VEGETABLES BEET. 139 



to be hoed. This firming of Beet seed is very impor- 

 tant, as hundreds of acres, particularly of the Sugar Beet, 

 grown on the farm for stock, are annually lost for want of 

 this precaution. Beets are occasionally planted two feet 

 apart, and the intervening row sown with Radishes.. The 

 Radishes mature early, and are used or sold off soon 

 enough to allow more room for the Beet crop. It 

 makes but little difference with us in the profits of the 

 crop which way it is done, the results being nearly the same 

 in each case. But in places where but limited quantities 

 of vegetables can be disposed of, perhaps the latter 

 plan is the best. The young Beets are thinned out to 

 six inches apart when the rows are one foot apart, but 

 when at two feet to only four inches, as they have more 

 space between the rows for air. The thinnings of the 

 Beets are used like Spinach, and, when carefully handled, 

 they will always sell for more than the cost of the labor 

 of thinning the crop. 



In this neighborhood, Beets sown first week in April 

 are begun to be marketed the first week in June and en- 

 tirely cleared off by July 1st, when the ground is pre- 

 pared for the second crop. It will be understood that 

 they are, at this early date, sold in an immature state, 

 before the root has reached complete development ; but 

 the great point is earliness, the public being well satis- 

 fied to pay more for it half-grown, if early, than when 

 full-grown, if late. 



This crop I have always considered a very profitable 

 one, even at the seemingly low price of seventy-five cents 

 per 100 roots, the average wholesale price in New York 

 markets. But 80,000 roots are grown per acre when 

 sown at one foot apart, and although the labor of pull- 

 ing and bunching up is greater than in some crops, yet 

 at seventy-five cents per 100 it will give an easy profit of 

 $250 per acre. 



Beets are an excellent article to ship, and the price 



