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safely in the month of May, or even June, but it is better if 

 possible to do it earlier. It is desirable for beets, as well 

 as for other seed, to choose a day when the ground is moist, 

 so that the grain may soften, and germinate quickly. 



From seven to eight pounds of seed per acre is 

 the usual quantity employed, and it will not, if grown by 

 the farmer himself, cost him over twenty cents or twenty 

 five at most per pound. 



It may happen that in consequence of a season too wet, 

 or too dry, that the seed does not come up, or comes up 

 so thin, as to be of little value. If this accident pro- 

 ceeds from weather too wet, there is no other resource but 

 to sow again. If on the contrary, it arises from too dry 

 w^eather it is proper to wait for a favorable change, and in 

 such case it will be found that the germination has only 

 been retarded. It is not an uncommon thing to see seed in 

 such cases sprout well a month or six weeks and even two 

 months after they have been sown. Again, it will some- 

 times happen after sowing, that /ro.?^ may attack the sprout 

 about to appear, or that has appeared ; in such case there 

 , is no other remedy than to sow over again, for it would be 

 in vain to expect that the seed should germinate a second 

 time. In such a case it is nevertheless prudent to wait a 

 fortnight or three weeks after the frost to ascertain beyond 

 doubt whether the vegetative faculty is really destroyed, or 

 only suspended. 



These different accidents separately, or combined often 

 unluckily, oblige the farmer to sow more than once, but 

 fortunately, the beet on the other hand, will generally ad- 

 mit of the delays consequent to these disappointments ; an 

 advantage which many other plants could not. Three sow- 

 ings may be sometimes required ; the first, as I before said* 

 about the end of March, then if unfavorable circumstances 

 prevent or delay vegetation, it is proper to wait till the end 



