MICHIGAN BEET SUGAR 393 



should grow long and straight, and entirely below the surface of the 

 ground. In a soil with a sandy subsoil there is little danger of grow- 

 ing beets objectionable in form. But in soils with a heavy clay sub- 

 soil it is impossible to grow properly shaped beets with the maximum 

 amount of sugar and free from elements objectionable to the manfac- 

 turer, without resorting to very deep plowing or subsoiling. Whatever 

 the piactice may be, the ground should neither be plowed nor subsoiled 

 turning under any considerable amount of coarse herbage late in the 

 season before planting. Where it is necessary to subsoil there are 

 numerous reasons why this operation should be performed in the fall. 

 It will give the ground a chance to settle and overcome the danger 

 of the beets suffering from drouth by reason of excessive porosity, and 

 it will enhance the work in the spring to a very great advantage. If 

 coarse manure is to be applied it should be either plowed under late 

 in the fall or very early in the spring, followed promptly with the 

 roller and harrow, and given sufficient time for the ground to thor- 

 oughly settle before the seed is planted. It is much better to apply 

 the stable manure to the preceding crop, thereby getting it more thor- 

 oughly incorporated in the soil and supplying all of the necessary 

 conditions for the best possible results. While it is especially desirable 

 to sow the beets as early in the spring as possible, it is equally im- 

 portant that sufficient time be given to the preparation of the soil to 

 furnish for the beets an ideal seed bed. This can only be done by re- 

 peated and continuous harrowing with the best kind of implements. 

 There are two ways to overcome the troublesome weeds. First, is by 

 sowing very early, that is, the fifteenth to the twenty-fifth of April, 

 get the thinning all done so that horse cultivation will entirely care 

 for the crop by the time weeds begin to grow at their best. The other 

 method is by delaying the seeding time until near the first of June, 

 and in the meantime give the soil thorough cultivation, such as will 

 allow the weed seed to grow and be very completely killed by the time 

 the beet seed is sown. This latter method requires the most thorough 

 cultivation to subdue the weeds, but this thorough cultivation will more 

 than repay itself in the beneficial results that will follow. 



The cultivation should continue up to the day the beet seed is sown, 

 thus giving the beets at least an equal chance with the weeds. 



FERTILIZERS. 



The exhaustive qualities of the beet crop, together with the ques- 

 tion of supplying nuiterial for keeping up the fertility of beet fields, 

 are problems already calling for solution. Observations on the growth 

 of crops following tlu? sugar beets indicate clearly that this crop is a 

 severe feeder, and notwithstanding the fact that pure granulated sugar 

 contains none of the lements of soil fertility, the farmer who hauls 

 fifteen tons of sugar beets from an acre of his land removes therebv 

 {')(') pounds of nitrogen, oU pounds of phosphoric acid, and 144 pounds 

 of potash. This is as much in money value of fertilizing material as 

 are contained in 77 bushels of wheat, 105 bushels of corn, 158 bushels 

 of oats, ;{.()(; tons of timothy hay, or 400 bushels of potatoes. It is fur- 

 thermore true that it is impossible for every man to return to his farm 

 the equivalent fertilizing nuiterial in the form of sugar liouse refuse 



50 



