20 



the seed. This work of preparation includes the 

 ploughing of the land in the fall and spring before 

 sowing. 



The arable coating should be sufficiently deep and 

 strong so that the roots may descend deeply into it 

 and find new nourishment even down to the subsoil. 

 To attain this end, the land must be ploughed in 

 the fall to the depth of one and one half feet, and 

 upwards. As the beet should find in the soil a 

 certain quantity of alkaline salts in dissolution, the 

 field should be ploughed deeply in the fall and left 

 in furrows ; under the influence, of the air, the 

 moisture of the rain and snow, and of the frost, the 

 insoluble substances contained in the soil are dese- 

 gregated and are brought into the state necessary to 

 be absorbed by the plants'. This mechanical prepa- 

 ration of the soil is certainly the best method of 

 rendering the soil suitable for assimilation by the 

 plants. The better the ploughing, the better will be 

 attained the end aimed at in vegetation. In the fall 

 care should be taken to plough the same field several 

 time over. The turning over of the soil and the chang- 

 ing of that portion in immediate contact with the air 

 tends to increase in the soil a larger quantity of 

 soluble matter. When beets are to be grown after a 

 crop of cereals, whether corn, barley or oats, as 

 soon as this crop is taken up, the land should be 

 lightly ploughed over to pull up all the straw and 

 uproot all plants still growing. If this is done these 

 plants are prevented from arriving at maturity, to 

 produce seed that would poison the ground the 



