396 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



I'ai'iui'i* can ]>ut into su^ar beds niii«t he limited to the aiuouiit of labor 

 at his coiunuuul. This thiiiniii}; oi)ei-ation comes at a period when there 

 is very little time for the labor ordiuarly kept on the general farm to 

 be spared from the oilier ANork. Furthermore, the operation of thin- 

 nine; the beets should be done with the j;reatest dej^ree of promptness 

 after the beets are ready to thin, as eadi day of delay very materially 

 increases the amount of work and ultimate expense of growing the 

 crop. 



After the thinning is completed, unless the very best of care has 

 been exercised in preparing the soil, and the land is naturally quite 

 free from weeds, there is still danger of the weeds getting the better 

 of the young beet plants. This requires thorough cultivation with 

 horse tools, and in the majority of the fields one hoeing with liand 

 hoes. With one thorough hoeing, however, after the thinning, there 

 ought to be no further need of hand work in the entire management 

 of the growing crop. Horse cultivation should be kept up as often as 

 once in eight or ten days until the beets have grown so large that it is 

 impossible to cultivate them without injuring the leaves. After this 

 the beets will so completely cover the ground as to require no further 

 attention. There will follow then from six to eight weeks, when a crop 

 will virtually take care of itself, make its greatest growth and develop 

 the larger part of its sugar. 



HARVESTING. 



This laborious operation, consuming nearly one-fourth of the ex- 

 pense of growing the crop, comes at a time of the year when help is 

 more plenty. The harvesting period can, unlike the former operations, 

 be prolonged from six to eight weeks. The suggestion previously made 

 to plant beets at several different dates will improve the chances for 

 a prolonged period of harvesting. Beets begin to ripen, or rather ma- 

 ture their sugar, shortly after October 1, the exact time depending 

 large! V on the season. The indications of maturitv are visible on the 

 leaves, which begin to turn yellow. Approaching maturity is more 

 definitely indicated in the analyses of the beets. While the beets are 

 growing the analyses show a very fluctuating per cent of sugar con- 

 tent, frequently a beet will run very high, though the general average 

 is far below the 12 per cent standard. 



Mature beets will run more uniform in analysis, remaining some- 

 where near a standard point. The beets for the most part are lifted 

 by tools made for the purpose, a large number of which, though nearly 

 all built on the same principle, are found in the market. The subsoil 

 plow has been used to advantage, while many ingenious farmers have 

 utilized various tools with special attachments, for this purpose. So 

 far no tool has been successfully built that will do a complete job of 

 topping. This operation is performed by hand, using, preferably, a 

 special knife. After the beets are pulled and topped the vegetable 

 crate is perhaps the most important tool in handling the crop. The 

 further management of the crop is in the hands of the sugar manu- 

 facturer. 



