90 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



plants will be if they come up at all. Therefore avoid deep planting, which invaria- 

 bly gives a poor stand. The least covering of moist earth, well packed about the seed, 

 is sufficient to sprout it. 



The rows may be 10, 12 or 14 inches apart if it is intended to weed out by hand; 

 or 18 to 21 inches if the horse hoe is used. 



Time for planting is when the soil is warm enough to germinate the seed. This 

 is usually about two weeks or so earlier than the average farmer would think of plant- 

 ing corn. In California it may be any time from January to June, in the central 

 west from April 20 to May 20 , further east May 1 to June 1, and for the south March 

 1 to May 1. No hard and fast rule can be laid down ; the intelligent observer can 

 judge from the season and condition of soil. The young plants should show in 7 to 

 21 days, according to the season. If the stand is poor, cultivate it out and reseed the 

 whole field; or replant the poor spots. 



Parties growing a large acreage and not having very much help, will do well to 

 plant the crop in sections, at intervals of one week apart, in order to gain more time 

 for thinning; however, do not plant too late, for in that case the beets will not be 

 strong enough when the dry season sets in, and will therefore suffer from the drouth, 

 while the earlier and consequently stronger plants will thrive well and a heavier and 

 better crop be insured. You had much better hire help during thinning time than 

 to plant too late. 



If beets are planted at great distances apart, they become large in size and freely 

 absorb salts from the soil. To avoid this it is necessary to plant close together, thus 

 dividing the available salts in the soil. Sugar is largely formed in the beet from the 

 air through the leaves, and these should be many in number and of fair size, hence it 

 will not do to overcrowd the plants. 



CULTIVATING. 



This work is performed with one-horse cultivators, which work one, two or four rows 

 at a time. If after sowing, a heavy rain should cause a crust to form on the field, 

 the light harrow previously described to prevent soil blowing is recommended ; but this 

 only in case the seed has not germinated, as otherwise it would be better to run the 

 cultivator over the field, following the rows, which can be done easily before the seed 

 is up, as the marks of the press wheels can be plainly distinguished. This work, how- 

 ever, can be better done by hand hoes (11 inches wide; see Hoeing). As soon as the 

 beets break through the ground and the rows can be followed, the cultivation must 

 begin, the earlier the better, not only to destroy the weeds, but to loosen the soil, 

 which permits the air to penetrate, thus forcing the growth of the beet and improv- 

 ing the quality. 



It is very important to kill the weeds before they get above the ground, or at 

 least before they become well-rooted. This can be easily accomplished by cultivat- 

 ing the field with the flat shovels every eight or ten days, care being taken to set the 

 knives as close as possible to the rows, and never over two inches from the rows as 

 long as the beets are small. As the beets grow older, however, the shovels should be 

 run gradually farther away from the beets, and also deeper, until the leaves meet in 

 the center of the rows, by which time the cultivation should have reached a depth of 



