SUGAR-BEET 



SUGAR' -BEET 



593 



metal so adjusted that they move along just below 

 the surface of the ground and destroy the weeds 

 over the entire space between the rows. The duck 

 feet are more or less triangular in shape and can 

 be set so that they will work to any desired depth. 

 Some growers hold that deep cultivation is neces- 

 sary for the production of long, well-shaped beets, 

 but shallow cultivation is generally practiced. The 

 cultivation of beets, like hoeing, is twofold in its 

 purpose — to accomplish the destruction of weeds 

 and the conservation of moisture. When the tops 

 become too large or for other reasons the hoeing 

 and cultivating ceases, the crop is said to be 

 "laid by. 



Irrigation. — Very few field crops are able to 

 adjust themselves to the extremes of moisture 

 supply in the soil more readily than sugar-beets 

 after they have become well established. However, 

 a certain amount of moisture is necessary, not only 

 for the germination of the seed, but also for the 

 subsequent development of the beets. There is, 

 therefore, no question of greater importance to the 

 beet-growers of the semi-arid sections than that 

 of water rights and the proper use of irrigating 

 waters. Irrigation by flooding, that is, allowing 

 the water to flow over the entire surface of the 

 field, is not usually practiced in sugar-beet-growing. 

 The furrow method of irrigation is employed almost 

 entirely, in which case small ditches or furrows 

 are made between each two rows, or between alter- 

 nate rows, extending across the field from the 

 higher to the lower side. The water is then turned 

 on and allowed to flow until the ground around the 

 beets is well supplied with moisture. In case only 

 alternate rows are furrowed at the first irrigation, 

 furrows are made at the next irrigation between 

 the rows not previously furrowed, so that the rows 

 are watered first on one side and then on the other. 



The number of irrigations necessary to bring 

 a crop through successfully depends on soil and 

 climatic conditions and on methods of cultivation. 

 Usually, two to five irrigations are necessary, but 

 some areas are so situated with respect to the 

 surrounding country that the crops are watered 

 naturally from below, and no water in any form 

 need be applied to the surface. This may be 

 called natural subirrigation. Such sections are very 

 limited, however, as compared with the vast areas 

 of land to the surface of which water must be 

 applied, either in the fotm of rain or of surface 

 irrigation, in order to produce satisfactory crops. 



Harvesting (Pig. 821). — The harvesting of beets 

 consists of four distinct operations, — lifting, pull- 

 ing, topping and hauling. In the first operation the 

 beets are simply loosened in the ground. In per- 

 forming this work, two distinct types of implements 

 are in common use. One of these is a side plow, 

 which is usually operated with three horses, and is 

 so held that it runs along one side of the row to be 

 loosened and close enough to the roots so that each 

 beet is disturbed as it progresses. The most serious 

 objection to this lifter is that it frequently breaks 

 the beets, which are very brittle at harvest time, 

 and leaves the lower part in the ground, thus caus- 

 ing considerable loss in tonnage. 



B38 



The other form of lifter is a double-pointed plow 

 with the points so adjusted that one passes on either 

 side of the row. Each point extends backward in 

 the form of a shoe. These shoes approach each other 

 by degrees without meeting, and are gradually 

 elevated from the toe toward the heel. The con- 

 struction and arrangement of the parts of this 

 implement are such that, as it progresses, each beet 

 in turn is caujjht between the shoes and lifted 

 several inches from its original position. In either 

 case the beets are loosened so that they are easily 

 pulled. The pulling is usually done by hand, in 

 ; which case the beets are picked up and thrown in 

 piles, or in rows, depending on the method later to 

 be employed in topping. The most common method 

 is to throw the beets in piles at convenient inter- 

 vals. With some growers it is the practice to 

 throw them so that all the tops lie in the same 

 direction ; this practice takes no more time in pul- 

 ling and greatly facilitates the work of topping. 



Topping is also a hand operation and is usually 

 performed by means of a straight, heavy knife, 

 which should be kept sharp. It consists in remov- 

 ing the leaves and crown at the line of the lowest 

 leaf scar. The proportion of the beet thus to be dis- 



Fig. 821. Sugar-beets topped and ready lor the factory. 



carded depends on the habit of growth of the plant. 

 Beets with long crowns should not be selected for 

 seed, since this is an undesirable quality to propa- 

 gate. The reason for removing the crown is that 

 this part contains so much mineral matter in com- 

 , parison with the sugar, that it has been found ad- 

 visable not to use it in sugar-making. The mineral 

 matter prevents the sugar crystallizing and often 

 more sugar would be lost than gained by using the 

 crown. When the beets are topped, they are thrown 

 into piles where the ground has been previously 

 freed from tops and other refuse matter, so that 

 they can be forked into wagons ready for the fac- 

 tory. Numerous attempts have been made to con- 

 struct a machine to be operated by horse-power, 

 which shall lift, pull and top the beets, but, while 

 success has been achieved in some instances, such 

 machines have not come into general use. 



Hauling the beets to the factory is usually done 

 by wagon if the fields are within a few miles of the 

 factory. If the dintance is too great, they are 

 loaded on the cars at the nearest station and trans- 

 ported by rail. In either case they are first forked 

 on the wagon, and then unloaded in the beet sheds 



