172 THE SUGAR BEET. 



excellent effect. The movable axis of the roller is also 

 an important item, as the roller can then readily pass 

 over an undulated surface. 



In some portions of France we have seen them make 

 use of a machine by means of which a fertilizer is 

 placed in the soil at the same time as the seed. The 

 objection to this is the evil eifect caused by insects 

 when barnyard manure or any other organic substance 

 is made use of, or, again, if a chemical, it will fre- 

 quently burn the young plant. 



Of late years an invention has been brought to 

 notice which has not these inconveniences, as the fer- 

 tilizers do not come in immediate contact until the 

 root is to a certain extent able to resist their effects. 

 The principle is to permit the fertilizer to be the first 

 to leave the machine, then a small device covers this 

 with earth, then the seed falls and is covered in the 

 same manner. We strongly advocate this for poor 

 soils, but do not think it important otherwise. 



The sowing in hills (the advantage of which has 

 been before mentioned) is effected by various means, 

 the most important being where the roller having the 

 exact shape of the desired hill is passed over it. After 

 the earth is thus pressed, lines in given directions are 

 traced ; during this operation the seeds are sown, by 

 hand or machine, rather closer than in any of the 

 methods mentioned above. 



