THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 89 
entire patch and replant it in case of a poor stand. 1t is desirable that when the 
plants come up they should nearly touch each other, but there is no necessity of over- 
crowding, as this occasions extra labor in thinning out. Or the seed may be planted 
at a distance of three or four inches in the rows in groups of three or four seeds. 
Formerly only 10 or 15 pounds of seed per acre was sowed, but-American experience 
during the past six years has emphasized the importance of sowing at least 20 Ibs of 
seed per acre. Then, should the weather be dry, the best seed will come up first and 
there will be enough for a good stand. On the other hand, should a crust be formed 
on the field after a heavy rain, one plant would help the other to break through the 
list 
COMBINATION PLANTER AND CULTIVATING MACHINE. 
This No. 4 machine also plants well, and when through with for that purpose, can be used as a whee 
hoe, cultivator, rake or plow, by using the appropriate parts. Its advantages 
to small cultivators of limited means are obvious. 
ground. It is easier to do a little extra thinning than to replant. If seeding a small 
patch by hand, less seed will be required if the work is done carefully. 
Almost any garden drill can be adapted to sowing beet seed, but for larger fields 
the four-row horse drill is used. Seeders made especially for this purpose, seeding 
1our rows at a time and dropping the seed continuously in rows 14 to 19 inches apart, 
(according to the fertility of the soil) will plant 10 to 12 acres per day. Never plant 
over three-fourths of an inch deep, but see that the earth is well packed around the 
seed by the press wheels attached to the back of the drill, because by pressing the 
surface the necessary moisture for germinating in a dry season is drawn by capillary 
attraction out of the deeper soil. The heavier the soil and the earlier the planting, 
the shallower must the sowing be in order to prevent the seed from rotting in the 
ground. The deeper the seed is planted, especially in heavy soil, the weaker the 
