I1UUGATION OF FIELD CROPS. 171 



March. The seed will yield two and three sets of plants, 

 which are transplanted in the open ground from the first 

 of May to the first of July. Seed potatoes weigh from 

 two ounces to one pound, and the transplanting is done 

 when the plants are eight to twelve inches long. The 

 field is plowed twelve inches deep and the rows are 

 thrown up three and one-half feet apart, and the 

 plants are set eighteen inches apart in the row. 

 This requires 8500 plants to an acre. The irrigating 

 water follows closely upon the work of transplanting, 

 and in ten days another irrigation may be given with a 

 good head of water, which is let on for five or six hours. 

 Irrigations continue at intervals of two weeks or oftener, 

 according to the condition of the weather, until the 

 tubers are half grown, when irrigation is discontinued. 

 Do not put on too much water, and it should not come 

 up more than two-thirds the hight of the ridges, if it 

 can be helped. The ground is not disturbed during 

 the growing season by cultivation, but the weeds are 

 hoed off close to the ground once or twice during the 

 season. 



In harvesting, a furrow is plowed on one side and 

 close up to a row of potatoes, then the return furrow on 

 the other side throws the tubers out and they are picked 

 up by hand. After the transplanting is done the roots 

 go directly down to the hard surface of the under soil, 

 and the potato grows in an upright position from that 

 point. The Bermudas are the largest variety, and the 

 Nansemonds are the smaller ones, while a most popu- 

 lar market variety is the Jersey Sweet. 



Sugar Beets. The .seedbed should be thoroughly 

 pulverized, to kill the young weeds, just before planting. 

 As soon as the ground is warm the seed should be 

 planted two inches deep, in drills from sixteen to twenty- 

 four inches apart. If hand-planted, ten to fifteen pounds 

 of seed to the acre is sufficient. If drilled in, use fifteen 



