SUGAR-BEET CULTURE IN ENGLAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1946, 25 December 1884, Page 4

SUGAR-BEET CULTURE IN ENGLAND.

The "Grocer " is informed that the prospects of raising English beet have, all oiicu instances considered, been fairly encouraging to those with whom it originated. The greatest drawback to success seems to have been the prolonged drynesa of the season this year, which has prevented the beets from attaining their proper size, and has retarded the full development of the plant in time for its being gathered for early use. Instead of securing a crop of from f.>,Otf<? <o 2G,<K}Q < tons, as at first calculated upon, the growers will not raise more than half that amount, owing to the prevalence of drought, which has been so severe this year There is, nevertheless, some satisfaction in being able to state that the yield of juice, aa recently ascertained, is equal to the average on the Continent, some roots, of which the seed was sown only in May last, giving, accoidmg to the polariscope, 10 to 12 per cent of sugar syrup, such as is easily convertible into rerined sugar of excellent quality. The actual working of the beetroots has not yet commenced, in consequence of a delay in completing and fitting up the machinery, which has had to be brought over from France ; but the : final arrangements for carrying on the work w ill soon be made, and by about the middle of October the new English beet factory may be expected to be a going concern. Reserving any rcmaiks which we may have to offer as to the financial or paying branch of the scheme for exti acting sugar from beets grown in I ngland until a future petiod, when sufficient time will have elapsed for basing them upon reliable tests, we may pass on to state heie that the suitability of the Euglish soil for the growth of the beetroot is placed beyond a doubt by the observations of the cultivators and other authorities connected i with the works at Liivenham during the present Beason, and it is strongly suggested that attention should be turned to the cultivation of the article in other counties, particularly the eastern, such as Cambridgeshire and adjacent places. There, we are told, about 20,000 acres of land suitable for the growing of sugar beet can be rented at 10j per acre, and the pulp that remains after the roots have been pressed or crushed, minus the juice, can be profitably sold to farmers "on the spot" for feeding cattle. As is amply domonstrated by the clearness of butcheis' meat, the business of the grizier is now a more money-making one than that of producing ciops of wheat, which at this time arc being thrown upon the market at shillings per quarter less than they cost to grow. It therefore remains with the farmer to give up wheat and take to growing beet, which even at existing low prices, would afford a decided profit, besides finding increased employment for British labourers, factory and other hands seeking work.

Lawks' hats next fall will be felt. Sometimes they can almost be heard, they aie so loud. A school teacher in Lawrence, Mass., recently fell heir to SO.OOOdols. She immediately bought a ton of pure assorted spruce mim, and retirod for the rest of her life. — Burlington Free Press. 'Well,' said a philosophic triend to an invalid, ' had you a good night last night?' 'No, I never suffered so much in all my life.' 'Hum ! that's bad. But,' lirigbtening up, ' you know, a bad night is better than no night at all.' Sarcxsm. — ' Dili it fall on the buttered side ?' asked the landlady of the boarder | who dropped a slice of bread on the floor. Without looking at the fallen piece the cruel young man replied — ' Certainly not ; such an event would be impossible in this house so long as oleomargarine is so cheap.' Ax Awkward Misconstruction I.—1 .— Young Farmer— ' Are you fond of beasts, Miss Gusherton ?' Miss Clusherton — ' Oh, really, Mr Pawker, it' you mean this as a declaration, you must speak to mamma.' At an auction mart in London, the other day, an auction was held of freehold agricultural land on the unusual teims of unreserved sale. Brazils Farm, 168 acres principally arable, is situated in the parish of Woodham Ferris, Essex, and ten years since was let at £193 per annum, tenant paying tithe. In 1874 the estate was put up for sale at a reserve of £5,(500, which was not reached, and the property consequently bought in. Several abatements of rent have since been made, and last year it stood at only £40 per annum, plus tithe £36. The tenant, and his family before him, have done thorough justice to the land, but increasing years determined him to relinquish at Michaelmas, and the farm could consequently be offered with immediate possession. There was a large attendance in Tokenhouse Yard, and after much bidding the hammer fell at £2,400, or less than onohalf of what would have been freely given ten years since.