Beets. 79 



can be borne by the hand and pour in the seed, using 

 enough water to cover the seed. Then cover the vessel 

 with an old sack and let seed stand for 24 hours. Before 

 planting, pour off water, use enough dry sand to make 

 them easily handled. Firming the soil is very important 

 in securing a good stand of beets. All well regulated 

 planters are supposed to have a wheel for packing the soil 

 after the dropping of the seed. The fertilizer should be 

 applied broadcast and harrowed in before planting. As 

 soon as the beets are a few inches high, they should be cul- 

 tivated with a wheel hoe using the cultivator. Subse- 

 quent cultivations should be made with the sweep attached 

 to wheel hoe. 



Vaeieties. 



Eclipse, Early Blood turnip, and Egyptian, are good 

 varieties. Personally I prefer the first. 



Packing. 



When the roots are two to three inches in diameter, they 

 should be pulled out, removing the outer leaves. Then 

 tie in l)unehes containing five beets each, and pack in bar- 

 rels or barrel crate, marking the number of bunches to 

 each crate. They usually sell from four to six cents per 

 bunch in the Northern market. If shipments are made 

 to the Southern markets half of the tops should be cut off 

 and the beets allowed to grow about four inches in diam- 

 eter. The Northern markets use the tops as a salad, but 

 few Southern markets care for more than the roots. Cut 

 worms are very fond of this crop, and it is generally nec- 

 essary after the crop has been removed to poison the worms 

 before another crop is planted. 



