One spirited individual has informed us that he has one hun¬ 
dred acres in that state devoted to sugar beet. The present 
year, therefore, will probably decide what can be done. 
There are facts in regard to it,now existing in France, which 
we find it difficult to reconcile to statements which are con¬ 
stantly made in respect to the manufacture in that country. 
The first is, w'hy if the cultivation and manufacture are as 
profitable in that country as is represented, they require so 
heavy a duty upon colonial sugar in order to protect the ma¬ 
nufacture of best sugar. The second is, why if the new me¬ 
thods recently discovered are successful, and by them the 
sugar can be produced at a low rate, they are not at once 
adopted, and the government protection rendered unnecessa¬ 
ry. An intelligent gentleman, sent out by the Northampton 
Beet Sugar Company, for the express purpose of obtaining 
all necessary information in relation to the matter, informed 
us that Shutzenbach’s method upon trial in France was not 
approved. Fleischman in his interesting report to Congress 
on this subject, states the discovery of a method of extract¬ 
ing the sugar from the beet, by which a considerably larger 
amount of sugar was obtained than by Shutzenbach’s me¬ 
thod, at a less expense, and in a way which would place the 
manufacture within the reach of every farmer’s family in the 
country. It is now full time that we should have received 
the results of experiments made by this method. Probably 
they have been made and others are in possession of the re¬ 
sults. We have not been so fortunate. Shutzenbach’s me¬ 
thod, as we have been informed by persons who were not 
proprietors in the concern, has been tried at Northampton 
with success. We have seen a sample of the sugar made 
there, which promises well; but can give no particulars.— 
More than a year since, we mentioned the discovery of a me¬ 
thod of extracting and manufacturing the sugar, by a gentle¬ 
man at Stoneham, in the vicinity of Boston, which promis¬ 
ed the advantages of general practicableness, small expense 
and a large per centage of sugar from the amount of product. 
We saw the sliced and dried beets; the mode of obtaining 
the syrup; the ehrystallization of the syrup, and the sugar 
perfected, but not refined—certainly a beautiful article. For 
the amount which could be obtained from the beet by this 
process, and which was represented to be from eight to ten 
per cent, and for the expense required in the extraction and 
manufacture, we relied upon the testimony of the operator, 
whose integrit) is beyond a question. We deemed it a most 
important discovery, and after a patent for the manufacture 
had been obtained, we had great pleasure in announcing it. 
We thought the vessel had not only entered the harbor but 
actually reached the wharf; and were quite disposed to throw 
up our hat with the farmers and give three cheers. But it 
seems to have been a phantom ship or a sort of ‘ * 1 flying Dutch¬ 
man,” for we have not been able to obtain a word further on 
the subject. 
The matter deserves all the attention which any among 
us seem disposed to give to it; and we wish our neighbor all 
the beet sugar he can need in his tea and coffee the rest of 
his life, sweet creature as he must become, if his useful pro¬ 
ject should prove successful. H. C. 
Red Giant Goliah Rhubarb.* 
In the market gardens around London, a large species of 
rhubarb is extensively cultivated, with which the various ex¬ 
cellent markets of the metropolis are well supplied; but be¬ 
yond the range of a few miles, the particular kind to which 
we would direct the attention of our farming friends, is com¬ 
paratively little known—the generality of country gardens 
being disgraced with a root or two of dock-like plants, with 
stalks no thicker than a finger, fibres like a whip-cord, and a 
flavor !—Uh 1 No wonder so few persons, thus possessed, 
should like rhubarb tarts ! No wonder they disguise the taste 
with shrivelled apples just going out of season, or gooseber¬ 
ries just coming in ! The noble plant which we would re¬ 
commend to every living being who owns a patch of garden 
ground, is as superior to the old fashioned nauseous plant 
just mentioned, as our cultivated celery is superior to the 
rank wild weed of the same name growing by muddy ditches. 
One would be led to suppose, that, from the rarity of the gi¬ 
ant rhubarb, it was difficult of cultivation, tender and trou¬ 
blesome to manage; whereas it is as easily propagated as any 
other perennial vegetable; is so hardy that no degree of frost 
which we have ever experienced, will injure it; and of all 
esculents for pies and puddings, it is the most readily prepar¬ 
ed. It is so prolific that half a dozen roots would keep a 
small family constantly supplied, during four months of the 
year; that is, from the beginning or middle of April, (accord¬ 
ing to the forwardness or backwardness of the season,) until 
the beginning or middle of August. We have known instan¬ 
ces of this, fruit must we style it ? being preferred to all others 
for the purpose of pastry, throughout the summer, even where 
fruits of every kind abound. We have known stalks of the 
Red Goliah Rhubarb to measure six inches in circumference 
and nearly two feet in length, so that only one of them has 
been required for a pudding: so delicate and soft, too, is its 
texture, that as soon as it arrives at the boiling point, it be¬ 
comes a fine pulp, and is already sufficiently cooked. As a gar¬ 
den production for culinary purposes, it is certainly invaluable 
—being in perfection precisely at that season when apples be¬ 
come tough and scarce, and before gooseberries have made 
their appearance. Its flavor is so delicate, that it ought not 
to be mixed with any other ingredient than sugar; and on no 
account should it ever be peeled. 
The Red Goliah Rhubarb may be propagated either by 
sowing the seeds or purchasing young roots of one year’s 
growth, and planting them during the spring months in a 
good rich soil. In the former case, that is, if the seeds be 
sown, they are to be transplanted in a few weeks, and in the 
following year their stalks will be large enough to pull. If 
roots be obtained and planted in March, the plot will be avail¬ 
able in a month or six weeks. No further care is requisite 
than to manure the bed in the autumn after the leaves have 
decayed. To those who are unaccustomed to the plant which 
is the subject of our eulogium, it may be as well to mention, 
that the stalks should never be cut from the bed, but wrenched 
sideways with a sudden twist, when the whole stalk comes 
* This valuable plant was introduced into the Albany Nur¬ 
sery four years ago. Twelve stalks, shown at the late Hor¬ 
ticultural Exhibition, weighed 124 lbs. It is the best fruit 
for pies. It is perennial, hardy, and, on rich ground, is as 
certain a crop as horse radish_ Cond. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
away at its junction with the root—round, flat, clear, and 
white as milk. 
As soon as the growth becomes vigorous, each root sends 
up a flower stalk, which will readily be distinguished from 
the leaf stalks; these must be pulled away, and only one left 
(if it be intended to procure seed,) and this plant should be 
less used than the others, if at all, during the season. The 
leaves are enormous; we have measured many that have 
been four feet long and three and a half wide. The roots, 
too, are gigantic—so large that, in the course of three or four 
years, a single root, when digged up, would fill a wheelbar¬ 
row; hence the plants require a wide space—say five feet 
apart every way.— Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agricul¬ 
ture. 
London Lactaries. 
To those unacquainted with this vast metropolis, and the 
almost incalculable amount of supplies the number of its in¬ 
habitants must necessarily require, the article of milk must 
appear not the least striking. 
The writer of this little notice—an invalid, spending an 
interval in the vicinity—is enabled to give the following de¬ 
scription of Laycock’s Dairy at Islington. 
The lactary covers a space of sixteen acres, including the 
layers, grain-pits, rick-yards, &c. &c. It contains nine cow¬ 
houses, each about one hundred and forty feet in length, by 
twenty-four feet broad, either of these contains sixty-four 
cows, thirty two on a side. There are also fatting-pens, and 
an infirmary for such of them as may happen to require tem¬ 
porary separation; these instances, however, considering the 
great number kept, and the artificial mode of treatment, are 
but rare, the writer being assured by the resident veterina¬ 
ry surgeon, Mr. Stavley, to whose politeness the former is 
indebted for his information, that nearly the only inconveni¬ 
ence felt is, that arising from lameness. The animals, all of 
the finest description, are constantly kept in their houses 
both day and night, in the summer season only being turned 
out for a few hours daily into the layers. Cows are rarely 
kept here longer than twelve months, during which period 
they are regularly milked, and what may appear extiaordi- 
nary to those ignorant of the management, the process of 
fatting goes on with the milking; so that by the time they 
become what is termed “dry,” most of them are fit for 
Smithfield, and but few of the number (six hundred con¬ 
stantly kept) require “ stalling” after the period of milking 
is at an end. 
The writer has viewed several in an extraordinarily high 
state of condition, (almost fit for a Christmas show) at the 
time the Cambrian and Hibernian women were sitting upon 
their stools, each exercising with inconceivable volubility her 
vernacular tongue, and “filling her milking pail.” 
This number affords twelve hundred gallons of milk per 
diem, upon the average; it is taken away at an early hour 
of the morning and afternoon by the venders, who purchase 
here to retail in the metropolis. 
The average worth of each cow is about 18?. which, as¬ 
suming the number kept always to average six hundred 
(the minimum rather than otherwise) gives a capital of 10,- 
900?. always afloat to stock this stupendous dairy with cows 
only. 
Their feed consists of grains, mangold wurzel, the Swedish 
turnip (the latter for fatting), and hay; at the rate of 
1 bushel of grains, 
56 lbs. of mangold wurzel, or turnip, 
12 lbs. of hay, 
to each; or 
600 bushels of grains, 
15 tons of wurzel and turnip, 
3 6-28 tons of hay, 
per day, to the total number. 
The quantity of butter made here is, for an obvious reason 
small; and rarely exceeds 100 lbs. per week. 
The number of pigs kept here is about 400; some bred, 
others bought in, but all fatted here. 
Forty horses are always required, and constantly employ¬ 
ed upon the dairy. 
The layers are capable of receiving 1,600 head of fat cattle, 
exclusive of sheep; and the average number for Smithfield 
market, resting here weekly, is 800; the charge of layerage 
being 3d. per head, and fodder at the rate of 3s. per 56 lbs. 
or truss. 
Such is one of the London Lactaries—there are many of 
them, some of larger, several of equal, and a few of inferior 
extent. 
From this brief description of one, however, some idea 
may be formed of the consumption of this nutritious article 
of our food, but which, nevertheless, forms so inconsiderable 
a portion of it, called milk. J. R. 
The Danger of Fashion. 
I think that a slight examination will convince any one 
that the present fashions and modes of dress are far more in¬ 
jurious to health than any other cause whatever. The hu¬ 
man system, when fully developed, and healthy in all its 
parts, is a highly complicated and most beautiful fabric; 
composed of a number of distinct organs, each acting in the 
most perfect harmony with every other; and each perform¬ 
ing its own separate and independent function with a nicety 
and precision which no art can imitate. The lungs, for in¬ 
stance, are formed by nature with a capacity just sufficient 
to admit the requisite quantity of air for purifying the blood 
and no more. Hence, if the chest is contracted, and the 
lungs in any degree compressed, the blood is not sufficiently 
purified, and unless the compression is speedily removed, ill 
health, nervousness, &c. is invariably the necessary conse¬ 
quence. And the same may be said of every other impor¬ 
tant organ. How, then, can a mother expect her daughter 
to grow up in health and vigor, when before she has passed 
the tender age of seven, she is corsetted and placed in a snug 
dress for the avowed purpose of making her “ grow trim and 
of a beautiful form.” Is it not apparent to every observer 
that by these means the chest is trammelled in all its move¬ 
ments—the lungs thereby prevented from their natural de¬ 
gree of expansion, and consequently the blood is imperfectly 
purified; the heart, too, is unduly compressed, the stomach 
crowded downward, and the muscles of the chest and back 
prevented from becoming fully developed 1 Now the conse¬ 
quence of all this is, that in a few years the skin becomes 
sallow; the heart palpitates, there are frequent congestions 
141 
of the lungs; dizziness, and perhaps pain in the head; fre¬ 
quent pains in the back and side; general debility and ner¬ 
vousness ; and perhaps more or less distortion of the spine, the 
very thing above all others which the kind mother wishes 
to avoid. But the mandates of fashion are irrevocable, and 
consequently the same mode of dress is persisted in. Now 
the doctor is called, and a course of medicine endured; then 
a few weeks or months at Saratoga, or peradventure a trip 
to the south. She returns perhaps partially restored; mar¬ 
ries, lingers a few years as a mother, and then sinks into an 
early grave—leaving a few feeble and delicate children to the 
cold charities of the world. Dear reader, have you never 
beheld a case of this kind? Alas, it is but the brief history 
of too many. Indeed, how can a young lady expect to re¬ 
ceive any benefit from exercise while her arms are bound 
down, and her waist contracted by means of corsets, belts, 
&c. in such a manner as totally to prevent all natural action 
of the muscles of the chest and back ? She may indeed 
walk, but it will only serve to throw the blood with more 
force into the already compressed and engorged lungs, and 
thus increase the nervousness, palpitations, exhaustions, &c. 
Let me not, however, be understood as undervaluing proper 
exercise, for I am only endeavoring to show that attempts at 
exercise, while the body is restrained in all natural move¬ 
ments is a mockery, and worse than useless. Neither would 
I confine my remarks to the females alone; for I have found 
that many young gentlemen, especially in our cities and vil¬ 
lages, make their vests, &c. answer precisely the same pur¬ 
pose as the ladies’ corsets and belts.— Christian Advocate. 
Beet Sugar. 
The editor of the Yankee Farmer is drawing the attention 
of the public to the importance of introducing into this coun¬ 
try the manufacture of sugar from the beet, and contemplates 
visiting France, if he receives sufficient aid from those who 
feel an interest in the matter (of which, from a recent state¬ 
ment, there seems to be a probability will be accorded him,) 
in order that he may more fully be enabled to make an expe¬ 
riment that will demonstrate its practicability, by the intro¬ 
duction of a new process recently adopted in France, by 
which 180 lbs. of white refined sugar is obtained from a ton 
of beets—2000 bushels is 60 tons, and the product of 60 tons 
will be 10,000 lbs. of sugar. The editor makes the following 
calculations as to the expected result of the experiment on 
the data here given. 
10,000 lbs. white sugar worth at least 12 cts.$1,200 
6 tons pomace,. 30 
Machinery and fixtures,. 300 
Premium from Massachusetts State Agricultural and 
other societies, . 200 
Massachusetts state bounty,. 300 
$2,030 
The editor has no doubt of the entire success of the expe¬ 
riment, and gives a statement from the report of the “ Soci- 
etie d’ Encouragement from which it appears that farmers 
in France make sugar for 4 cents per lb. and that two young 
men, who invested 500 francs in the business, manufactured 
100 lbs. white refined sugar daily, worth in that maiket 16 
cts. a pound, and estimate the cost of their sugar to them as 
follows: 
One ton of beets,. $3 20 
Cost of cutting, drying, and extracting the sugar, .. 4 00 
Total cost for 180 lbs. of sugar,...$7 20 
— Amei'ican Farmer. 
Hoeing Corn late will frequently protect it from 
frost. 
Mr. Editor —If an individual has, by a simple experiment, 
or long experience, discovered any thing of practical utility, 
calculated to benefit his fellow men, and the community, I 
hold that it is his bounden duty, as well as his privilege to 
communicate such facts, that others may participate with him 
in the blessing; and more especially when such knowledge 
can be imparted and not operate in the least prejudicial to 
himself. 
I have been a cultivator of the soil from my youth, and for 
thirty years never failed in a crop of ripe corn. 
My method has been, when, in the fall there are indica¬ 
tions of frost and my corn in danger of not being ripe, I mus¬ 
ter my hands and commence stirring the earth about one inch 
deep, with our hoes, having learned that stirring the ground, 
and loosening its surface, would more readily cause it to ab¬ 
sorb the rays of the sun, and produce more heat than it w ould 
if it had not been disturbed. 
I once had a piece of corn, about three acres nearly sur¬ 
rounded with woods, and much exposed to the frost. Before 
it was ripe there was every appearance of frost, and I com¬ 
menced hoeing it. The sun shone clearly upon that and the 
following day, and the night succeeding there was a very se¬ 
vere frost. Early the next morning, I started out to examine 
its effects upon my corn, the fields and fences wmre white, 
and as I went through my neighbor’s com I found it stiff’and 
consequently dead. I entered my field and although frost 
carried every thing immediately around it, my corn was not 
in the least injured, but was covered with a heavy dew r . I 
obtained a good crop, while my neighbor’s was entirely cut 
off. 
If you consider the above worth a place in your paper you 
may publish it. I. L. 
West Hallowell, June 24, 1839— Maine Cul. 
This is “ worth a place,” and there is practical philosophy 
for the reason of it. Stirring the earth opens the pores; the 
consequence is, a greater collection of moisture upon the 
plants, wdiich withstands frost.— Ed. Cul. 
Infant Schools of Agriculture and Horticulture in 
France. 
An establishment has lately been formed in the department 
of Gard, for giving practical lessons in horticulture and agri¬ 
culture to children. Full success has attended the attempt, 
and the example is about to be followed in other quarters.— 
Two acres of empty land were divided into nursery, corn 
land, flower gardens and kitchen gardens. All the inhabi¬ 
tants of the neighborhood assist in conveying instruction to 
the children, or in smoothing their progress. A regular in¬ 
structor is appointed, who gives lessons on gardening, in 
which he is aided by the cultivators who live near. The 
