the beets are planted. It has been demonstrated that a well-pulverized, 



deep seed-bed will make a yield of fifty per cent more than a shallow, 



poorly-made one. 



Irrigation 



In sections where irrigation is necessary, every means should be used 

 to store an abundance of water in the deeper subsoils before the beets 

 are planted, thereby avoiding the necessity of frequent subsequent irri- 

 gations. If the land is underlaid with drain tile and a subsoiler is used 

 to a depth of sixteen or eighteen inches below the bottom of the furrow, 

 in order to increase the amount of stored water, and frequent surface 

 cultivations are made, the beets will not only make a more rapid growth, 

 but will contain a larger percentage of sugar than a crop which is fre- 



Four-Row Beet and Bean Cultivator 



quently watered. No crop will respond to dry-land farming operations 

 more satisfactorily than beets if care is taken to store an abundance of 

 water during the fall and winter and after the last plowing in the spring. 



Drainage 



Drainage is beneficial in three ways: 



1. The texture of the soil is improved and the temperature is raised. 



2. Surplus water in the seed-bed is removed and the soil is thor- 

 oughly aerated. 



3. Alkali salts, in a measure, are removed. 



Thousands of acres of land which at one time were ideal for sugar 

 beets, are practically barren today because of the presence of an exces- 

 sive amount of alkali, which could be removed by having a system of 

 underlaid drain tile. 



169 



