The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-06-03
$500 ,,ro,yn on the same fields ten,

t,;ov have been grown on the same nelas ten,
fiftecn, and even thirty years. ..
Tn preparing the soil for heets, undeFarnln-
mo 10 recommended, and also deep ana tho-
'ro,,gh cultivation. The land should De cieah
and carefully ploughed in the fall. Ihlrty
Joads Of rood barn-yard manure Is none 700
much. and more will do no harm. This ma
,ni,re should be made fine, and thoroughly
mixed with the soil. Wel.-Totted manure Is
best: but if there Is none on hand, cow ui y,
nure. drawn during winter and spring, WI
answer an excellent purpose. AS soon III ulo'
spring az the soil ID in good conol'iolI W
work. spread the manure and Thoroughly
mix il with the surface soil with the haEIo"
or cultivator. or both. In a dry season i've
bushels of salt per acre, soWn proaoci..,
would add from i've to ten tons per acfe ~
the crop; but in wet, cold season lne sa,,
would he of little or no value. 90, TOO III
dfy season level culture is the best nut as
that ia uncertain, ridging Is perhaps tno ne
ter way. The ridging may be done WIN
double mould-board plough but DIT. Lems
nrefprs a common plough, and after throwing
the land into ridges, thirty inches apart lf .,
crown to crown, split the ridges, forming tue
crown of the ridge over the fuIToW maze oF
The nreylous ridging. When but little me.
pure is used it should be put under Inc last
ridges. These ridges should be raked down
smooth, witha good iron-toot rake.
Four mounds of seed is the usual quantltE
sown per acre, when sown in drills on the
ridges: but If planted in hills eighteen
inches apart. and two seeds to the hill, one
and onethird pounds is enough. Testing
the seed. SO as: to be sure of its vitality be-
FORE nr sowing. il recommended. Farmers
often grow beets too close together; 1t costs
no more to hoe, harvest, and handle large
beet than a small one hence there IS no III
tie saving in giving more room and r;llslns
large roots. Beet seed should be sowH az
soon as the soil il in good condition to work.
rho manner of growth Of the beet Is de-
ecribed. and It is said that late sowing ina
terialIv reduces the yield. off ny late SOW
ing tho crop weighs but ten tons on the ISL
of SeDtembcr, we can hardly expect IL VIII
increase after that date to exceed ten to1ls
more, making the crop twenty tons per acre
whereas if by early sowing we are aDle 10
crow fifteen tons by the 1st OF september,
our crop will at least reach thirty to''s per
acre. 4 delay, therefore, i'll sowing OF Dut
fifteen days after the 1st of May VIII often
lessen the crop ten tons per acre" Inc
seed should be covered at least llaif an men
deep and if the soil is dry and there Is a
prospect Of dry weather, three-fourthS OF an
inch will be better. ID, .,.r..t .,..s... : 81
Mr.. Lewis again refers to manuring, saying
salt is excellent in warm, dry season but
hen manure is also recommended. If well
pulverizcd, ten bushels of hen manure per
acre will, in a moist season. increase the yield
of beets ut least ten tons, or one ton of bcets
for every bushel of hen manure applied.
IT. f,f limo
are both much used in England on all their
root crops, but Mr.. Lewis would much pre-
fer hen manure, which he knows to be pure,
to these commercial fertilizers. which are
almost sure to beadulterated. On sandy soils
with two or three times its bulk Of dry muck;
and this mixture would be improved by the
addition of one or two bushels of plaster.
All root crops are improved by plaster. and
with the present high price of labor all ne
cessary fertilizers should be used to increase
their growth and production. He believes
cit to be q matter of economy III growing
crops to apply the most manure where we
apply the most labor, whether the price OIL
labor be high or low"
In cultivating the crop the plants should
be thinned out from twelve to fifteen inches
apart, and the land kept clean and mellow.
This may be nearly all done with the hoe and
cultivator.
Beets should be harvested by the middle
of October. 1t is not safe to leave them out
longer. as hard freeze will materially injure
the crop, both as regards its keeping and its
nutritire qualities. In harvesting, Mr.. Lewis
would take two one-horse carts, where the
roots Gun be cartcd into the cellars, and four
men. Let two men take each one row, or
two if more convenient, and pull the roots,
wrench of the tops, aud toss them into the
cart, which can he kept alongside with little
effort. When the cart is filled, let the third
man drive it to the cellar. where he can
dump it, and return by the time the other
cart is filled in the field. The fourth man
will take care of the roots in the cellar, and
put four vcntilators in the bins.
The cost of cultivating one and quarter
acres of roots is given as follows: