226 The Sugar-Beet in America 
ward. It is important to plant the beets well below the 
surface of the soil. The crown should be covered with 
a small quantity of soil to protect the budding top. The 
rows being the same distance apart each way, the culti- 
vator can be run in two directions and much hand labor 
thereby saved. In many cases no attempt is made to 
provide for two-way cultivation; the beets are merely 
planted every twenty to thirty inches apart in rows that 
are about three feet apart. Sometimes a furrow is made 
with a plow or deep cultivator and the beets planted in 
it. 
The South Dakota Station! reports using a machine 
for transplanting beets in 1916. It was an adapted 
planter similar to those used in transplanting tobacco; 
it was also used in transplanting alfalfa roots. “This is 
a two-wheeled machine with one shovel to open the 
furrows, two boxes to hold the beets and three seats, one 
for the driver and two for the beet droppers. Wings draw 
the dirt around the beets as they are dropped. A pair of 
rollers to firm the dirt around the beets would make a 
great improvement. About two or two and a half acres 
a day was the rate achieved in the trials.” It seems 
probable that some machine will be devised to reduce the 
great amount of hand labor required in planting mother 
beets. 
Care of seed crop during growth. 
When seed is raised under irrigation, it seems advisable 
to apply water very soon after the beets are planted in 
1 Shephard, J. H., South Dakota Exp. Sta., Bul. No. 173. 
(1917), p. 615. 
