GROWING SUGAR BEETS IX THE BILLINGS REGION. 



21 



be loosened to a good depth. If possible, shovels should be run in 

 the middle between the rows, for if this strip of ground is allowed 

 to get hard satisfactory cultivation will be difficult. Early deep 

 cultivations, if not too close, do not disturb any of the beet roots, 

 while late, deep cultivations are apt to injure the beet roots. As 

 much care should be taken to avoid injury to the roots of the beet. 

 as to the tops, for both roots and tops are essential to the growth of 

 the plants. The first root of a beet strikes down deep into the soil 

 and the side roots spread out later. 



The cultivation of beets is in most instances done by 2-horse cul- 

 tivators, which till four rows at a time ; 37 growers used 1-horse cul- 

 tivators that worked only two rows at a time. These 2-row culti- 

 vators are not as efficient as the 4-row implements, as they take about 

 twice the man labor per acre, and the horse labor is about the same 

 as for the 4-row machine. It takes two hours for a man to culti- 

 vate 1 acre with a 2-row cultivator and only one hour with a 4-row 

 implement. Cultivators of the 2-row type are not used on large 

 areas, as is shown by the average acreage of beets of those using 

 1-horse cultivators being only 14.5 acres per farm, while the average 

 for those using 2-horse cultivators is 31 acres per farm. (Table VI.) 



Table VI.- 



-Relation of the number of cultivations of the sugar-beet crop to the 

 cost of labor in the Billings region in 1915. 



Culti- 

 vated. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Acres of 

 beets. 



Percent- 

 age of 

 total, 

 area. 



Average 

 labor 



cost per 

 acre. 1 



Culti- 

 vated. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Acres of 

 beets. 



Percent- 

 age of 

 total 

 area. 



Average 

 labcr 



cost per 

 acre. 1 



2 times. . . 



3 times. . . 



4 times. . . 



5 times. . . 



12 

 86 

 125 

 60 



372 

 1,964 

 4,183 

 1,422 



4.2 

 22.2 

 47.3 

 16.1 



$0.79 

 1.28 

 1.68 

 2.20 



6 times. . . 



7 times. . . 



All farms. 



13 

 9 



614 

 288 



6.9 

 3.3 



$2. 23 

 2.81 



305 



8,843 



100.0 



1.74 



1 The cost of the labor for furrowing, which is usually done once each season and by some is considered a 

 cultivation, is not here included. 



There is no clear indication that the number of cultivations had 

 any great effect on the yield of beets per acre, there being many fac- 

 tors that might tend to cause a variation in yield; for example, the 

 ground in certain fields may be in poor condition or the beets may 

 not be doing well, and such a field will receive extra cultivations, 

 while a good field may not be cultivated so often. Weedy land will 

 be cultivated more often than fields that are comparatively free 

 from weeds. Beets that are growing rapidly and are healthy and 

 vigorous have a shorter season for cultivation before they become 

 too large, but such beets usually yield best. 



It required 4.46 hours of man labor and 8.46 hours of horse labor 

 to cultivate an acre of beets an average of 4.09 times. (Table VII.) 



