FARIVIERS' INSTITUTES. 59 



First, the manufacturers of beet sugar will eventually so learn their 

 business that they will utilize all the by-products and turn into cash 

 sufficient to pay the entire expense of manufacture, as other manufac- 

 turers of similar products do, and thus be enabled to pay a better price 

 for beets. ' 



Second, the shipping facilities will be so much improved and freight 

 rates reduced that this will again wield a powerful influence in making 

 the business a profitable one. 



Third, we are not just ready to say in what way it will be accom- 

 plished, but the day is not far distant when every farmer can haul his 

 beets to his nearest shipping point and although we do not favor a flat 

 rate, then and there receive his cash for ^the same as he now does for 

 wheat, potatoes or hay. 



And last but not least, we, as farmers, will continue to learn better 

 methods until the cost of production will not exceed three-fourths of the 

 present outlay. Under these conditions the production of sugar beets 

 in Michigan cannot fail to be thoroughly satisfactory and we can all 

 sing. ''Michigan, My Michigan." 



HARVESTING THE SUGAR BEET CROP. 



BY HOWARD B. CAXNON, ROCHESTER. 



When field tests show a satisfactory percentage of purity in the juice 

 of the beets the harvest may begin. Early maturing beets should be 

 ripe by the first of October. The season and .the weather are more 

 favorable for harvesting than is the case later. The enterprising agricul- 

 turist will strive toward this end in selecting the beet seed adapted to 

 the soil upon which the crop is to grow. 



The first operation of harvesting is to loosen the beets by the lifter. 

 This machine runs like a subsoil plow. Two types of the lifter are in 

 use, the one having two prongs and running astride the row, the other 

 the side-bar lifter which is run close alongside the row. Workmen follow 

 the lifters and grasp the beets by the tops, pull them and throw them 

 into windrows. The beets from eight rows may be thrown into one 

 windrow to advantage. 



Lifting should not precede pulling more than a few hours, that unneces- 

 sary wilting of the beets may be avoided. The beets when once disturbed 

 lose weight ; very likelj^ this loss goes on more rapidly w^hile the leaves are 

 yet functional. It seems excellent practice to top the beets while they 

 are yet fresh and crisp. The neck of the beet is clipped otf below the 

 lowest leaf scar. Men become skillful at this work. As the beets are 

 topped they are tossed into crates, or into small piles on the ground. The 

 beets are now ready for delivery to the sugar mill sheds or the car. This 

 work should be done promptly to avoid, as far as possible, the withering 

 of the beets. 



As the harvest proceeds the company's sheds are filled and though the 

 campaign begins, the slicers cannot keep pace with the harvesters. From 

 this fact arises the necessity for storing a portion of the crop for later 

 deliverv. 



