606 
like a lamp wick and draws the moisture 
up from below. 
Plant all the seed at a uniform depth. 
The importance of this will be apparent 
when we consider the operation of thin- 
ning the beets. Only two conditions are 
necessary in order to plant at a uniform 
depth. First, the surface of the ground 
must be smooth and firm, and, second, the 
drill shoes must each stand on the same 
level. 
In order to get a good stand of beets, 
which is the first requisite of a satis- 
factory crop, plenty of seed must be used, 
so there will be no gaps or spaces of any 
considerable distance where there are no 
beets. Usually from 15 to 20 pounds 
of seed per acre will be sufficient to ac- 
complish this result. If a large number 
of seeds germinate at the same time, each 
plantlet will help others to get through 
to the light; hence the importance of 
plenty of seed in a well-prepared seed bed. 
Experience has determined that in gen- 
eral the most satisfactory distance be- 
tween rows is from 18 to 22 inches. It 
Is evident that very fertile soil capable of 
holding an abundance of moisture will 
yield better results with narrow rows 
than will a less fertile soil with a lower 
water-holding capacity. 
Spacing and Thinning 
As already indicated, the present 
method of planting beet seed is in solid 
rows instead of in hills, in order to obtain 
a more uniform and nearly perfect stand 
of beets. Having secured a good germina- 
tion it next becomes important to thin 
the beets down to one in a place at suit- 
able distances apart in the row to produce 
a good crop. The first step in reducing 
the beets to one in a place is that of 
spacing the beets, which is usually done 
with a hand hoe used at right angles to the 
row. In this manner a large number 
of the plants are cut out and the remain- 
ing beets are left in small tufts at inter- 
vals of 8 to 12 inches in the row. In per- 
forming this operation the hoe should be 
struck just deep enough so that the beets 
cut off will not grow again and so that 
all weeds that may have started in the 
row will be destroyed. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Several machines have been devised foy 
spacing beets, bui thev have not come 
into general use 
As soon as the beets have been spaced, 
the tufts should be thinned to one in a 
place. This woik must be done with the 
hands, since the beet plants stand so close 
together that no machine has been de- 
vised that is capable of doing the work 
satisfactorily. It is seldom the case that 
two beets left in the same tuft will pro- 
duce the same weight of beet roots that 
would have been produced by either of 
the beets alone. 
The beets should be spaced and thinned 
just as soon as possible after they are 
up. This can usually be done when the 
plants have from 4 to 6 leaves, 
Cultiy ating 
There are three principal objects to be 
accomplished by the use of the cultivator; 
namely, the destruction of weeds, the re. 
tention of moisture, and the interchange 
of gases in the soil. The purpose for 
which the cultivator is operated should 
be kept in mind, and the cultivator 
should be fitted with attachments accord- 
ingly. In using the weeders care should 
be taken that they do not form a crust 
just below the mulch produced by the 
weeder blades. This may be avoided 
by attaching calf-tongues just back of the 
weeder and so setting them that the 
points operate a little deeper than the 
weeder blades. 
Some growers are partial to the disks 
when the beets are small. These are 
useful if the main object is the forma- 
tion of a mulch or if a light crust has 
formed which it is desired to break and 
at the same time to form a mulch. The 
disks, if properly set, prevent the dirt 
from being thrown over the young beets, 
which is a point that should be strong- 
ly emphasized at every cultivation, re- 
gardless of the kind of attachments used. 
The objection to the disk is that it leaves 
a furrow on either side of the beet row, 
and consequently the plants stand on a 
ridge, which is inclined to dry out. To 
avoid this condition a bull-tongue should 
be attached back of each of the disks and 
so adjusted that the furrows formed by 
