Further Experiments on the Economic Value of Root Crops 563 



nection with root culture comes after the bunching. The worker must 

 stoop or kneel, and pull or cut out all but the best plant in each bunch. 

 Hand weeders to assist the fingers and some kind of pads to protect the 

 knees are useful in this task. Hand weeding and thinning should immedi- 

 ately follow bunching. 



As soon as the surviving plants straighten, the horse cultivator should 

 be used to loosen the soil tramped down in the thinning process and to 

 kill the weeds left midway between the rows. The soil may be stirred 

 several inches deep at first, but as the season advances the cultivations 

 should be more shallow so as not to harm the roots of the growing plants, 



Fig. 157. — Hand labor is needed for harvesling mangels. The tops are wrung off 



and left on the ground for manure 



and should cease when the leaves touch one another across the rows. If 

 weeds appear after the first weeding, hand hoeing or hand pulling may 

 be resorted to. This task will be light if the first weeding has been 

 thorough. 



Harvesting and storing. — Mangels should be harvested before wintry 

 weather begins, but light frosts do not harm them. Late October or early 

 November is the season when most root crops are harvested and stored. 



Mangels grow mainly above ground and are pulled by hand. The 

 tops should be wrung off, not cut. If the roots are large, crates or baskets 

 will be of no advantage in handling them; an open wagon box is the 

 handiest carrier for transporting them from the field. If stored in 

 a root cellar or in a pit out of doors, ventilation should be given until 

 severe weather sets in, for the roots sweat when first stored. The mangels 

 should keep until the following summer if stored properly and not frozen 

 before harvesting. 



