Sugar Beet Investigations. 177 



No appreciable gain is seen here as the result of weekly cultivation. 



The harvest usually begins the first part of October, though with 

 early planting it may begin a few weeks before, and it should be com- 

 pleted before hard freezing occurs. There are machines for pulling 

 the beets which are said to work very satisfactorily, doing the work as 

 fast as a team will travel. Manufacturers are also making a beet top- 

 per with fair prospects of ultimate success, but this has not yet passed 

 the experimental stage. 



As few farmers are likely to be provided with this special harvesting 

 machinery for several years, a subsoil plow, or a common plow with 

 the mould board removed, may be used to loosen the roots. Pull 

 them by hand, throwing into piles and topping with a knife. This 

 knife should be heavy enough so that the crown can be removed at 

 the earth line by a single well directed blow. 



It is important that farmers should understand how to properly trim 

 the beets, for if too much of the crown is left on, carrying with it its 

 large percentage of impurities, the value of the beet for the manufac- 

 turer is much reduced. When on a visit to the sugar factory at Rome, 

 N. Y., the past autumn, a dozen men were found at work in the yard 

 removing the crowns from improperly trimmed beets that had been 

 delivered by the farmers. The factory people found it to be better 

 economy to employ men to remove the crowns, rather than to work 

 the beets with the crowns on and suffer the loss of sugar that would 

 not crystallize in consequence. The farmer gains nothing by sending 

 to the factory improperly trimmed beets, or those loaded with dirt, as 

 the state weigher samples each load, washes, and, if necessary, trims the 

 sample, and determines the percentage of dockage. The farmer not 

 only gets nothing for the crown at the factory, but loses its value on 

 the farm as stock food and fertilizer. P'igure 147 on page 162 shows 

 beets properly and improperly trimmed. Where a large portion of the 

 beet grows out of the ground, or is ill-formed on account of the soil 

 having been badly prepared, the percentage of waste is very much 

 increased (see figures 148 and 149, p. 168). 



If the beets are not needed at the factory as fast as harvested they 

 may be pitted or siloed in the field the same as potatoes, and drawn 

 or shipped to the factory later when the pressure of farm work is not 

 so great. In pitting it is essential that the beets shall be quite mature 

 before harvesting, and that they be secured before freezing occurs, 

 as immature or frosted beets will not keep well. 



