ROOT CROPS 



ROOT CROPS 



545 



various kinds of half-sugar mangels of most of the 

 seedsmen. 



Among sugar-beets grown for stock-feeding are 

 Lane Imperial, Danish Redtop and Danish Im- 

 proved, which frequently 

 contain a little higher per- 

 centage of dry matter than 

 mangels, and the improved 

 forms of sugar-beets, as 

 Kleinwanzlebener and its 

 several strains, which are 

 the richest in dry matter. 



Culture of mangels. 



Land. — Mangels may be 

 grown on almost any soil. 

 Deep loams are considered 

 best, and are necessary for 

 the production of heavy yields of the long varie- 

 ties. The globes and tankards may be grown on 

 the shallower and lighter soils. Deep fall-plowing 

 is advisable to ensure a compact subsurface. 

 Thorough fitting of the surface soil should be given 



Seed and seeding. — Six to eight pounds of good 

 seed will be ample, but frequently ten pounds, and, 

 in the case of sugar-beets, twelve to fifteen pounds, 

 are sown. These may be sown about three-fourths 



Fig. 779. Sampling a mangel. 



in spring. No crop responds more readily to good 

 tillage, and none will be more discouraging to the 

 grower who but half prepares the land. The use of 

 the disk or Acme and the spike-toothed harrows, 

 and then the Meeker harrow to finish the work, is 

 advised. 



Mangels do better where there is considerable 

 sunshine, and if there is a good sup- 

 ply of moisture in the soil they will 

 thrive in a warm, dry climate. After 

 the first two months of growth they 

 can withstand drought better than 

 almost any other root crop. 



Fertilizing. — Ten to twelve tons of 

 manure per acre should be spread 

 evenly in the fall, previous to plow- 

 ing, and thii should be supplemented 

 with fertilizers in spring. One hun- 

 dred to 200 pounds of muriate of 

 potash per acre may be applied in 

 the fall or early in spring, and 200 

 to 500 pounds of acid phosphate 

 with fifty pounds of nitrate of soda 

 per acre in the spring, both to be 

 harrowed in before seeding. If the 

 land has not been limed in the past 

 few years, 1,000 pounds of quick- 

 lime per acre will probably be of 

 value. 



B85 



Fig. 780. Mangel shapes. Beginning at the left: 1, half-long, under- 

 ground; 2, long, two-fifths above sollj 3, tankard, one-half above 

 soil; 4, ovoid, three-fifths above soil; 5, globe, four-fifths above soil; 

 6, flat, almost all above soil; 7, cowhorn. 



to one inch deep, the lesser depth on heavy soils 

 and the greater depth on the lighter soils. The 

 seeding is done as early as possible — the first of May 

 for New York conditions — in rows twenty-eight 

 to thirty-five inches wide. The young plants will 

 appear in ten to fourteen days. A regular beet drill 

 may be used or the seven-inch eleven-hoe grain 

 drill. The part sown is a fruit and generally con- 

 tains three to five seeds, half of which should 

 germinate. Since two or three plants springing 

 from one seed cause difficulty in thinning, attempts 

 are now being made to breed fruits which contain 

 but one seed. 



Subsequent care. — The object of wide rows, 

 twenty-eight inches or more, is to facilitate the 

 use of machinery. Since land is low in pi ice and 

 labor is high, the aim should be to grow the maxi- 

 mum number of plants in a row and have as few 

 rows as necessary to the acre and thus reduce the 

 cost of production to its lowest point per ton. At 

 least 30,000 plants should be grown per acre. The 

 plants should be thinned to one in a place as soon 

 as they have four leaves, or if thinning cannot be 

 accomplished on time, they should be bunched by 

 cutting out all plants except a little bunch every 



Fig. 781. Mangels. 



On the left, rough; center, single crown; 

 multiple crown. 



right 



