THE CULTIVATOR. 
123 
from the extremes of wetness and drought. The skill and labor of; 
the farmer should be employed to guard against these extremes ; an 1 
ignoramus may raise good crops when he has a good soil, and a 
good season. The inclination of the surface is not sufficient to en¬ 
able the excess of water to pass off readily after heavy rains, and 
the soil or subsoil will not permit it to pass into a lower and more 
porous stratum; the consequence is, that it reposes in excess, in 
wet seasons, near the surface, and becomes highly deleterious to 
the growing crops. The ground, from being thus saturated and dis¬ 
tended with water, on the occurrence of drought, exhibits the other 
extreme,—it contracts, and hardens like a brick bat, exhibiting fis 
6ures or cracks in every direction. Did the water merely filter 1 
through the soil, and pass off, as it would do in underdrains, and 
does on steep declivities, the surface would remain comparatively 
porous, neither distending nor contracting much, and pervious to the 
kind influences of the sun and atmosphere. Clay never becomes so 
compact and hard as when, highly saturated with water, it is poach¬ 
ed with the tread of animals, and afterwards dried by the sun. And 
this evil is likely to increase as the soil, divested of its vegetable 
matter, an inevitable consequence of hard, and even of ordinary 
cropping, becomes consequently more compact and impervious. If 
water reposes within the reach of the roots of plants, it necessarily 
excludes air from them, which is an indispensable requisite to the 
decomposition of vegetable food, and to the healthy development of 
cultivated crops. 
The cultivation of the land in narrow or moderate ridges, in the 
direction of the main slopes, would, in some measure, remedy the 
evil; sowing on the first furrow, the fallow being a grass ley, and 
the furrow-slices being made to lap on each other, so that each 
should become an underdrain, would effect a further improvement; 
but the only thorough cure must be sought for in a system of tho¬ 
rough Scotch underdraining, which will pass off any excess of wa¬ 
ter, which may penetrate the surface, or rise from springs. 
But with all the fertility, all the beauty, and all the enterprise and 
thirft, which latter are great, there is lacking in a great portion of 
the west, one of the essential comforts of life— a supply of pure wa¬ 
ter —and there is likely soon to be— a want of timber for fencing and 
fuel —another of what we class among at least the conveniences of 
life. Water, for farm and family purposes, is scarce in the northern 
section, and the quality indifferent or bad. There is little or no 
waste land; and the fear is, that the hope of present gain will induce 
a wanton destruction of timber, so as to leave the next generation 1 
comparatively destitute. Providence seems wisely to have furnish¬ 
ed to every country some of the good things of life, but to no coun¬ 
try all of them, lest man should forget his dependance and his du¬ 
ties. The want of water may in a great measure be remedied by 
artificial ponds, filtering cisterns, and probably by artesian wells. 
The inclined plane and tenacious soil are well adapted for the first, 
as the surface water may be readily concentrated at a desired point, 
and clay soils require no puddling, though bottoms of ponds should 
be bedded with stones or gravel. If constructed at the intersection 
of division fences, the same pond may serve for three or four enclo¬ 
sures. If a system ol underdraining is adopted, the water drained 
off may be conducted to these ponds, or into tanks or troughs, ac¬ 
cessible to cattle. For culinary and other family uses, rain water, 
when filtered, possesses the highest value. Every house might, at 
no great expense, have a durable filtering cistern constructed, made 
of cement and stone or brick, and upon Foster and Van Kleeck’s pa¬ 
tent circular plan, which would receive the water from the roofs of 
buildings, and purify it for use. And lastly, artesian wells, in which 
the water rises to the surface, or nearly to it, we believe, from the 
general configuration of the country, might be resorted to with strong 
probability of success. We saw, near Geneva, a well ol this cha¬ 
racter, from which constantly flowed a large stream of water. It is 
our intention, as soon as we can collect the requisite data, to de¬ 
scribe the mode of boring artesian wells. We give, in another co¬ 
lumn, directions for making artificial ponds and filtering cisterns. 
New discoveries of gypsum have recently been made in Arcadia, 
Wayne, contiguous to the canal, and in Wheatland, Monroe, in the 
line of a rail-ioad now making. The gypsum, in both cases, is 
found near the surface, in quantities, and of the ordinary quality of 
western plaster. Its contiguity to the canal and a rail-road, will 
greatly facilitate its transportation, and enhances the value of the 
discovery. In Arcadia we saw two large structures on the margin 
of the canal, for grinding the stone. 
BEET SUGAR. 
M. Pedder’s Report. —We have before mentioned, that some 
gentlemen had associated at Philadelphia, and, we might have add¬ 
ed, under the style of the “ Beet Sugar Society,” for the purpose of 
introducing into the United States the culture of the Sugar beet; 
that they had employed Mr. James Pedder to proceed to France to 
procure the required information, in regard to the culture of the 
root, the process of manufacture, &,c. &c. Contributions were so¬ 
licited to defray the expense of the embassy, and one gentleman of 
our city, noted for liberality, we understand, gave §200, under the 
impression that the object was public good, and that the informa¬ 
tion to be obtained was to be freely imparted, for public benefit. 
Mr. J ames Pedder has been to France, has sent home seed, and has 
returned, and the result of his inquiries has been published by the 
“ Beet Sugar Society of Philadelphia,” in a pamphlet of 40 pages, 
8vo., copy right secured, and is offered for sale at the modest price 
of 50 cents the copy ! The pamphlet does not contain more mat¬ 
ter than is contained in one number of our Cultivator, which sells at 
four cents. We have no sort of objection, that the Beet Sugar So¬ 
ciety of Philadelphia should speculate in subscriptions, in beet seed, 
and in the sale of their report—-we only want the public to know the 
matters of fact. 
The copy right of the report being thus secured, we are debarred 
from making extracts, and must content ourselves with a brief sum¬ 
mary, and refer the reader to the report for particulars, which, to 
those who mean to go into the culture and manufacture, is worth 
fifty cents. In this summary we avail ourselves, too, of the gratu¬ 
itous information furnished by M. Iznard, French Vice-Consul at 
Boston, to the trustees of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting 
Agriculture. 
The soil most suitable for the beet culture is, according to M. Iznard, 
one that is deep, light, rather sandy, but rich. Mr. Pedder says a 
healthy subsoil is indispensable; and that with this prerequisite it 
may be cultivated on almost any soil. No manure; as beets raised 
on manured grounds, says M. Iznard, have proved to contain salts 
detrimental to sugar. 
The species of beet. —Iznard says the white German (not the man¬ 
gold wurzel) is the best; Pedder says the white Silesian and the 
rose colored are the only kinds sown in a large way. Chaptal pre¬ 
fers these. 
Preparation of the grounds, sowing, cf-c. —The ground ought to be 
trench-ploughed, and well pulverized. The seed is sown in France 
the last of April and first of May—from the first to fifteenth May 
in latitude 42 deg.—in drills from 20 to 24 inches asunder. Mr. 
Pedder says sow eight pounds seed to the acre. 
Cultivation. —Good cultivation, says M. Iznard, is all important, 
in order to enhance and perfect the saccharine principle, and to fa¬ 
cilitate the several processes for obtaining the sugar. This means, 
thin the plants, extirpate all weeds, and keep the surface of the soil 
loose. The implements, the cultivator and hand hoe—Chaptal used 
the plough. 
Taking up the crop. —Pedder says, as soon as the roots have com¬ 
pleted their growth—September or October. Chaptal says, as soon 
as their larger leaves begin to turn yellow, as after this the saccha¬ 
rine principle may disappear, in consequence of a new elaboration of 
juices after maturity, and salt petre be generated instead thereof. 
The leaves may be fed to cows, sheep or swine. In Germany they 
are dried, for winter forage. The roots should not be bruised. They 
are taken up with a spade. 
Preserving the crop. —The mode we have recommended for ruta 
baga, where cellars will not suffice—in trenches upon dry soils, two 
or two and a half feet broad, two and a half or three feet deep, and 
as long as you please, crowning the top with roots, covering with 
sufficient earth, and perforating the crown with a bar to let off the 
warm or rarified air. Beets suffer from heat as well as from frost. 
Profit of culture. —The common price in France, paid by the ma¬ 
nufacturer, is ten francs (= to §1.85) the 1,000 pounds. The yield 
is from 40 to52 thousand pounds—medium 46,000 the hectare—equal 
to 85 dollars. The tops will buy the seed. Where the culture and 
manufacture are connected, and the business managed to the best 
advantage, Mr. Pedder estimates the cost of the sugar to the manu¬ 
facturer at four and a quarter cents per pound, taking into the account 
the value of the cake and molasses for feeding cattle and sheep, and 
the value of the manure these make. 
M. Iznard estimates the benefits which a farmer will derive by 
