GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN UTAH AND IDAHO. 



31 



very reliable check on any estimates which may be given by men who 

 make a practice of doing their own handwork. (See Table XIX.) 



Table XIX. — Comparative cost ofblocJcing and thinning. 



District. 



Year. 



Number 

 of farm 

 records. 



Acres 

 blocked 



and 

 thinned 

 per farm. 



Hours 

 per 

 acre. 



Cost 

 per 

 acre. 





1914-15 



1914-15 



1915 



32 

 13 



17 



14.82 

 9.23 

 11.6 



21.32 

 23.43 

 23.72 



S4.26 



Provo . 



4.45 



Idaho Falls 



4.74 







The dijfference in the labor requirements for blocking and thinning 

 in Provo and Idaho FaUs districts was exceedingly small. The 

 Garland reports placed this requirement more than two hours per 



Fig. 8.— Making a new set in a field lateral. A canvas is laid down in the ditch with the free edge 

 toward the approaching stream of water, and soil is thrown upon the canvas for the purpose of 

 holding it in place. 



acre less than for the other areas. The customary contract price for 

 this work was $6 per acre at Garland and Idaho Falls and $5 at Provo. 



HOEING. 



The hoeing is done duiing the early summer months. Under 

 ordinary conditions the fields are hoed twice. Where a contract is 

 involved, the laborer agrees to keep the field free from weeds. This 

 means hoeing the beets twice, and occasionally some weed pulling is 

 necessary later in the season. In 1915, 77 estimates were secured on 

 the first hoeing, and the average time varied from 9 to 11.5 hours per 

 acre, with costs ranging from $1.79 to $2.18 per acre. There were 74 

 records for the same season on the second hoeing. The labor for the 



