Il8 BEET-ROOT SUGAR AND 



end of the parallelogram, and at the same time in the 

 trenches B i and B 2. Line A is the outer edge of 

 the pit. The depth of the beets in the piles should not 

 exceed six feet, two of which being beneath the sur- 

 face, gives a height of four feet above the ground. As 

 the work progresses, the outside should be covered 

 with earth and the inside with straw. 



When the end is finished, and the two sides have 

 been extended to a length of twelve or fifteen feet, 

 the straw in the interior is removed, and other beets 

 thrown promiscuously into space C, against the wall 

 of beets in the trenches. The beets are eventually 

 piled up to the level of the top of the wall ; but in the 

 early harvest, before the weather gets cold, it would 

 be better to pile them only two feet deep, and put in 

 the rest later in the season. The beets on the top, 

 when the pile is finished, require to be carefully placed 

 with their crowns on the outside and their roots ex- 

 tending into the pile. The pits are covered, as soon 

 as they are finished, with straw, with which the inner 

 part of the walls are also kept constantly protected. 



Beets should not be left uncovered any longer than 

 is absolutely necessary, from the time they are dug 

 until they are consumed in the factory. As the weather 

 grows cooler, the straw should be removed from the 

 top of the pile, and a layer six inches thick of earth, 

 or of short stable manure, spread, thoroughly smoothed, 

 and rendered as compact as possible, upon the top 

 of the pile. This layer may be succeeded, still later 

 in the season, by a second or third layer, as circum- 

 stances require. When sufficient thickness has been 

 obtained, the whole may be covered with straw. Sep- 



