THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 151 



a place and all weed* removed by hand pulling. As this work is usually done by cheap 

 help it is necessary to watch very closely to see that it is well done. One plant, and that 

 the strongest, should be left from each bunch, all the weeds should be jtnllal, not broken 

 cff, and if the soil is displaced about the young plant by the removal of the others it 

 must be returned but not packed down hard. The thinning should be done as soon as 

 the plants have four well formed leaves, and it is better to employ extra help rather than 

 to delay this work. If the thinning is delayed, the beets entwine about one another so 

 that the roots of those left are injured by the removal of the others, and if the taproot 

 is broken the plant will never produce a well formed beet. 



"Since the soil will become considerably compacted by the tramping of the workmen 

 during the thinning, it should be immediately loosened by horse cultivation, followed by 

 a thorough hand hoeing. This working should stir the soil three inches deep and leave the 

 crop free from weeds. Under favorable conditions of soil and season the hand -hoeing 

 just after thinning may be the only one necessary for the crop, but if the weeds begin to 

 start close to the rows it will be advisable to hand hoe once before thinning. Again, if 

 rains interfere with the frequent use of the cultivator after thinning and weeds begin to 

 show themselves in the rows, another hand hoeing must be given. 



"It is impossible to say just how much tillage may be required for best results, but 

 probably one to three hand hoeings and four to six cultivations will be sufficient. 



"The harvest usually begins the first part of October, though with early planting it 

 may begin a few weeks before, and it should be completed before hard freezing occurs. 

 There are machines for pulling the beets which are said to work very satisfactorily, doing 

 the wcrk as fast as a team will travel. A subsoil plow, or a common plow with the mould 

 board removed, may be used to loosen the roots. Pull them by hand, throwing into piles 

 and topping with a knife. This knife should be heavy enough so that the crown can be 

 removed at the earth- line by a single well-directed blow. 



"It is important that farmers should understand how to properly trim the beets, 

 for if too much of the crown is left on, carrying with it its large percentage of impurities, 

 the value of the beet for the manufacturer is much reduced. When on a visit to the sugar 

 factory at Rome. N. Y., the past autumn, a dozen men were found at work in the yard 

 removing the crowns from improperly trimmed beets that had been delivered by the 

 farmers-. The factory people found it to be better economy to employ men to remove the 

 crowns, rather than to work the beets with the crowns on and suffer the loss of sugar 

 that would not crystallize in consequence. The farmer gains nothing by sending to the 

 factory improperly trimmed beets or those loaded with dirt, as the state weigher samples 

 each load, washes, and if necessary trims the sample and determines the percentage of 

 dockage. The farmer not only gets nothing for the crown at the factory, but loses its 

 value on the farm as stock food and fertilizer. The picture on PagelOl show sheets properly 

 and improperly trimmed. Where a large portion of the beet grows out of the ground or 

 is ill-formed on account of the soil having been badly prepared, the percentage of waste 

 is very much increased. 



"If the beets are not needed at the factory as fast as harvested, they may be pitted 

 or siloed in the field the same as potatoes, and drawn or shipped to the factory later, 

 when the pressure of farm work is not so great. In pitting it is essential that the beets 

 shall be quite mature before harvesting, and that they be secured before freezing occurs, 

 as immature or frosted beets will not keep well." 



The Cornell station found (Bulletin 143) that, on the average, 100 Ibs of the whole 

 beet plant, as grown in New York State, consisted of 57 Ibs beet without crown, 17 Ibs 

 crown and 26 Ibs leaves. In 100 Ibs of beets from which the leaves were removed, there 



