115 



the surface of the earth. The beet plant, on germinating, is extremely 

 delicate and will not force itself through a deep layer of earth ; espe- 

 cially is this true if, subsequent to the planting and before the appear- 

 ance of the plant above the ground, a heavy rain should fall, packing 

 the earth down firmly on the seed. If one could be assured of the oc- 

 currence of very dry weather for a considerable period after planting, 

 then depositing the seed at a greater depth would be advisable, but it 

 would be extremely dangerous practice to follow in a country where 

 rains are likely to occur at any time. In localities where irrigation is 

 practiced the amount of seed employed could be easily controlled, and 

 in this case the seed could be deposited, to a greater or less depth, ac- 

 cording to whether the soil might be more or less moist. 



The object of the work in cultivation was to show in a practical way 

 how to secure a good stand of good, healthy beet plants at as nearly as 

 possible even distances in the rows and to illustrate the method of cul- 

 ture. With the sugar beet the method of culture is essentially a super- 

 ficial one; no deep plowing and stirring of the ground is required. On 

 the contrary, the principles of beet culture look to a sufficient stirring 

 of the ground to break up the r;ipillary connection between the snrfare 

 portions and the parts below to secure the proper tilth and pulveriza- 

 tion of the surface and to prevent the growth of weeds and grass. These 

 are the points which are to be secured, and any method of cultivation 

 which accomplishes these ends will be sufficient for beet culture. 



When the rows of beets are planted only from 1U to 15 inches apart, 

 as in the case of some of our experiments, hand-hoe culture is the only 

 practicable method. The rows are too near to permit the use of horse- 

 power. When the rows are 18 inches apart, and greater distances, cul- 

 ture by means of horse hoes and cultivators is, of course, more econom- 

 ical than hand-hoe culture. Any good garden horse hoe which will stir 

 the surface of the soil and at the same time protect the young plants 

 from being covered up will be found useful in beet culture. In this re- 

 spect it is but fair to call attention to the fact that culture of beets 

 by steam or electric plowing may perhaps in the future be found to be 

 the most economical. By the use of steam plows greater care can be 

 exercised and greater or less speed can be imparted to the plow and abso- 

 lute immunity from tramping the beets secured. This, however, is a 

 matter for the future; meanwhile we may avail ourselves of the means 

 of cultivation which can be procured. Quite a number of hand cultiva- 

 tors and horse cultivators and hoes were purchased from different imple- 

 ment dealers, and all of them, so far as we have been able to try them 

 thoroughly, proved to be of a satisfactory nature. 



Connected with the culture work, careful meteorological observations 

 were conducted, in order that the climatic influences could be as thor- 

 oughly studied as possible. This leads to the observation that inter- 

 continental areas, subjected as they are to great vicissitudes of climate, 

 will perhaps not prove as favorable to beet-culture as the marine lit- 



