20 



D. M. FERRY & CO., DETROIT, MICH. 





Sugar Beets are desirable not only for the manufac- 

 ture of sugar, but are invaluable for stock feeding and 

 table use. They are deservedly popular both on the farm 

 and in the small garden. No one that raises beets of any 

 kind should fail to plant at least a trial bed. Our list com- 

 prises the best strains on the market. 



SOIL— The best soil for Sugar Beets is a rich, friable sandy or clayey 

 loam. They cannot be profitably grown on a tenacious wet clay or a very 

 sandj' or excessively hard and stony soil. Rich mucky soils will often 

 give an immense yield of roots which thougli excelleut for feeding are of 

 little value for sugar makiug Most farm lands capalile of producing a 

 good crop of corn or wheat can be made to grow a good crop of beets. 



MANURE— Sugar Beets do much better when the soil has been made rich 

 for a preceding crop than when the fertilizers are applied the same season. 

 The use of rank, undecomposed manures, or such as contain a large amount 

 of nitrogen, will result in large, coarse roots of little value for sugar making. 

 If the condition of the ground necessitates the use of a fertilizer the current 

 season, the greatest care should be taken to have it evenly and thoroughly 

 mixed with the surface soil. 



SEED— There is no crop where the quality of the seed used is of greater 

 importance than this If inferior seed be planted, no matter how rich the 

 soil or how skillful the cultivation, tlie yield will be unsatisfactory and un- 

 profitable. A great deal of most patient and skillful labor has been expended 

 in establishing and developing strains of beets which are adapted to sugar 

 making. ^ It is on ly by the use of the 



^ best seeds that profitable 



sugar making is possible. 



1 



Klein Wanzleben 

 Sugar Beet. 



Klein 

 Wanzleben 



A little larger than Vil- 

 morin's Improved, and con- 

 taining about the same 

 amount of sugar. Its yield 

 of beets is from twelve to 

 eighteen tons per acre. 

 The beet grows below the 

 surface. The green leaves 

 are rather large and 

 spreadingwithwavy edges. 

 A little hardier and easier 

 grown than Vilmorin's 

 Improved. Probably the 

 best sort for the experi- 

 menter to use. Pkt. 5c; 

 Oz.lOc; 2 0z.lOc; %Lb.l5c; 

 Lb. 35c- 



PLANTINQ AND CULTIVATING-The great 



secret of successful and economical culture of beets 

 is through preparation of the soil before j)lanting. The 

 seed should be planted as soon as the soil can be got- 

 ten into good condition, which is not likely to be 

 before the middle of April, but the seed should be in 

 before the lastof May. We plant in drills twenty to thirty inches apart, 

 dropping from twelve to twenty seeds to the foot. This will require 

 from ten to fifteen pounds of seed to the acre. It is very important 

 that the seed be well covered with not to exceed one inch of soil pi-essed 

 firmly over it. As soon as the young plants have started sufficiently to 

 make the rows visible they should be cultivated and the field should 

 receive constant attention so as to keep the surface soil loose and 

 destroy the starting weeds. When the beets are about two or three 

 inches high they should be thinned so as to stand six to ten inches 

 apart in the row, and cultivation should be discontinued as soon as the 

 roots have commenced to form. Often a crop is injured by late cul- 

 tivation which starts the plants into fresh growth when they should be 

 maturing and developing sugar. Sugar beets ripen and become fit for harvesting 

 as distinctly as do potatoes or corn, and they indicate that they are approaching 

 this condition by the Outer leaves turning yellowish and the top seeming to de- 

 crease in size owing to the curling of the central leaves. They should be gathered 

 and stored when ripe or mature, for if left they may start into fresh growth, which 

 lessens the proportion of sugar. The successful cultivation 

 of beets rich in sugar requires rotation of crops, however 

 rich and good the soil may appear to be. 



Jacnsch's Victrix Sugar Beet 



The Best Sugar Beet Known. 



For full description and price, see page 18. 



Yllmorin's 

 Improved 



In general the most 

 desirable beet for the 

 sugar factory is the 

 one containing the 

 largest percentage of 

 sugar. In th i s V ar i ety 

 we have one of the 

 richest sorts in culti- 

 vation, and moreover 

 it will do better on new lands 

 than any other variety, suf- 

 fer less from an excess of 

 nitrogen, and will keep the 

 best. In size it is medium or 

 a little below, yielding from 

 ten to sixteen tons per acre, 

 and containing, under favorable conditions, as high as eighteen per cent of sugar. The beet grows 

 below the surface. The green leaves are smooth edged and spreading. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 10c; 

 H Lb. 15c; Lb. 35c. 



BEETS im STOCK FEEDING 



Giant Feeding Sugar Beet or Half Sugar Mangel 



Easily handled, a good keeper and in every way most valuable to the fanner. For full 

 description and price., see page 18. 



Previous to the introduction of 

 Griant Feeding Sugar this was the 

 sort most largely grown for stock 

 feeding in Europe,where the superior feeding value of the sugar beets over the coarse Mangel Wurzels 

 is generally recognized. This sort is so rich in sugar that it is sometimes grown for sugar factories. 

 We do not recommend it for this purpose but do as a most profitable crop for feeding stock. The 

 numerous green leaves are quite erect and the elongated, egg-shaped root is tinged with red at the 

 top. It is very hardy and productive, yielding about twenty tons to the acre. Pkt. 6c; Oz. 10c; 

 2 Oz. 10c; h Lb. 15c; Lb. 35c. 

 LANE'S IMPERIAL SUGAR. This is a large, coarser beet than the French White Sugar. 

 It is more like Mangel Wurzel in growth but with sweeter and tenderer flesh. It is sometimes used 

 for the table. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 10c; !i Lb. 15c; Lb. 35c. 

 FRENCH YELLOW SUGAR. Grows to a large size; roots half long, yellow and sweet. 

 Excellent for stock feeding. Pkt. be; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 10c; % Lb. 15c; Lb. 40c. 



French White S\jgar Red Top 



White Sugar 

 Top Beet. 



