GROWING FIELD CROPS IN SUGAR-BEET DISTRICTS, 



25 



the fields and along the ditch banks, a horse and buggy sometimes 

 being used to carry the poison. Some crops, such as beets, some- 

 times have to be sprayed to kill insect pests. (Fig. 16). 



Sugar-beet cultivation is well under way before beans or potatoes 

 are sufficiently large to be cultivated. The first cultivation of beets 

 comes before any contract labor has been done. At about the time 

 the plants have four leaves the cultivator is run through the field. 

 At this time the knives are used to cut along close to the row to throw 

 dirt away from the plants. It is advisable to stir the center of the 

 row as deeply as possible with a narrow shovel, thus keeping it from 

 packing and enabling later ditching for irrigation to be more per- 

 fectly done. Practically all cultivating and furrowing are done with 



Fig. 16.— A type of sprayer used for potatoes and other field crops. 



4-row implements requiring 2-horse teams. Beets are cultivated 

 from three to five times, such frequency apparently being essential 

 for a maximum yield. About 8 acres is a normal day's work in cul- 

 tivating beets. When the plants are small the work is done at a 

 slower rate than later in the season. Furrowing, which is done when 

 the plants are larger, is done at the rate of 9 or 10 acres a day. The 

 methods of furrowing for irrigation at Rocky Ford are somewhat 

 different from those of the two northern districts, where it is not 

 customary to furrow except after the last cultivation. If a second 

 furrowing is practiced it is usually done to make the furrows deeper. 

 At Rocky Ford the first furrowing usually comes soon after planting, 

 a second during the period of cultivation, and a third after cultiva- 

 tion is completed. Sledding is usually done on land that is without 

 a slope. 



The cultivation of beans is less exacting than that of beets. The 

 work is often done with beet cultivators adjusted to the width of the 

 bean row and equipped with the heavier types of beet tools. Since 



11311°— 21— Bull. 917 4 



