118 The Sugar-Beet in America 
much the better ; but if not, re-seeding should be resorted 
to. A satisfactory crop cannot be raised if only half the 
beets come up. In some soils no treatment is necessary 
from the time the seed is planted till the beets are ready 
to thin. In some sections, however, it is advisable to 
roll the land soon after the beets come up and before they 
are thinned. Some disagreement exists as to the value 
of this rolling, but many farmers believe it to be of de- 
cided benefit on some soils. 
The practice of beginning cultivation as soon as the 
beets are up enough to show the rows has many advantages. 
It helps to conserve the moisture ; it keeps in check weeds 
that come up so abundantly at this season of the year; 
it gives to the rapidly-growing young plants the supply 
of air needed by their roots; and it facilitates thinning. 
Blocking and thinning. 
No operation in the entire process of beet-raising is 
more important than thinning. Losses resulting from 
poor thinning are not easily apparent; for this reason the 
danger is greater. At the time the beets are thinned, the 
farmer is rushed with other work, and since this operation 
is very slow and tedious, the tendency is to hurry over it. 
If each farmer could perform his own work, sufficient care 
would probably be taken, but most thinning is done by 
contract labor or by children, and as a result it is usually 
far from perfect. 
When the work is contracted, at least part of the pay 
should be based on the acre-yield of the crop instead of 
entirely on the area thinned. When a flat rate for an acre 
is paid, it is difficult to secure satisfactory work. When 
