SUGAR BEETS 157 



makes this a safe statement is that the area of the earth's surface 

 on which sugar cane can be successfully grown is comparatively 

 limited and is restricted to a zone in which human endeavor is 

 less remunerative and less economically carried on than in the beet 

 fields in the higher altitudes and latitudes. 



Types of sugar beets. The most satisfactory type of sugar beet 

 is that having a long, fusiform root about 3 or 3 \ inches in diame- 

 ter at the crown, with a comparatively small part of the crown 

 exposed above the surface of the soil. The root should be 8, 10, 

 or 1 2 inches in length and taper gradually from the cap to the tip. 

 Since the part which carries the leaves and is exposed above the 

 surface of the ground is of comparatively little value for sugar 

 making, it is the aim in selecting mother beets for the production 

 of seed to secure those which have as little exposure of the crown 

 as possible. The types of sugar beets have been so carefully bred 

 that there is comparatively little variation in them at the present 

 time, and growers on well-prepared land have experienced little 

 difficulty in securing suitable roots. However, the successful pro- 

 duction of a root is dependent to a certain extent on the care 

 given to the preparation of the soil. It should therefore be the 

 aim of the cultivator to make the seed bed in which sugar beets 

 are grown as deep as possible. In the Eastern states the deepen- 

 ing of the seed bed should be carried on through a series of years 

 rather than in a single season. If the land has already been culti- 

 vated to a depth of only 6 or 7 inches, then instead of cultivating 

 it to the required depth in a single year, this work should be 

 extended over a number of years. This will permit increasing the 

 depth of plowing an inch at a time, which will give a sufficient 

 amount of the subsoil to be incorporated with the seed bed during 

 any single year. Where deep plowing for the purpose of encour- 

 aging the growth of such long-rooted plants as beets has been 

 attempted, it has usually produced ill effects because too much cold, 

 unrefined soil was brought into the area occupied by the roots. 

 It takes several years to aerate properly and set free the plant 

 food contained in soil which has not been exposed to the action 

 of wind and rain. 



Planting the sugar beet. Sugar-beet seed is usually planted like 

 that of the garden beet, in rows from 18 to 22 inches apart and 



