22 



Cultivation will, it must be presumed, not differ materially 

 from that of the sugar beet, except that there will be no thin- 

 ning needed ; and as in the c^se of the latter, only a few culti- 

 vations will be required to subdue the weeds, and to maintain 

 good tilth in the rainless summer climates in which it is at 

 home. The Arizona station prescribes that " to secure the 

 " largest yield planting should be done before the first of 

 " October (in that climate) and the soil moistened and plowed ; 

 " then the roots dropped and covered with a potato planter 

 " adjusted to suit the case. The crops should be irrigated from 

 " four to six times and some implement of the two horse culti- 

 " vator style run through the rows after each irrigation." 



The amount of irrigation that should be given will of 

 course vary according to the kind of soil and the natural 

 moisture. As it seems that too mnch water depresses the 

 tannin percentage, while increasiug the weight of the crop, 

 there is evidently a certain measure that cannot be profitably 

 exceeded, but which must be established by experiment. At 

 this station, with an average rainfall of 23 inches during the 

 winter, irrigation'is certainly not called for. 



Harvesting can be done as in the case of beets, by means of 

 a " digger " such as is used for potatoes and (in a modified form) 

 for the sugar beet. A crop of ten tons per acre from roots 

 planted as indicated above and properly cultivated f o r one season 

 is probably a fair average expectation. 



But it is not necessary to harvest the root at any particular 

 time, since ife not only does not deteriorate by remaining in the 

 ground but actually increases its tannin-percentage about the 

 time the buds for the season years growth begin to move ; as 

 has been shown at the Arizona station. In fact the tannin 

 appears to increase to a maximum at the end of the second season, 

 after which it seems to remain constant ; at least we have never 

 found a higher percentage in roots older than two years, than 

 in the two year-old. As the roots do not die or decay, it is 

 optional fwhen to dig them. At this station, when a clump 

 that had grown from a single root was dug up after remaining 

 undisturbed for eight years, not a decayed root was found, and 

 the whole weighed 13 pounds. The older roots are much darker 

 in colour and have a rougher surface than new roots, which 

 are as smooth as sweet potatoes. 



The canaigre thus differs from almost every other crop in 

 that its harvest can wait for the convenience of the farmer, 

 within wide limits. It is not certainly known as yet, whether 

 oqq. root increases in weight after the second year ; our impres- 

 sion is that the increase is slight if any, and that it will not be 



