beetroot at 
harrowing, 3s. . . .0901 
Deep ploughing with four !*• per cwt. . . 15 19 10 
horses or steam . . 1 2 0 • 35 per cent, residue for 
Twice harro^ in spring 0 2 0 
Drilling, harrowing, drilling, 0 ■ ' 
and rolling . . .0 12 0 at Z\d. per cwt. . . . 1 10 2' 
Artificial manure, 21. 10s.; 8,2501b. leaves and roots, 
hoeing and weeding, 2s. .2120 I 
Beetroot seed . .0 10 6 at 3rf. per cwt. . . 0 18 6 
Horse-hoed or drilled three 
times. • . . .060 
Hoed by hand twice, 9s. ; 
thinning, 5s. . . . 0 14 0 
Lifting roots and trimming 
and washing . . .10 0 
Sending roots to works, 
U. Us.; making silos, Is. 6d. 1 17 6 | and evel T expense in- 
1 Rent, 21. 10.?. ; ground dues 
and taxes, 18s. . . .380 
12 13 0 
IS 8 6 
Expense of working, or all 
and every expense in- 
cluded . . . . 12 13 0 
Xett profit per acre to farmer 5 15 6 
* These items would be'much lower in England. 
With the foregoing it is interesting to compare the estimate on the 
opposite page as to the cost of growing sugar-beet in England. The 
figures are those of Mr. J. A. Clarke, but as they refer to a period 
of more than ten years ago, several of the items might now be 
reduced. 
It might be suggested that last year was an exceptionally 
favourable season for the growth of beet ; but so far as the general 
saccharine yield may be taken as a test, it was not so. As a matter 
of fact, the saccharine yield in 1889 in Germany was by no means 
abnormal ; nor was it equal to the highest of recent years, since the 
saccharine yield in 1888 was over 13 per cent., whilst in 1889 the 
average was under 12 per cent. The weight of roots per acre, 
however, in 1889 was much heavier than in 18S8 — a circumstance 
which may be attributed to the extremely favourable conditions 
under which the beet was sown in 1889. The average yield of sugar 
