OCTOBER 375 



have begun lifting the beet from No. 22. On this field they are 

 small, having been stunted first by the wet, when they were seed- 

 lings, and afterwards by the drought, when they had formed their 

 bulbs, but the quality seems to be good. This is the process of 

 beet lifting. Men go down the ringes drawing the roots from the 

 soil, cutting off their leafy tops with a single swift and skilful 

 movement, and throwing the bulbs together in a line in such 

 fashion that room is left for a cart to travel without crushing 

 them. Then comes the cart, drawn by one horse, and two men 

 rapidly lift the beet, using both hands to the task, and throw them 

 into it, the horse going forward and stopping as required at a word 

 of command. When this cart is full another empty cart arrives 

 with two horses, and the front horse is taken off and hitched on to 

 the full cart, which is then dragged away to the hale, that, in this 

 instance, is being made at the gate of the field. Here the cart is 

 tilted up, depositing the beet at the end of the hale, where they 

 are neatly arranged by hand into a long pile about four foot 

 through at the bottom and sloping to a narrow ridge at the top. 



As this pile grows, for fear of a possible frost it is loosely covered 

 over each night with rubbish cut from the ditches and saved up 

 for this purpose. In the old extravagant days, when farming paid, 

 straw was frequently made use of, but now this is only turned to, 

 at any rate on my farm, when there is no other material available. 

 Ultimately the hale is earthed up, after having been ploughed 

 round to a depth of about four furrows to provide a supply of loose 

 soil with which to cover the roots. At first the crown of the ridge 

 is left open, but after a while, when the beet are supposed to have 

 finished heating, this is earthed in also, with the exception of 

 pipes or holes placed at regular distances, which are stuffed with 

 straw to provide for the ventilation of the heap. 



To-day, with the usual formalities, one of the men approached 

 me on the question of largesse, intimating that, as there were two 

 extra hands employed this year, a slight addition to the accustomed 

 sum would be acceptable. When I was a child I can remember 

 how the harvestmen used to assemble at Bradenham Hall and, 



