108 The Sugar-Beet in America 



leading sugar-beet areas find that spring plowing can well 

 be dispensed with, particularly on heavy soils. 



In many regions it has been found that heavy land 

 planted to beets or potatoes the previous year may be 

 put in good shape without plowing, by giving the surface 

 a thorough treatment in the spring. This is done by 

 "taking 1 a fine tooth harrow, riding it and running it as 

 deeply as possible, following with a float which will form 

 a fine mulch on top and prevent crusting. Then take a 

 spring-tooth harrow and run it as deeply as possible the 

 same way the rows of beets are to run at least three or 

 four inches deep. Next follow immediately with a fine 

 tooth harrow in order to keep the land worked down and 

 retain the moisture and not allow clods to form. The 

 same process should be repeated crosswise, running the 

 spring tooth an inch or two deeper if possible. Go over 

 it again with a roller or leveler to get the surface firm 

 enough for planting." While this method seems to 

 eliminate plowing, it does not in reality do so, since the 

 digging of the potatoes or beets is practically equivalent 

 to a fall plowing and the treatment is not recommended 

 except for heavy land that has raised these crops. 



DEPTH OF PLOWING 



The proper depth of plowing has always been a topic 

 of discussion among farmers. One will say that the 

 deeper the plowing the better; another will affirm that 

 shallow plowing is best. It may be that neither has 



1 Austin, Mark, Utah Farmer, Vol. 12, No. 31, Mar. 3, 1917. 



