118 The Sugar-Beet in America 



much the better ; but if not, re-seeding should be resorted 

 to. A satisfactory crop cannot be raised if only half the 

 beets come up. In some soils no treatment is necessary 

 from the time the seed is planted till the beets are ready 

 to thin. In some sections, however, it is advisable to 

 roll the land soon after the beets come up and before they 

 are thinned. Some disagreement exists as to the value 

 of this rolling, but many farmers believe it to be of de- 

 cided benefit on some soils. 



The practice of beginning cultivation as soon as the 

 beets are up enough to show the rows has many advantages. 

 It helps to conserve the moisture ; it keeps in check weeds 

 that come up so abundantly at this season of the year; 

 it gives to the rapidly-growing young plants the supply 

 of air needed by their roots ; and it facilitates thinning. 



Blocking and thinning. 



No operation in the entire process of beet-raising is 

 more important than thinning. Losses resulting from 

 poor thinning are not easily apparent ; for this reason the 

 danger is greater. At the time the beets are thinned, the 

 farmer is rushed with other work, and since this operation 

 is very slow and tedious, the tendency is to hurry over it. 

 If each farmer could perform his own work, sufficient care 

 would probably be taken, but most thinning is done by 

 contract labor or by children, and as a result it is usually 

 far from perfect. 



When the work is contracted, at least part of the pay 

 should be based on the acre-yield of the crop instead of 

 entirely on the area thinned. When a flat rate for an acre 

 is paid, it is 'difficult to secure satisfactory work. When 



