220 



Cultivation of Beet. 



With this company upwards of 2 acres, or from 50 to 60 tons of 

 roots, may be carried in a day. 



A crop of beet of about 20 tons per acre (not including top) 

 will cost to take up and store on an average — 



wages beino; 10^. per week. 



s. 



d. 





£ 



s. 



d. 



Pulling and stripping leaves . 



4 



0 



to 



0 



6 



0 



l<ilhng mto carts . 



2 



0 



?» 



0 



2 



6 



Driving (boys) ♦ 

 Stacking roots in heaps 



0 



6 



?) 



0 



0 



8 



1 



10 



j> 



0 



2 



0 



Thatching with straw , 

 Earthing up . . 



1 



0 





0 



1 



4 



3 



6 



>> 



0 



4 



0 



Manual labour 



12 



10 



J? 



0 



16 



6 



Horse labour at 2s. 6d. per day 



3 



0 



^> 



0 



4 



0 



Carting and loading straw 



0 



6 



3» 



0 



0 



6 



Total 



16 



4 



)5 



£l 



1 



0 



Or from 9d. to I2d. a ton. 

 A bad crop will cost considerably more per ton to take up and 

 store than a good crop. If the roots are carted some distance 

 and stored where they are to be consumed, the cost will of course 

 be increased by the additional horse-labour required. When 

 intended for feeding cattle, it is perhaps the best plan to 

 store the roots as conveniently as possible for the cattle-sheds. 

 In a wet season the removal of a crop of beet from a retentive soil 

 is frequently injurious by the necessary treading in carrying the 

 crop : in extreme cases this may be entirely obviated by removing 

 the crop by manual labour ; and though the soil in our immediate 

 neighbourhood is not of that retentive nature, yet those who farm 

 wet land have occasionally recourse to the carrying the crop to 

 heaps at the side of the field in baskets or wheeling in barrows ; 

 and find that the cost does not greatly exceed the carrying the 

 crop with carts. Planks to wheel upon would facilitate the 

 operation. 



7. Mode of Storing. 



The plan of storing, almost universally adopted in this part of 

 the country, is that of laying the roots in a heap on a headland, or 

 side of a field, and covering first with straw or stubble, and then 

 with earth. The best size for a heap is about 6 feet wide and 

 4 feet high. The annexed diagram shows a section of the heap. 

 The loads of mangold are backed close against the heap and then 

 kicked up, what remain in the cart are thrown out by a boy ; and 

 two men stand on each side of the hinder part of the cart, and 

 stack the roots in a regular manner at the outside of the heap (as 

 shown in the drawing). In this manner the heap is made till the 

 whole crop is laid up. We generally have a heap from 30 to 



