98 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



leaves wilt down and the tops begin to change from a light or yellowish green to a 

 dark green. After the first watering they should be kept wet. i would not be in fa- 

 vor of going to an extreme, but I would not allow them to get dry if I could help it. 

 The length of time between waterings should vary, according to the land, from 8 to 14 

 days. The last watering should be about the last of August or the first of 

 September." 



Another expert, Mr Samuel Taylor says: "I do not believe it is good to irrigate 

 too soon. Let your beets get up and get them thinned, letting them have a pretty 

 good start. When the lower leaves begin to wilt and the tops turn a dark green, the 

 water should be first applied. Of course when you start you must keep it up. Three 

 or four waterings will make a good crop of beets. Four are better than three, and if 

 you can get four good irrigations on a crop of beets I am satisfied they will mature 

 and make a good crop. With respect to the last watering ; one year we were told to 

 stop watering too early and we lost a great many beets by it. I would water the last 

 time about the last of August, if watered up to this date the beets will be all right." 



In Nebraska it is felt that proper irrigation will often insure the crop, but expe- 

 rience has so far been limited. Mr F. Wietzer, field manager for the Norfolk fac- 

 tory, summarizes the matter for this work as follows: "We have taken much interest 

 in irrigation of sugar beets. Last year there was raised 90 acres by irrigation, and 

 the results were very satisfactory, as well in quality as quantity. Beets should never 

 be irrigated until they show actual need of it. No water should be put on them as 

 long as there is a natural supply of water in the ground, for too much water is almost 

 as disastrous as not enough. After you have once commenced putting water on land, 

 it dries out more quickly than before and will require watering the second time. The 

 number of irrigations that a crop requires during the season depends entirely upon 

 local surroundings, nature and condition of land. The first irrigation should not be 

 before the middle of June, and no water should be applied after the first week in 

 August. Beets should never be irrigated in the fall, for irrigating at that time will 

 bring forth new tops and give the roots a second growth, which is disastrous to the 

 quality. A very advantageous method of irrigation is this: When the spring is very 

 dry, to soak the land from the irrigation ditches, and then as soon as the soil is dry 

 enough, prepare seed bed and plant seed." 



Mr Granger, field manager of the Utah Sugar Co, spoke of irrigation at length in 

 his address before the Pecos valley beet growers in New Mexico. Among other things 

 he said : "As soon as you have commenced irrigating, see that the beet is kept sup- 

 plied with sufficient moisture to keep it thrifty. It will take thirty days from the 

 last irrigation before you can harvest, usually; on very sandy land twenty-five days, on 

 clay land thirty days. This delay is necessary because, when you are through irrigat- 

 ing for the last time, the beets are nearly through growing and the sugar is forming. 

 When given an irrigation, the sugar in the beets will go down for fifteen days, and it 

 will take a little longer to get back again. A great many people ask me how many 

 times they shall irrigate. I cannot tell them without seeing the field. When the 

 leaves wilt down in the middle of the day it is not so bad, but when they stay wilted 

 in the cool of the evening, give them a drink. Let them suffer a little for water in 

 the fore part of the season ; it will force the taproot to reach down for moisture. In 



