1805.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
75 
had what might he called a stand for oue awe. 
The amount of good cotton actually picked, up 
to this time, is about three hundred pounds, or 
what is sufficient to make 75 lbs. of ginned cot¬ 
ton. Had I been able to have planted mine three 
weeks earlier, I think there would have been at 
least enough to have made one hundred pounds, 
which as the prices now are for Upland Mid¬ 
dlings in New-York, would be worth there $68. 
The charge for ginning cotton is usually, I be¬ 
lieve, one tenth. The expense of cultivating and 
securing an acre -would be about as follows: 
Plowing and laying off, and planting.$2.00 
I’i' bushels of seed (say at absent) . 1.50 
Hoeing, thinning, and cultivating. 3.00 
Picking.. 4.00 
The expense of ginning, if a gin is near, say.. . 5.00 
$15.50 
Worth of Cotton in N. Y. at present rates as above. 68.00 
Net profit on an acre.$52.50 
There has been much more cotton raised in 
Southern Illinois this year than usual. The 
prospect now is, that more will be planted next 
Spring. The short staple, or Upland variety, is 
the kind that can be depended on to do well. 
To those who are willing to attend to the busi¬ 
ness thoroughly , I would say, as the result of my 
experience and observation, that it will pay well 
to have a field of cotton at the present prices.” 
[The above estimates are based upon an un¬ 
precedented price for cotton. What is here 
reckoned at 68 cents per lb., has usually run 
from 8 to 13 cents per lb., and at these prices 
the cotton crop would be raised at a loss. There 
is little prospect, however, that cotton will sink 
below 20 or 25 cents for a year to come.—E d.] 
Beet Sugar in Ohio. 
In France, and in some parts of Germany, a 
very large amount of cane sugar is prepared from 
the juice of sugar beets. Several attempts -were 
made a few years ago to introduce the process 
in this country, but without sufficient success to 
induce the experimenters to continue their ef¬ 
forts ; and we have been in doubt whether, owing 
to the difference in climate and the great cost of 
labor, the manufacture of beet sugar would 
ever be profitable here, especially while we 
have so large an area at the South adapted to 
the grow-th of the American sugar-cane. Mr. 
Klippart, Corresponding Secretary of the Ohio 
State Board of Agriculture, reports at length 
upon experiments made last season by Prof. 
Mot, near Newark, Licking County, which 
seem to indicate success, and Mr. K. speaks 
quite sanguiuely. We extract a few items from 
the detailed report. Ten acres of old corn and 
potato land were prepared by deep plowing, 
only one acre (of the potato land) being sub¬ 
soiled. The seed planted was of two kinds, the 
“ Vilmorin Improved” and the “Imperial,” the 
former being much the best. The yield of the 
entire ten acre3 is estimated at about 190 tons. 
The acre subsoiled produced about six times as 
large a crop as an acre in any other part of the 
field not thus prepared. The sugar was manu¬ 
factured by simple and somewhat imperfect ma¬ 
chinery, the roots being first reduced to pulp, 
by means of a revolving grater, and pressed. 
One thousand pounds of beets yielded 78 gal¬ 
lons of juice. The juice was treated with “ cer¬ 
tain chemicals,” evaporated, filtered through 
bone-black, and again evaporated and set aside 
to crystallize. The result was a very excellent 
article of brown sugar, obtained at an expense 
of four cents per pound. The refuse pulp was 
found to be an excellent food for cows. A cer¬ 
tain portion of the process is kept secret, but 
there is no doubt that the method employed by 
the beet sugar manufacturers of France is as 
perfect as any yet known. They add lime-water 
to the juice, and then remove the lime by means 
of ammonia-alum. The manufacture of sugar 
requires much more care and practical know- 
ledge than it does to make syrup, and if it is 
found profitable to enter into the production of 
beet sugar in this country, no doubt the labor 
will be divided between the farmers who pro¬ 
duce the roots and the establishments for work¬ 
ing them up. The larger these manufactories, 
the greater will be the economy, and the conse¬ 
quent profits to both grower and manufacturer. 
Bo Potatoes Mix in the Hill ? 
This subject is again brought to our notice by 
George K. Robinson, of Canada East, and J. B. 
Wolff, of Colorado Territory. The former hav¬ 
ing found a red and a white potato on the same 
plant, and the latter had a “double potato,” 
one half deep blue and the other half yellow, 
Avith pink eyes. The only way in which vari¬ 
eties of potatoes can cross or mix, is by the fer¬ 
tilizing of the flower of one sort by the pollen 
of another; the seed of those thus fertilized would 
be very apt to produce cross-breeds. It seems 
very unlikely that the cross impregnation of 
the flower should affect the character of the tu¬ 
ber, and we can not admit it until direct exper¬ 
iments have proved it to be the case. We have 
no doubt that potatoes may vary or Sport. The 
sorts in cultivation are themselves sports, or it 
maybe crosses of different varieties, having the 
blood, so to speak, of different kinds in them. 
It is not strange that under favoring circum¬ 
stances these varieties should vary, or that some 
peculiarity of one of the ancestors should break 
out and become predominant. 
Why Seeds Fail—Practical Hints. 
Frequent failures are made in cultivation, 
which are unjustly charged to the seedsmen. 
Seeds are sown, they do not come up, and they 
are set down as old or imperfect. While such 
seeds are doubtless sold by some, our experience 
is that respectable seedsmen generally send out 
reliable seeds, and that the want of success is 
oftener the fault of the sower. In treating of the 
vitality of seeds in the February Agriculturist , it 
was shown that there was no general rule as 
to the time that seeds would keep: so, seeds 
after being sown, differ as to their power of re¬ 
sisting decay if the circumstances are unfavora¬ 
ble to their immediate germination. Three con¬ 
ditions are necessary to the growth of all seeds, 
viz: air, moisture, and a sufficient temperature. 
Any one of these failing, the seeds will not 
grow. The amount of heat required for germi¬ 
nation varies greatly with different seeds ; 
those of the common chickweed will start 
at a temperature just above freezing, while 
those of some tropical plants require 75 or 80 
degrees. The seeds of the plants commonly 
cultivated, germinate at a temperature of 50 to 
GO degrees. Moisture is required not only to 
soften the seed coat, but to enable the germ to 
grow, and too little or too much is equally fatal 
to success. If the soil is too dry, the seeds re¬ 
main unchanged; and if an excess of moisture 
is present, the seeds, if delicate, will decay. In 
well drained soil the proper amount of water is 
held by capillary attraction. The third requis¬ 
ite, air, is always present in recently worked 
soil.—All the conditions being favorable, there 
is a great difference in the time that seeds re¬ 
quire for germination. Placed under similar 
circumstances, it has been found that wheat and 
millet germinate in one day, beans, radishes and 
turnips in two, and lettuce in four days, while 
melons and cucumbers require five or six, and 
parsley thirty or forty days. The seeds of some 
trees and shrubs remain in the ground one, and 
even two years before they germinate. The 
common causes of failure with good seeds are: 
too deep or too early sowing, and excess of 
moisture. When small seeds are planted too 
deeply, the vitality of the germ is exhausted be¬ 
fore it can reach the light and air necessary to 
its growth; such seeds should be barely covered 
with soil, and if there is danger of the surface 
becoming too dry it should be shaded. Very 
small seeds may be sprinkled on nicely prepared 
soil, and then lay a board upon the surface until 
they start. When sowing is done too early, the 
ground is too cold, and many seeds rot before 
it becomes of a proper temperature to cause 
germination. Too much moisture in the soil ex¬ 
cludes the necessary air, and this one of the 
requisites being wanting, the seeds decay. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Will Poultry Pay? 
Last year I furnished for the Agriculturist a, full 
account of my poultry keeping, mode of man¬ 
agement, etc., for the year ending 18G1, which 
was published in the Feb. and March N 03 ., vol. 
21, pages 41 and 74. Having just closed up my 
accounts, I send a report for the year 1862: 
Stock on hand Jan. 1, 1862: three cocks and 
72 hens; they laid in Jan. 332 eggs; Feb., 
446; March, 973; April, 1,013; May, 982; June, 
988; July, 813; Aug., 818; Sept., 614; Oct., 
399; Nov., 466; Dec., 383 eggs—total, 8,227. In 
bulk equal to 8j bbls., (packed for market); in 
weight 1,030 lbs. During the year there died of 
the old stock 18, killed of the old stock 27, 
chicks killed 32 —on hand Jan. 1st, 1863, 105, 
young and old, to be reduced to 75 head. All 
the old stock should have been killed off before 
the moulting season, as the March hatched 
chicks begin to lay about that time. This ar¬ 
rangement keeps the stock young and vigor¬ 
ous; and with proper care and attention, en¬ 
sures a good supply of eggs at all seasons. 
It will be seen that in Oct., Nov., Dec., and 
Jan., when eggs are scarce, they gave a good 
supply. The whole year’s account stands thus: 
lbs. 
Jan. 1, ’62. Stock on hand, 75 head, at 5 lbs. each_375 
32 chicks killed, at ljk lbs each, dressed. 48 
27 old hens killed, 4 lbs. each, dressed.108 
Increase on hand, Dec. 31, ’62, 30 head at 5 lbs. each 150 
Eggs collected during the year (in lbs.).1030 
Total.\..1,711 
75 head, stock for the new year.375 
Balance, or pounds produced.1,336 
Each hen has produced more than three times 
her weight in eggs alone, and it is easy to see 
the amount of food produced in a year from a 
stock of 72 hens, reduced by death to an aver¬ 
age of 63. Deduct loss for dressing for market, 
136 lbs., and we have left 1,200 lbs., as the 
product of the year—besides having a new 
stock to start with for the coming year. 
It is a pretty large farmer that lays up 1,200 
lbs. of pork, and yet most people will persist in 
keeping one or more pigs—the flesh of which is 
turned into salt food for the most of the year— 
when poultry furnish daily a supply of fresh and 
excellent food, and of a kind, too, if more than 
is required for family use, which can be readily 
exchanged for cash or other products. The ad¬ 
vantage seems to be decidedly in favor of 
“ Barn-Yard Pheasants” over “Gutter Snipes.’’ 
Staten Island, N. Y. J. C. THOMPSON. 
