ECONOMIC PLANTS 239 



freely applied. Potash seems to have a favorable in- 

 fluence on the crop if applied in the fall so that it shall 

 have worked deeply into the soil. Mangels must be 

 thinned out while young, so that they may have room to 

 grow. Sugar beets are grown for use on the table, but 

 the development of the beet sugar industry in the 

 United States has made such rapid progress in the past 

 fifteen years as to make the garden crop of comparative 

 insignificance. For use as a vegetable the seeds of this 

 beet should be planted in rows one foot apart, one inch 

 apart in the row, and one inch deep. When the plants 

 are well up, thin to four inches space between them. 



Note. The so-called beet seed is really not a single seed, but a 

 collection of three seeds, more properly called beet fruit. Efforts to 

 develop a beet that shall produce fruit with but one fertile seed is 

 meeting with some success. 



Bulbs. --The onion is the only bulb that is of any 

 importance as a vegetable. 



The onion grows well in a moderately light loam. 

 A clean soil for planting is necessary if the cost of culti- 

 vation be kept at a reasonable figure. Onions may suc- 

 ceed themselves on the same soil for successive years 

 with less evil results than most other crops. If grown in 

 a rotation system, they follow potatoes or carrots well. 

 Very careful preparation of the soil followed by cultiva- 

 tion and heavy manuring or fertilizing with plenty of 

 lime bring a yield from 800 to 1000 bushels an acre, a 

 crop that is usually quite profitable. Hand labor is 

 absolutely necessary to successful weeding, but such 

 a large yield from a small area is secured as to make 

 the culture pay. Onions are harvested by pulling as 

 soon as the tops have fallen over and have begun to 



