Slujar-Beet Cultivation in Austria. 
353 
day, decreased to G^d. in the short days of winter, but in- 
creased to lOd. or Is. in times of pressure. 
Harvesting and threshing are, on the contrary, always done 
by piece-work, a special employe being set apart to make these 
payments. The price paid for pulling beet is from 8s. id. to 
16s. 8d. per acre. 
On most farms the greater proportion of the agricultural 
operations in which animals are required are performed by 
oxen ; but horses are coming more into favour for certain 
purposes, and, at both Lundenburg and Wischau, I found 
good teams of horses, though much lighter in character than 
those to which we are accustomed in England. 
At Lundenburg there are 170 horses, and about 350 draught- 
oxen in the busy time ; and at Wischau there were 79 horses 
and 450 oxen for work on the farms, besides 611 fatting beasts, 
223 dairy cows, 23 young oxen, 12 bulls, 6 calves, and 101 
sheep. The horses are of no particular breed, being either 
purchased in the country or brought from Hungary. The 
working oxen were at "Wischau exclusively of the Hun- 
garian breed, which is famous for draught purposes and is 
very hardy. 
At Lundenburg horses receive per day 11 to 13 lb. of oats 
or crushed maize, and 15 lb. of hay; draught-oxen, 112 lb. 
of beet-pulp, 11 lb. of meadow hay, 4 lb. of chopped straw, 
and 3 lb. of groats, besides 14 oz. of salt per day. The 
rations at Wischau were much the same, except that there was 
less pulp, and less hay ; but more straw and 3 lb. of oilcake for 
the oxen. 
General Remarks. 
As to the profitableness of beet cultivation from a purely 
agricultural point of view, it is not possible to give any very 
precise information, since the money results of growing the root 
depend almost wholly upon the price obtained for the manu- 
factured article — sugar. Dr. G. Shack-Sommer, of Liverpool, 
who has recently made a praiseworthy attempt to direct 
attention in this country to the subject of beet-growing, says ' 
that "from the very best authorities on the Continent he has 
gathered the information that the immediate result of opening a 
beet-root factory in convenient proximity to the growers is to 
increase the value of land hj one-third." However this may be, 
it is undeniable that the intensive cultivation of the soil which 
Journal of the Society of Chemical Induttrij, April 30, 1891, 
