OTHER FARM CROPS 629 



general practice. It is then followed for one year by some cultivated 

 crop, such as potatoes, melons, or corn, so that the weeds and alfalfa 

 which remain may be destroyed to a large extent, and then goes back 

 to beets for two to three years. The method' of plowing up alfalfa 

 used in Idaho is strongly recommended. This consists of dragging 

 or railing the alfalfa when the second crop has reached the bloom- 

 ing stage and plowing it to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, turning the sod 

 completely. The plowshare should be kept sharp so that all the 

 crowns may be cut at that depth, and a good disk coulter on the plow 

 will be necessary to prevent clogging. By turning over the alfalfa 

 at this time the plants will be more nearly killed out by exposure of 

 the roots to the hot sun and the leaves and stems would have an op- 

 portunity to decompose and store humus in the soil. By following 

 this with a deep plowing in the fall the land will be in good condi- 

 tion for the next season's crop. Disking and irrigating, if the land 

 becomes dry, should precede the fall plowing. Clover and timothy 

 are used also in rotation, and along the California coast beans are 

 largely planted before beets, the latter crop being followed by grain. 



Subsoiling below the plowing for the first crop of beets in con- 

 nection with the above rotation should be practiced, as it will loosen 

 the subsoil, which becomes hard and packed from the previous crop. 

 This is not so necessary with the following crops of beets, as the 

 puller or beet plow answers the same purpose. (F. B. 392.) 



Fertilization. In most American soils there is still sufficient 

 natural fertility to produce a good crop of sugar beets; whereas in the 

 soils of Europe, where sugar beets have been grown for years, the 

 farmers must depend on fertilizers to insure a remunerative crop. 



The principles of fertilization depend upon the fact that a soil 

 should have returned to it all that the harvest has removed, and an 

 unproductive soil be supplied with those elements in which it is 

 deficient. 



The soil ingredients most essential for the successful production 

 of sugar beets are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime. 



The following are the quantities of these constituents in 1,000 

 pounds of beet roots and in an equal quantity of beet leaves, as deter- 

 mined by numerous analyses : 



It will be seen from the foregoing table that, for equal weights, 

 the leaves make a heavier drain on the plant-food elements of the 

 soil than do the roots. The disposition to be made of the leaves is 

 therefore a matter of considerable importance. By leaving them on 

 the land the plant-food elements which they contain will be returned 

 to the soil. If they are removed for feeding, the need for applica- 



