GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN UTAH AND IDAHO. 
19 
4 in the case of 38 records. Only a few operators plowed with a 
2 -horse team. Idaho Falls growers plowed the beet land at the rate 
of 2.25 acres per day, the Garland operators averaged 2 acres per day, 
while in the Provo area 1.65 acres constituted a day's work. The 
fact that the soil is fairly heavy may have been responsible for some- 
what slower work in the latter instance. The depth of plowing in the 
three districts varied from 8 to 10 inches. 
At Garland and Provo the plowing was done mainly in the fall (fig. 
3), whereas in the Idaho Falls district this work was done almost 
entirely in the spring. The plowing practice in the latter district 
especially with reference to the time of doing the work may be con- 
trolled in part by the combined potato and sugar-beet harvesting 
operations. Then, too, it may be observed that the Yakima loam is 
not a heavy type, consequently frost action is not essential in order 
to obtain a mellow condition. The majority of the beet growers 
harrowed daily all of the land newly plowed that day; in fact, many 
made a practice of harrowing up to the plow each half day. Under 
arid conditions this plan prevents undue evaporation of moisture;, it 
also leaves the surface of the field in much better tilth, and subsequent 
culture can be carried out much more effectively than when the land 
is allowed to dry out before harrowing. 
DISKING. 
In the preparation of beet land the disk harrow was used on rela- 
tively few farms. The Garland group contained only 1 disk- 
harrow record for the year 1914 and 13 records the succeeding season. 
Apparently the climate conditions were less favorable in 1915 than 
1914, hence more work was required to bring the soil to the proper 
degree of fineness, the disk harrow being selected for the extra work. 
Table VIII. — Disking practice. 
District. 
Year. 
Num- 
ber of 
farm 
records . 
Acres 
disked 
per 
farm. 
Num- 
ber of 
times 
disked. 
Average crew. 
Hours per acre. 
Cost 
Man. 
Horse. 
Man. 
Horse. 
acre. 
1914-15 
1914-15 
1915 
1915 
14 
12 
8 
11 
11.86 
12.33 
17.81 
13.63 
2.93 
2.08 
1.12 
1.50 
1 
1 
1 
1 
3.93 
3.25 
3.88 
3.36 
2.08 
2.24 
1.74 
2.93 
8.24 
7.33 
6.76 
9.72 
$1.16 
1.16 
Idaho Falls 
1.03 
Provo, lap one-half ... 
1.53 
The disking was done mainly in March and April, Thirteen out of 
14 Garland growers and seven out of eight at Idaho Falls reported 
crews of one man and four horses, while only 8 out of 23 in the Provo 
district used this crew. Provo also had 14 estimates which reported 
crews consisting of one man and three horses. It will be observed 
that the records at Provo were divided into two groups. On 1 1 of 
these farms it was the practice to lap one-half in doing the disking. 
