Harvesting 157 



SILOING (PLATE xvn) 



In many places where the land freezes, it is necessary to 

 remove the beets from the ground several weeks before 

 they can be sliced by the factories. This means that 

 they must be stored during this time. In California and 

 other warm sections, the beets cannot be dug many days 

 before they are run through the mill or they will decay; 

 but under these conditions there is no danger of the beets 

 being frozen in the ground, and they are not dug until 

 they can be used. In storing beets, care must be taken to 

 prevent heating, evaporation, and alternate freezing and 

 thawing. This means that the piles must be so built 

 that ventilation is possible without the evils resulting 

 from open exposure. These conditions are met differ- 

 ently under different conditions, depending on the length 

 of time the beets are to be stored, the temperature, and 

 the quantity of beets to be handled. A high temperature 

 is the greatest enemy to stored beets. 



In Colorado, Idaho, and Utah, the beets that cannot be 

 handled in the bins at the factories are stored in large 

 flat-topped piles several feet deep. These are carefully 

 watched, and if any begin to spoil the pile is opened where 

 the heating begins. In some places beets are stored on 

 the individual farms. This is usually done in covered 

 ricks similar to those described in Chapter XV. -In these 

 piles, as in the larger ones, the main things to guard against 

 are heating and freezing. Provision must always be made 

 for ventilation. Heat is much more likely than cold to 

 cause loss. 



