110 THE SUGAR BEET. 



CHAPTER II. 



PREPAKATION OF THE SOIL, OR TILLAGE. 



The importance of bringing the elements of which 

 the subsoil is composed to the surface has been before 

 explained. This might, as many suppose, be done in 

 one operation with a good subsoil plough, but bad 

 crops would then follow, for the reason that the air could 

 not penetrate into every portion of it, this being requi- 

 site for the healthful growth of the root. The prepara- 

 tion of the soil is more complicated than may at first 

 be supposed, and evidently varies not only with each 

 country but also with each variety, as the absorption or 

 reduction of the various gases would not be the same in 

 a sandy as in an argillaceous texture, and the needs in 

 each case greatly differ. We cannot enter into the 

 practical details of the numerous cases that might pre- 

 sent themselves, but will consider the various opera- 

 tions in one of an average composition. 



In Europe the tillage of the soil for beet culture is 

 effected according to two methods, neither of which is 

 perfect. These are : — 



1. Drills, or on nearly horizontal levels. 



2. Hills. 



The first is now the general practice, and we can 



