GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN MICHIGAN AND OHIO. 13 



Six men in the Caro and four in_the Alma district reported on 

 the practice of planting beets after beans without plowing. In the 

 cases where the plowing was omitted the disk and spring-tooth har- 

 row were substituted for the plow in the preparation of the seed bed. 

 Very good results, where the land was free from weeds, were re- 

 ported by this method. 



Two common types of plows were observed, the common mold- 

 board walking plow (fig. 5) and the one-way sulky plow. Two hun- 

 dred and twenty-five walking, 76 riding, and 7 two-furrow gang 

 plows were reported. The walking plows ranged in width from 12 

 to 14 inches, and the sulky plows were practically all 14 inches in 

 width. Three-horse teams were used almost exclusively with sulky 

 plows (fig. 6), while with the walking plow not only the 2-horse, but 

 also the 3-horse team was used. Forty-eight per cent of the men used 



Fio. 5. — A crew of one man and two horses breaking land with a walking plow. 

 This was a common type in these districts. 



a 1-3 crew and were able to cover an acre of ground in an average of 

 5.2 hours, while the 47 per cent who used a 1-2 crew required 6.1 

 hours per acre. The width of implement ranged from an average 

 of 12.7 inches for the 1-2 crew to 13.2 inches for the 1-3 crew. Five 

 per cent used a 1-4 crew and plowed an acre in an average of 3.4 

 hours. Mainly two-bottom 12 to 14 inch gang plows were used with 

 the latter crew. 



One grower in the Alma district used a two-bottom 12-inch gang 

 plow drawn by a tractor. With one man to operate this outfit, plow- 

 ing was done at the rate of 1 acre in about 3^ hours. 



DISKING. 



The disk harrow, or pulverizer, as it is commonly called, is often 

 used in preparing a seed bed for the sugar beet. Disking destroys 



