CHAPTER XI 

 HARVESTING 



ON the returns of the harvest depend the profits of the 

 year. It is not sufficient to raise a good crop; it must 

 also be gathered and husbanded. The farmer's respon- 

 sibility does not cease till he has delivered the result of 

 the harvest to the purchaser and secured his pay. It 

 would be folly indeed to take great care in preparing a 

 seed-bed, in planting, in cultivating, in irrigating, and in 

 conducting the other operations involved in raising beets, 

 and then be less vigilant in harvesting the crop. The 

 harvest time is a very busy season and help is often scarce. 

 For this reason, there is a constant temptation to rush 

 the work and thereby to slight it. Giving way to this 

 temptation means the giving away of part of the season's 

 profit. 



TIME OF HARVEST 



The proper time to harvest beets varies greatly with 

 conditions. In parts of California and in other warm 

 climates, digging may begin early in July and extend for 

 two or three months. In most of the other sugar-beet 

 areas, digging starts in September and continues till the 

 time the land usually freezes hard. The time to begin in 



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