228 FARM CROPS 



are great differences of opinion ; all the way from 

 3 to 20 pounds of seed are used, but experienced 

 growers usually plant about 10 or 12 pounds. The 

 rows should be about 20 inches apart to permit of 

 horse cultivation, but 14 inches apart will do for 

 hand culture. 



When the outside leaves take on a yellowish 

 tinge and drop to the ground the beets are ripe and 

 should be harvested. The mature beets are richer 

 in sugar than the immature, and the more mature 

 when pulled also the richer the sugar. The beets 

 may remain in the soil for a considerable time after 

 ripening without injury. Cold weather does no 

 damage if freezing and thawing do not alternate. 

 The sugar content will be lessened if the beets start 

 a second growth in the fall. The harvesting is 

 done either by special sugar beet pullers or by 

 plowing down one or both sides of the row to loosen 

 the beets so that they can more easily be pulled out 

 by hand. The tops are cut off, including that part 

 of the root to which the stems of the leaves have 

 been attached. 



Upon being harvested they are either stored or 

 sent to the market at once. If stored they should 

 be put in long narrow piles and covered with suf- 

 ficient straw and earth for protection against frost. 

 If too much earth is added in early fall the beets 

 may get warm and ferment, thus losing some of the 

 sugar. A ventilator placed at the top of the pile 

 will enable the heat and moisture to escape. 



SUGAR CANE. A gigantic grass with fibrous 

 roots which reach laterally in every direction. The 

 stalk is a cylinder, varying in diameter from I to 2 

 inches with joints from 2 to 6 inches apart on the 

 stalk. The stalks vary in color, running from white 



