18 
BT7LLETIX 726, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
marketing of beets continues late into the autumn months, and this 
interferes with, fall plowing. More attention would undoubtedly be 
given to the latter if there were no interference with other work, such 
as digging potatoes or taking out and hauling beets from the farm. 
There are some soil types which can be penetrated very readily by 
plant roots, and such soils may not require deep plowing. However, 
there are other types which, are exceedingly close in texture and do 
not afford a suitable feeding area for crops like sugar beets unless 
plowed deep. Frequently the soil carries a fair proportion of cement- 
ing material which has a tendency to hold the particles together. 
Consequently the roots do not develop rapidly and a short, stunted 
beet is the result. The ideal crop can not be produced on soil that 
Fig. 4. — Fall plowing with a two way plow in the Arkansas Valley. 
has an impervious subsurface. Deep tillage will open this layer and 
permit the plant roots to enter. An average depth of 5.8 inches was 
reached on the 104 farms reporting from the Rocky Ford district, 
183 Greeley growers averaged 8.7 inches, while the 66 Fort Morgan 
operators plowed an average depth of 8.9 inches. 
The two-way plow was used almost exclusively in northern Colo- 
rado, and it was mentioned in 41 per cent of the records from the 
Rocky Ford district (fig. 4). Sixty out of sixty-six farmers at Fort 
Morgan plowed with this type. For the Greeley area data on type 
of plow are incomplete. However, 53 per cent of all farms used the 
two-way type. The sulky plow with 14-inch or 16-inch bottom came 
second (fig. 5). Thirty-seven per cent of the Rocky Ford growers 
