610 
ease, especially leaf spot or crown rot, is 
noticeable on the beet leaves and crowns, 
the manure should be used only on 
ground that is not to be put into beets 
for two or more years; or, better, the 
freshly wilted beet tops should be put 
into the silo, preferably mixed with cut 
straw or corn stover. Leaf spot pores 
are all killed in the silo. 
Beet pulp is likewise an excellent stock 
food. This by-product is the refuse that 
remains after the beet roots have been 
Sliced and the sugar extracted. As a 
stock food it may be used either as green 
pulp—that is, just as it comes from the 
mill—or it may be dried. The composi- 
tion of the dried pulp as guaranteed by 
one of the large dealers is as follows: 
Protein, not under eight per cent; fat, 
not under one-half of one per cent; sugar 
and starch, not under four per cent; 
fiber, not over 20 per cent; extract (carbo- 
hydrates), not under 58 per cent. Total 
carbohydrates, including fiber, not under 
76 per cent; ashes, two and one-half per 
cent. While the pulp, either green or 
dried, is an excellent stock food it is not 
a balanced ration and should therefore 
be fed with other protein material. 
Waste lime is a by-product of the sugar 
mill which, under certain conditions, is 
of considerable value to the farmer in 
correcting the acid condition of the soil. 
It is well known that a soil should be 
neutral or slightly alkaline in order to 
produce the best results. Ordinarily, an 
application of from 500 to 2,000 pounds 
of waste lime per acre will correct the 
acidity and otherwise improve the soil. 
Farmers’ 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Summary 
Sugar beet soil should be selected with 
reference to its fertility, its physical con- 
dition, its previous cropping, and its abil. 
ity to be properly drained and irrigated. 
The ground should be plowed to a zood 
depth in the fall and every effort made 
to retain the moisture in the soil from 
the time the previous crop was harvested 
until the beet crop is laid by. 
The seed and root beds should be go 
prepared that they will be fine, firm, 
moist, and well aerated, with a sufficiently 
lumpy mulch on the surface to prevent 
blowing. 
Beet ground should never be flooded 
after the seed is planted. 
The soil should be well supplied with 
humus. 
Beet seed should be planted in moist 
soil, but not more than one and one-half 
inches deep. 
Beets should be spaced and thinned 
just as soon as they are large enough to 
handle. 
Beets should be cultivated and hoed 
often enough to destroy all weeds and 
to keep the entire surface of the ground 
covered with a mulch. 
Beets should always be rotated with 
other crops in order to keep the soil in 
good tilth and free from pests. 
Live stock, especially dairy cows, 
should always be found on beet farms. 
The by-products of the sugar beet and 
of the sugar mill are worthy of careful 
attention. 
Bulletin 567. 
