dry or siloed. The roots, in addition to the pulp, contain about 12 1 per 

 cent of sugar. Even in localities where the sugar content cannot be 

 utilized as sugar, it will pay the farmer to raise a few acres of beets for his 

 live-stock. 



Four-Row Beet and Bean Planter .. This Machine Sows Sorghum, Broom Corn or Sudan Grass 



Soils and Fertilizers 



Sugar beets require a deep, rich, mellow loam. They are especially 

 adapted to alkali soils containing from one-half to one per cent of the 

 alkali salts. They demand an abundance of potash, but not an exces- 

 sive amount of nitrogen. If too much available nitrogen exists in the 

 soil, the plant is apt to grow to tops and small roots. If the soil is defi- 

 cient in potash, a high grade of sulphate of potash should be used. If 

 the soil is at all inclined to be sour, it should be thoroughly limed. 



Barnyard manure makes an excellent fertilizer, and, in addition to 

 furnishing plant food, it puts the land in splendid physical condition. 

 If manure is applied in a green, rough state, it should be plowed under 

 early in the fall, giving it ample time to rot. Well-rotted manure can 

 be applied in the spring before the. ground is plowed. 



Seed Bed 



The seed-bed should be mellow, well-ventilated and watered. It 

 should be as deep as the roots will grow. If the soil is compact and not 

 thoroughly pulverized and the bed is shallow, the roots will have a rough 

 irregular surface, be short and stunted, and the effect will be reflected 

 in the composition of the beets. 



Beet land should be plowed early in the fall and disced from time to 

 time in order to insure the destruction of weeds. It should again be 

 plowed in the spring after it has been thoroughly disced. It should 

 then be disced and harrowed until it is as mellow as an onion bed before 



