Sugar-Beet Cultivation in Austria. 
347 
night after the roots are quite ripe. But slipuld the autumu be 
warm and wet, growth starts again, and larger leaves are thrown 
out. This should be avoided by all means, inasmuch as the 
leaves in that case are produced in a great measure at the ex- 
pense of stored-up sugar in the roots. Nothing does so much 
injury to beet as a second growth of tops after the roots have 
become ripe, and hence the safest plan is to take them up as 
soon as possible after the crop has arrived at maturity. 
A good indication of maturity is afforded when a root is cut 
in two with a knife. If the newly cut surfaces of the beet 
rapidly turn colour on exposure to the air, the ripening process 
is not completed ; but if they remain unchanged, or turn only 
slightly reddish, it may be taken for granted that the beets are 
sufficiently ripe to be taken up. Immature roots sliced with 
a knife rapidly turn first red, then brownish, and finally quite 
dark on the surface touched by the knife. 
The Harvest. 
The time of harvesting is not always coincident with the 
time of ripening (i.e. when the leaves have become yellow and 
faded), since a large quantity of the roots must be pulled before 
they are fully ripe, in order to provide the necessary raw mate- 
rial to the sugar factories, which generally begin their work in 
September ; moreover, the grower has to be careful that the 
roots are not overtaken while in the ground by severe frosts. 
In such cases the harvest begins with the ripest plants. The 
process of lifting out of the ground can be accomplished by 
means of the spade, but a very popular implement is a fork 
(Riiben-IIeber) with a shoulder above the bifurcation to press 
the foot upon. The labourer loosens the earth round the beet ' 
with this fork, and with his left hand pulls up the root by 
the tops, shaking off as much earth as 
possible before placing the beet on the 
ground. It is very important not to 
damage the roots by pricking or bruis- 
ing, or they will be more liable to 
decay when stored. 
Labour being cheap, most of the 
work is done by hand ; but the beets 
are also ploughed out by a variety of Fm. r.-jioraviau beet-ufter. 
implements not vmlike our potato- 
diggers in England. One such machine of Moravian construc- 
tion is figured in the margin (Fig. 7.) 
The crop should be harvested in fine dry weather and when 
A. A 2 
