164 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
which will accomplish three objects at least, viz:—First, the rasp¬ 
ing of the beets; secondly, the reducing of the liquor “in vacuo;” 
and thirdly, the boiling of the syrup without the risk of burning it, 
of which the beet syrup is in much greater danger than the cane 
syrup ; the proof of the former being some degrees higher than that 
of the latter. 
3. The juice of the beet decomposes in the summer in this coun¬ 
try in less than two hours. I have known the viscid fermentation 
commence in twenty minutes. When this once occurs, sugar can 
never be obtained from it; in a large establishment in this country, 
it must be prevented by chemical agents. 
4. Not only must the acid be neutralized, but the mucilage must 
be chemically coagulated, the cerate decomposed, and the malate of 
lime extracted, or the crystalizing will be rendered extremely diffi¬ 
cult, if not totally impracticable in many cases, and good sugar will 
never be made. 
5. I am persuaded the refining process can be profitably united 
to the manufacture of the raw sugar. 
6. The profits are incredibly increased in proportion to the ex¬ 
tensiveness of the establishment, but no one ought to engage in this 
business who has not mind, as well as capital. 
7. One half of the manufacturing expenses will be saved, by a 
scientific arrangement of the apparatus, so as to dispense with, as 
much as possible, manual labor. 
8. Understanding from various farmers within from ten to twenty 
miles of this city, that they are perfectly content with about twenty 
or twenty-five dollars per acre’s produce, and as each acre ought to 
yield on an average 40,000 lbs. of beets, which will produce 2,400 
lbs. of sugar, I have made the following estimate. Supposing the 
apparatus to be capable of working only about 100 lbs. of sugar per 
day, it would take 24 days to manufacture 2,400 lbs. of sugar. 
EXPENSES. 
One acre of beets, (40,000 lbs.).$25 00 
Two men for 24 days,. 48 00 
Two boys for do. 22 00 
Fire and rent, &c. 40 00 
Total,.... $135 00 
RECEIPTS. 
Quantity of sugar from the acre of beets, would be 2,400 lbs. 
which, at 10 cents per lb. would be.$240 00 
Beet cake and molasses, &.c. 20 00 
Total,.$260 00 
Expenses,.... 135 00 
Profits,.$125 00 
By this general statement it will be perceived that there will be 
nearly cent per cent profit, but then the interest of the capital sunk 
in the purchase of machinery is not included. On the other hand, 
the two men could work twice or four times as much, and the appa¬ 
ratus for the increased quantity cost very little more. 
If you think these remarks worth publishing, you are welcome to 
them, and I am, sir, your very obedient servant, 
W. W. SLEIGH. 
Hamilton village, corner of Cedar-lane, Sept. 30, 1836. 
ON POTATOES. 
The potato will grow upon almost any kind of soil, provided it be 
not too wet and clayey ; but light, dry, and friable loams, or sands 
of tolerable consistence, are the most appropriate. Reclaimed bogs 
and peat land, when well drained, produce large crops ; and some of 
the finest qualities are grown on alluvial soils, and in the warped 
land in the neighborhood of the Humber. Grubbed wood-land is al¬ 
so favorable to its growth, and the planting of potatoes will proba¬ 
bly be found the most profitable mode of bringing it into immediate 
cultivation; indeed, as much as 560 bushels per acre have been thus 
obtained, but the land was manured with "twenty wagon-loads of 
dung. A sward, or first ley, is, however, the most desirable; and it 
is for this purpose the common mode of breaking up grass-land in 
Ireland, where it is frequently let to the peasantry at extravagant 
rents, in what are there termed “ Con-acres,” and yields crops of 
superior quality. The climate, indeed, is there more genial to the 
growth of esculents than that of England, and the soil is generally 
so much richer, that in no other country has the culture of the po¬ 
tato been carried to such perfection. 
The produce of four eyes cut from the cluster species, and plant¬ 
ed in four different kinds of soil, was— 
On a strong rich loam,. 34 lbs. 
-light rich loam,. 29 “ 
-a good gravel,. 19 “ 
-sandy soil, .. 15 “ 
But, although some idea may be thus formed of the probable pro¬ 
duce, yet no definitive conclusion can be drawn from this experiment 
regarding the crops to be obtained from the land, for other sorts 
might have been better adapted to the soils; they must be all heavi- 
; ly manured, and good sands are especially favorable to the growth 
of the larger roots. 
CULTURE. 
In Yorkshire, and other parts of the north, the ground is ploughed 
into one-bout ridges, and the “sets,” or cuttings from the potatoes 
to be planted, are placed in heaps or baskets, and laid by women 
and children in the furrows ; the manure is laid at the same time, 
and the ridge is covered with earth by the plough dividing it, and 
| making a fresh one over the potatoes. As soon as the plants make 
their appearance above ground the ridges are harrowed down, and 
are suffered to remain in that state about a week, when the weeds 
will again begin to appear; the ridges are then earthed up, and in a 
week or two as much of the earth from the sides of them is ploughed 
down as can be done without leaving the roots too bare. After this 
the tops of the ridges are carefully hand-hoed, and the earth which 
was ploughed from the ridges is again turned to them: if afterwards 
weeds grow up, they are again hand-hoed, after which the earth is 
drawn up to the top of the ridges. The plants having by this time 
got to a considerable size, soon overcome all weeds, and consequent¬ 
ly require no further attention till the time of taking up. It has, 
however, been justly observed, that “ On all very dry sands, and in 
a dry climate, the land should be laid quite flat, and the plants should 
be hoed by hand, as the only means of preserving the ground suffi¬ 
ciently moist to promote the growth of the crop ; but in every situ¬ 
ation where there is no danger of the land being too dry, and on all 
thin soils, one-bout ridges have the advantage over every other me¬ 
thod.” 
Another mode—which it seems has been borrowed from America 
—is to plant the sets in banks. “ The field is marked out in shallow 
j drills, at about two feet and a half distance, by the double mould- 
board plough, and is then marked out transversely at the same dis¬ 
tance ; thus intersecting the surface at right angles, and the dung 
is laid at the time of planting. The holes for the reception of the 
sets are formed by a laborer at the intersections marked by the 
plough, in such a manner as to leave them flat at the bottom, about 
ten or twelve inches diameter, and three or four inches deep. This 
being done, the manure is divided into the holes as evenly as possi¬ 
ble, taking care that the particles be well separated by women and 
children breaking it with their hands. Four cuts are then to be laid 
in each hole, within four inches of the edge, and about six or seven 
inches distance, and covered by levelling the soil into the holes with 
shovels, which finishes the work until the plants appear above 
ground ; after which only a small quantity of earth is thrown lightly 
on the banks, just sufficient to refresh the surface, and if the land be 
foul with weeds, it should be hand-hoed before the banks are dress¬ 
ed. The last earthing should not be performed until the crop is in 
full blossom, when it must get another light dressing.” 
Mr. Burroughs, from whom we have extracted the above account, 
says, that “ many who have heard of this culture, but who have not 
practised it, imagine that its chief object is to afford a great quanti¬ 
ty of earth being thrown up to the plants ; but so far from this being 
the scientific principle of the system, that should the sets be deposit¬ 
ed too deep, or the banks be landed too high, the crop would prove 
very unproductive.” He adds also, from his own experience, that 
- “ the banks being left quite flat at the top when finished, the crop 
proved much more productive than the adjoining drills sown with 
an equal quantity of manure, and the potatoes were of better quali¬ 
ty.” 
Regarding the mode of spreading the dung —whether above or un¬ 
der the sets—some difference of opinion prevails; for although the 
latter is the method usually adopted, and it may be rationally sup¬ 
posed that, as the roots shoot rather laterally than upwards, it is 
from the manure placed underneath that they extract their nutri¬ 
ment, yet it is supposed by many persons that, if the land be light 
i and dry, it answers better to lay the manure in furrows above the 
1 plants; and some farmers seem to think the manner of its applica- 
