192 THE SUGAR BEET. 



heres to the roots, and all ploughing, etc., is impossi- 

 ble — a certain amount of water being absorbed, which 

 has the same eflect as too little. From all that we have 

 said in the above, we conclude that the best method is 

 the German, and that is, when possible, to do the har- 

 vesting when the day is cloudy, taking every pre- 

 caution to prevent too long a contact with the air. If 

 the leaves are pulled immediately it is advisable to 

 cover the roots with them, if not, several inches of 

 earth will answer the same purpose. 



When the beets are taken from the ground they 

 should be shaken in order to get rid of the earth still 

 adhering — the fig. 41 gives the reader an idea of the 

 roots when the harvesting takes place — if this earth 

 were allowed to reaiain it would, when in large quanti- 

 ties, induce a second growth ; if in small it would be 

 an advantage whilst in the silos. The roots are placed 

 in rows after having been extracted from the ground, 

 from which plan economy of time for the cutting and 

 the placing on carts will be realized. 



The leaves are separated from the roots either with 

 a knife or a spade. We do not advise' even in a case of 

 bad cultivation (that is to say, when a portion has 

 grown out of the ground) to chop any off but what is 

 absolutely necessary, as the preservation would be ren- 

 dered more difficult, and it is impossible not to have an 



' Mr. Grant says : " A portion of the green neck should be sliced off." For 

 the above reasons we bejr to differ. 



