CULTIVATION OF THE BEET. 95 



is thin, it is sometimes thrown into ridges or beds in 

 Europe. This method, the culture " en billon," finds 

 many advocates even among those possessing lands 

 of the deepest and most suitable soil. In case this 

 method is adopted, only half the manure allotted to 

 the field is used in the fall, and the rest is applied in 

 the spring. The following is the method adopted : 



The portion of manure that is to be used in the 

 fall is spread upon the land, ploughed in, and the 

 field left in furrow through the winter. In the spring 

 the field is worked up with the plough into ridges or 

 " billons," between eighteen and twenty inches apart. 



The remainder of the manure is applied, taking 

 care to have it placed well at the bottom of the fur- 

 rows. The ridges are then split with a plough, the 

 manure in the furrows covered, and new ridges formed, 

 which are then levelled with a light roller, and the 

 seed sown in the usual manner, in the centre, directly 

 over the manure. 



Beets cultivated in this way are more apt to be 

 forked than those raised by other methods. 



The yellow globe (" jaune globe") is for that rea- 

 son generally used in this culture, as its habit is to 

 produce smooth and well-shaped roots. The advo- 

 cates of this mode of culture claim that it produces 

 larger crops, and is^ safer from the effects of drought 

 than any other ; but in my judgment the method is of 

 doubtful expediency. 



If the culture " en billon " is not adopted, then, 

 after the spring ploughing and harrowing, the field 

 is again gone over with the harrow turned upside 

 down. This treatment serves better than rolling to 



