GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN MICHIGAN AND OHIO. 19 



Table X. — Rolling. 



District. 





Acres in beets 





Hours of labor 



Per 

 cent 



per farm. 



Times 



per acre. 



of all 





rolled. 













records. 



Total. 



Rolled. 





Man. 



Horse. 



93 



15.15 



15.06 



2.17 



1.63 



3.26 



98 



9.53 



8.95 



2.36 



1.87 



3.74 



78 



5.92 



5.92 



1.91 



1.48 



2.96 



85 



16.69 



15. 71 



1.84 



1.40 



2.80. 



Labor 



cost per 



acre. 



Caro 



Alma 



Grand Rapids 



Northwestern Ohio 



SO. 63 

 .74 

 .60 

 .56 



Sixty-six per cent of the men in the Caro district, 87 per cent in the 

 Alma, 78 per cent in the Grand Rapids district, and 44 per cent in 

 northwestern Ohio rolled prior to or immediately after planting. 

 The average number of times the land was rolled ranged from 1.4 

 to 1.9. 



Fiq. 12. — Rolling with a bar roller. This implement firms and als-o pulverizes the soil. 



The majority of the men rolled immediately before planting, some 

 after planting, and a few rolled both before and after seeding. The 

 object of rolling before seeding was to create a smooth even surface 

 for the drill rows. Still other men used the roller along with the har- 

 row and disk in the general work of preparing a suitable seed bed. 



Fifty-four per cent of the men in the Caro district, 64 per cent in 

 the Alma, 19 per cent in the Grand Rapids district, and 63 per cent 

 in northwestern Ohio rolled at about the time the beets were push- 

 ing through the ground, or soon after. Rolling at this time, called 

 "rolling beets," may be done for several reasons. If the rain has 

 caused a crust to form at a period when the seed is germinating, it is 

 customary to employ a bar roller to break the crust, thus allowing the 

 young plants to push through to the surface. This condition often 



