172 Bulletin 143. 



it. When the ordinary implements of tillage are to be used it would 

 seem wise to allow more room for working between the rows, say 

 24-27 inches, and leave the plants a little closer in the rows. Those 

 who expect to till considerable areas of beets will do well to provide 

 themselves with special seeders and cultivators. These seeders are made 

 to sow either two or four rows at a time, and they may be adjusted to 

 sow 16, 1 8 or 20 inches apart, spacing them very accurately. The cul- 

 tivators work either two or four rows at a time and are accurately adjusted 

 to follow the seeder, the workman confining his attention' to one row 

 while the machinery adjusts itself to the others. Of course such a cul- 

 tivator can only be used to work rows that are accurately spaced by a 

 special seeder. 



Those who have both the special seeders and special cultivators may 

 find it advantageous to adjust the machines so as to sow two rows at 

 either side 16-18 inches apart and leaving a space of 24 or more 

 inches at the center in which the horse can travel easily while cultivat- 

 ing — the cultivator being adjusted the same as the seeder. 



Tillage. — Under certain conditions of soil and weather a weeder 

 can be used with very great satisfaction for the first working of the 

 land after seeding, but those conditions are not always present. 

 Should a heavy rain cause a crust to be formed and the soil again get 

 dry enough to work before the seeds have thrown out many sprouts, the 

 weeder can be used with great benefit to break the crust and destroy 

 small weeds that start more quickly than the beet seed. Again, on 

 rather light land that is quite free from small stones and other impedi- 

 ments to tillage, if the plants have come up quite thickly the weeder 

 can be used very advantageously to stir the soil in the rows, thin the 

 beets somewhat, and destroy many small weeds. 



Regular cultivation should begin as soon as the rows can be fol- 

 lowed, and repeated as often as necessary to keep the surface loose 

 and prevent weeds from gaining a foothold. Under ordinary circum- 

 stances tilling fortnightly will probably give as good results as tilling 

 weekly, but whenever a crust has been formed by rains it should be 

 broken up as soon as the condition of the soil will permit. The 

 weeds will be kept in subjection more economically by frequent light 

 tillage than by fewer cultures which will permit them to get a foothold 

 and require more labor in their destruction. 



