THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 89 



entire patch and replant it in case of a poor stand. It is desirable that when the 

 plants come up they should nearly touch each other, but there is no necessity of over- 

 crowding, as this occasions extra labor in thinning out. Or the seed may be planted 

 at a distance of three or four inches in the rows in groups of three or four seeds. 

 Formerly only 10 or 15 pounds of seed per acre was sowed, but American experience 

 during the past six years has emphasized the importance of sowing at least 20 Ibs of 

 seed per acre. Then, should the weather be dry, the best seed will come up first and 

 there will be enough for a good stand. On the other hand, should a crust be formed 

 on the field after a heavy rain, one plant would help the other to break through the 



PLANET JR. NO. 11 DOUBLE WHEEL HOE CULTIVATOR, 

 RAKE AND PLOW. 



ground. It is easier to do a little extra thinning than to replant. If seeding a small 

 patch by hand, less seed will be required if the work is done carefully. 



Almost any garden drill can be adapted to sowing beet seed, but for larger fields 

 the four-row horse drill is used. Seeders made especially for this purpose, seeding 

 lour rows at a time and dropping the seed continuously in rows 14 to 19 inches apart, 

 (according to the fertility of the soil) will plant 10 to 12 acres per day. Never plant 

 over three-fourths of an inch deep, but see that the earth is well packed around the 

 seed by the press wheels attached to the back of the drill, because by pressing the 

 surface the necessary moisture for germinating in a dry season is drawn by capillary 

 attraction out of the deeper soil. The heavier the soil and the earlier the planting, 

 the shallower must the sowing be in order to prevent the seed from rotting in the 

 ground. The deeper the seed is planted, especially in heavy soil, the weaker the 



