210 THE SUGAR BEET. 



than another, it is advisable to adopt the principle of 

 early reaping*. Then, again, in cases like the beet cnl- 

 ture, it is important to act in an opposite manner, for if 

 the salts remaining were in excess the resulting roots 

 would be worthless for beet sugar manufacture. From 

 this we arrive at a realization of the importance of 

 planting in such a manner as will give the best results 

 in each case. Beets, unlike many other plants, can, 

 with few exceptions, be planted before or after any given 

 crops, and those, as before stated, that follow will aver- 

 age a greater yield than had hitherto existed, and the 

 introduction of them in the rotation becomes most easy. 

 Evidently, there are some few plants that are not de- 

 sirable to precede this root, as bad eftects might and in 

 the great number of cases will result; for example, 

 clover that has a large amount of wild seeds mixed with 

 it (which is generally the case) would be most disas- 

 trous, and too much care cannot be taken to place this 

 plant as far from the beet as possible, or, better still, 

 leave it out in the rotation. 



If it were exactly known to what extent the sugar 

 existing in the root were assisted in its formation by 

 the elements of the soil, we could then advise that 

 plants that have a large percentage of saccharine prin- 

 ciples should not directly follow in the rotation, as 

 these very substances would be wanting. The intro- 

 duction of chemical fertilizers has been a great help to, 

 the farmer, as with the assistance of these it becomes 

 possible to return to the soil -what has been taken 

 away, the latter being determined by experience, or, 



