22 BULLETIN 760, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the Oxnard and Salinas districts, replanted a portion of their acre- 
age. In most cases reseeding is made necessary by rains causing the 
surface of the soil to cake so that the young beet seedlings are unable 
to push through. Sometimes, on sandy soil, wind storms blow the 
seed out, and sometimes excessive alkali prevents good germination. 
The average rate of seeding for the several districts showed some 
variation. Approximately an average of 184} pounds per acre was 
required in the Los Angeles district, while an average of 16 pounds 
and 14 pounds, respectively, was used in the Oxnard and Salinas 
districts. 
The seed is planted in solid rows to insure a good stand. Later, 
after the young plants have pushed through to the surface, they are 
thinned out to a suitable distance. This operation will be discussed 
under a separate heading. 
Special beet drills were used. These were of two sizes, the 4-row 
and the 8-row, and they were usually equipped with press wheels, 
which exert a uniform pressure on the drill row, firming the soil and 
aiding in retention of sufficient moisture to insure quick germination 
of the seed. The 8-row drill was not very common, only two being 
reported in the Los Angeles district and eleven in the Oxnard dis- 
trict. None were reported in the Salinas district. The 8-row outfit 
requires four horses to operate, while 4-row drills are operated with 
9-horse teams. On farms in the Oxnard area, when no replanting 
was done, the average labor cost of planting with an 8-row drill was 
18 cents per acre less than on farms where 4-row drills were used. 
In the Los Angeles area the seed was planted in rows -18 inches 
apart on 88 farms and 16 inches apart on 43 farms. All of the Ox- 
nard growers planted in 18-inch rows, while in the Salinas district 
20-inch rows were reported on all farms except four, where the 18- 
inch row was used. . 
CULTIVATING. 
The cultivating period in the Los Angeles and Oxnard districts 
extended from about February 15 to July 15. On Salinas farms the 
work was done mainly in May, June, and July. The first cultivation 
precedes blocking and thinning. The cultivator is usually equipped 
with knives or “duck feet ” for killing weeds, and a shallow cultiva- 
tion is given. Subsequent cultivations are usually deeper. It is cus- 
tomary to run the cultivator at frequent intervals until the beets are 
so large that it is impossible to follow the row. 
On the Los Angeles and Oxnard farms the ground was cultivated 
from three to seven times (Table XVI), while in the Salinas district 
it was covered from one to three times. Twelve other men in the 
Salinas district, whose records do not figure in the table, had culti- 
