28 BULLETIN 963, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



REMOVING AND BURNING TRASH. 



In two districts a small amount of work was devoted to removal of 

 trash following the harvest of the preceding crop. In the Idaho Falls 

 area 4 per cent of the acreage planted to beets had trash removed 

 from it; in the Twin Falls district, 2 per cent. 



APPLICATION OF MANURE. 



Farm manure was applied to 65 per cent of the total beet acreage of 

 the farms visited in Lehi district, 62 per cent in the Idaho Falls area, 

 and 40 per cent at Garland and at Twin Falls. In the Lehi area the 

 manure was hauled almost exclusively with wagons and the applica- 

 tion was made during the fall and winter months. The most common 

 crew consisted of one man and two horses. In the Garland district 

 slightly more than half of the men used manure spreaders and approxi- 

 mately two-thirds of the work was done during the fall and winter. 

 There was considerable variation in the crew sizes in this district. 

 Essentially the same methods were employed in the Idaho Falls and 

 Twin Falls area, although the larger number of farmers made use of 

 the manure spreader in the latter district. 



As a rule beet growers can give very reliable estimates on the num- 

 ber of loads of manure applied per acre and the number of loads 

 hauled per day. It is much more difficult to ascertain the number of 

 tons applied per acre. Manure is never weighed, and as it varies 

 somewhat in quality, as well as in the quantity of moisture that it 

 contains, estimates on the per-ton application are likely to be exceed- 

 ingly variable. In view of these facts it was felt that it would be best 

 to report on the load basis. In the Lehi area the average application 

 was given as 14.5 loads per acre. At Garland the average applica- 

 tion was 12.5 loads, at Idaho Falls 13 loads, and at Twin Falls 12.2 

 loads per acre. 



The man and horse labor requirements for manuring are influenced 

 to some extent by the hauling distances, the size of the crew, and the 

 condition of the field. In the Lehi district the labor requirement 

 was comparatively high, because the average hauling distance was 

 somewhat greater than in the other districts studied. Since many 

 operators live in town and maintain some stock there, manure is fre- 

 quently hauled from town to farm. 



PLOWING. 



The beet land is given only one plowing on the average farm, al- 

 though two plowings are sometimes necessary. 



In view of the fact that the sugar-beet crops followed alfalfa in three 

 of these districts, a small amount of '' crowning" was necessary. 

 Crowning means breaking to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, which is suffi- 



