ao Aug.. 19 h-] Cultivation of Sugar Beet. 509 



weeding should be done up to the part of the row where the horse culti- 

 ■vators have gone. A field of thinned beets has a very wilted and woebegone 

 appearance for a day or two and might give a novice the idea that all 

 the beet had been killed. The disturbed plants quickly take hold again; 

 and. if the season is good and cultivation well looked after, it is really 

 surprising the amount of growth that takes place within the few weeks 

 following thinning. 



Thinning should be followed by hand iKjeing if necessary. As this 

 operation is costly, it should be avoided as much as possible and from 

 three to four horse cultivations given. One good hand hoeing should be 

 sufficient; and, if care has been taken to destroy weeds at the outset, 

 this may be all that is necessary. The horse cultivations are, however, 

 very essential and should be continued at intervals until the crop is ready 

 to lay by ; that is, when the horses can no longer get through the crop, 

 except by destroying green leaves. 



Harvesting. 

 Apart from machines specially built for harvesting beet roots — none 

 • of which are as yet an unqualified success — the best implement for lifting 

 beet roots is the ordinary "Oliver" or similar plough, deprived of its 

 mould board. This plough runs along the rows with its share under the 

 beet, which it so loosens that they can be easily pulled out by hand and 

 thrown into heaps ready for topping. 



Harvesting operation should, as a rule, commence about the beginning 



of March. The turning of the colour of the leaves from green to yellow 



is, as a rule, looked upon as a sign of maturity. Chemical analysis of 



'the roots is, however, the best test of ripeness, and this is always resorted 



to where beets are being sent to a factory. 



Topping the beet consists of removing the leaves and collar with one 

 blow from a large knife so that the entire portion upon which leaves have 

 grown shall be cut off. When the ground has been properly subsoiled 

 the roots ha\e plenty of room to grow downwards ; but, if shallow 

 ploughing has teen done, the roots are forced up by the hard pan beneath 

 and the portion required to be removed is much longer, and consequently 

 ■ihe loss is greater from a commercial standpoint. 



Value as Fodder. 



The tops and leaves form excellent fodder, and it is estimated that 

 one ton of tops is equal in feeding value to one ton of hay. Mr. C 

 Rowley, of Newry, a most successful grower of sugar l)eet, states 

 rthat by harvesting two tons of l>eet per day, topjing and Cxirting 

 the roots to the factory, and bringing back the pulp to which he is entitled, 

 tlie tops and pulp would supply ample feed for 20 dairy cows for three 

 months in the year, provided he was harvesting his beets during that jieriod. 



To those who desire to experiment with this crop, but who are at 

 .present too far from the factory to .sell the nxits, we would say go ahead 

 by all means, prove your crop and your district, and if your are successful 

 you can rest assured that a factory will be ultimately erected in your 

 locality. Meantime, you are improving your land and growing one of 

 the very best crops for fattening off pigs and feeding your dairy stock. 



The benefit to the land used for growing sugar beets cannot be over- 

 -esliniatt'd. 'J'ln- soil is oiH-ncd \\\> and plant foods from lower down are 



