134 SUGAR BEET SEED. 



after, and what has been attained, on the farm visited 

 by the writer. The method of cultivation adopted is, 

 as before mentioned, to give a thorough plowing 

 during the winter prior to planting, after the fertilizers 

 have been well plowed under. As regards plowing, 

 it is interesting to note that this should not be done 

 during wet weather, and the upper surface should be 

 thoroughly harrowed, the vegetable strata, so to speak, 

 thus becoming greater every year. The operation of 

 marking the position for each mother is then com- 

 menced. A special cultivator is used, the distance 

 between colters being three feet during first horizontal 

 direction, then, when tracing the vertical lines, i^ 

 feet. This operation is made clear by referring to the 

 diagram (Fig. 45). The lines meet at a, b, c, d and e, 

 a', b', c', d' and e' . Mothers that have been waiting for 

 several months in the silo are brought with great care 

 to be planted (the nearer the silo is, the better the result) 

 at a, c, and e, on line A B, and at b' d' on line A' B,' thus 

 alternating for all other rows. The mothers are con- 

 sequently placed at the angles of a lozenge, cb' c"d', 

 the distance c' c" being three feet, while c' d' is i| feet. 

 The beet can draw its plant food from an area of nine 

 square feet.* The respective position of the beets 

 permits the frequent use of the cultivator in the direc- 

 tion shown by the arrows in the diagram (Fig. 45). The 

 position of the roots is such, that even after a pro- 

 longed drouth they remain in a flourishing condition; 

 this is, in part, due to the careful selection of mothers, 

 since, under all circumstances, the roots weigh from 

 one to two pounds each, very small roots not being 



•This diRtance between l)eets is a very variable question. On 

 Knauer's farm lie gives preference to distances of 63 to 78 c. m. (24.6 to 

 30.4 inches). Squares of two feet are said also to give satisfactory- 

 results. The roots are planted on the angles of said squares. Fiihllng, 

 however, contends that the rectangle, 24 x: 34 inches, gives the best 

 results. The marking of the fieldis done with a harrow in two 

 directions, and at the intersection of lines the mothers are placed. 

 For.digging holes to place the mothers a special spade is used. 



