BEETS 
ground should be cultivated just as soon 
as the surface is dry enough to work 
The mulch produced by the cultivator 
should be maintained by frequent cultiva- 
tion in order to hold the water as long as 
possible. 
The quantity of water that should be 
applied in order to produce a crop of beets 
can not be stated in specific terms, since 
the water absorbing and retaining ability 
of different soils varies and the rate of 
evaporation varies both in different locali- 
ties and in the same locality under the 
constantly changing atmospheric condi- 
tions The plants themselves should be 
the index as to the quantity of water 
required. So long as the beets have a fresh 
appearance and a bright-green color they 
are not suffering for lack of water, and 
if furrow irrigation is practiced there is 
little danger of giving them too much 
water. A dark-green color of the beet 
leaves usually indicates that the water 
supply in the soil is running low. This 
is often followed by a wilting of the beets 
and a consequent retardation in growth. 
If the wilted beets fail to revive during 
the night, practically no growth can take 
place and water should be applied im- 
mediately. 
Holding the Moisture 
By nature soils vary within wide limits 
as to their water-holding capacity. For 
example, a fine, compact soil is capable 
of holding more moisture than a coarse 
or loose soil. 
Humus affords a good medium in which 
the soil organisms can live and thrive 
and liberate plant food, but they can 
perform their functions to a much high- 
er degree because of the additional moist- 
ure which the soil is able to retain on 
account of the presence of the humus. If, 
then, the soil has been supplied with 
the requisite amount of humus and has 
been plowed uniformly deep at the right 
time, much has been done toward fur- 
nishing the plants with the moisture 
needed for plant growth. Special atten- 
tion should then be paid to keeping the 
surface of the soil constantly in the form 
of a mulch. This mulch acts as a blan- 
ket in retarding evaporation from the soil 
605 
below. Everyone is familiar with the 
moist appearance of the ground under 
a layer of straw, manure, or other loose 
covering aS compared with the exposed 
surface of the adjacent ground. 
Planting the Seed 
If the seed bed has been thoroughly 
prepared, the principal factors to be con- 
sidered in connection with planting the 
seed are the time and depth of planting, 
the quantity ot seed used, and the dis- 
tance between rows. The seed should 
not be put into the ground until the soil 
is Warm enough to produce a quick germ- 
ination and a rapid subsequent growth. 
If the seed lies in the ground when the 
conditions are not right for germination 
it 18 liable to rot, and even if it does not 
rot, the resulting plants, when they do 
finally develop, will usually be weak and 
unsatisfactory 
The desire to give the plants every ad- 
vantage of a long season often leads to the 
mistake of planting too early. Experience 
has shown that almost invariably the 
plantings that are made later, when the 
temperature conditions for germination 
and growth are right, give the best re- 
sults in tonnage and quality, and the beets 
usually mature in advance of the earlier 
plantings. On the other hand, the plant- 
ing should not be delayed until the moist- 
ure has escaped from the seed bed. 
The seed should be planted just as shal- 
low as is consistent with quick and uni- 
form germination. The depth of plant- 
ing will vary, therefore, with the nature 
of the soil and the condition of climate. 
The seed should always be put into moist 
soil and the soil should be capable of 
holding its moisture long enough to pro- 
duce germination. It is questionable 
whether it is ever wise to plant more than 
1% inches deep, for the reason that the 
beet seed proper is comparatively small 
and the young plant must be able to get 
through to the light by using the reserve 
plant food in the seed. 
As an aid in holding the moisture in the 
soil, the drill should be provided with 
press wheels, which exert a firm, even 
pressure upon the soil directly over the 
drill row. Furthermore, a firm soil acts 
