100 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
Water will not stop the beets from ripening, that is, unless the land is wet and clayey, 
and of course a person should know better than to water such land late in the season. 
Beets that have been well watered will not be affected nearly so much by the late 
storms as those that have not been well watered. My experience is that beets need 
some alkali, but I do not think that very strong alkali land is good for them. There 
is naturally more or less alkali in all our land, unless it is the light, loamy soil. Beets. 
like manure. Even here in Utah, all our land needs manure for beets. Of course a 
person can go to an extreme, but asa rule all our Jands need manuring. There is one 
thing more about preparing land for beets: I am sure that many of our people tramp 
their land too much. Some of it becomes packed very heavy before the beets are put 
in. After the beets have come up the land cannot be cultivated too much.’’ 
We may add that frequent and thurough culture is the best substitute for irriga- 
tion. With it, the beet will stand quite severe drouth. During the great drouth of 
94, in the valley of the Platte, Nebraska, beets stood the drouth better than corn 
did, for the subsoil is of sand and the water is only 10 to 15 feet below the surface of 
the ground, so that the roots of the beets can almost penetrate to the water. 
HARVESTING. 
It requires about four and one-half to five months after planting to procure ripe 
beets, although in California the time varies from 120 to 160 days. After they have been 
in the ground that length of time, and the outer leaves turn yellow and die down, itis 
an indication that the beets are ripening. The maximum of sugar and purity is usual- 
ly obtained during the month of October over much of the country where ordinarily se- 
vere winters are experienced, but in the Southwest and California, maturity on moist 
and late lands may not be reached until considerably later. The factory usually sam- 
ples several fields before advising growers to enter upon the general harvest. As the 
beets increase in tonnage mostly during the last six weeks of their growth, the har- 
vesting with full force should not be started too early. On the other hand, the beets. 
must be out of the ground before hard freezing weather, as alternate freezing and 
thawing injures the sugar content. In case of a severe freeze before harvest is com- 
pleted, it may be best to leave the balance of the roots in the ground for a few days 
until normal weather is restored, as the quick thawing out of the beets might seri- 
ously impair their sugar content. 
The beets may be plowed loose from 8 to 10 days before removing from the 
ground, using a plow with a thin blade, which splits the soil between the rows. In- 
stead of the share it has a narrow blade ip the nature of a subsoil point, enough to 
carry it deep into the ground. The use of the plow avoids the injury to the beet 
caused by spades, hoes or shovels, and it is then easier also to remove the beet plant 
from the hard soil. Treated in this manner, the roots ripen and gain in weight and 
sugar; the earth adheres less to the root and can be shaken off with ease. In Ne- 
braska, a two-horse puller is used (Page 105) which loosens the beets, but leaves them 
in the ground. Whatever method is employed, the tops are taken hold of by boys, 
who pull the beets and throw them into piles. Another set of boys cuts off the tops 
with a beet knife, and for this purpose, the point of an old scythe set in a handle is 
about as good a tool as one can use, or a corn knife. The topping is best accom- 
