The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
527 
Early Beets Profitable 
Early beets from seed offer three ways 
to return a cash profit to the grower. 
When the tops are a few inches high 
they are thinned, and the thinnings are 
sold in bulk, like spinach, for beet greens. 
When the developing beets are as large 
as hen’s eggs pulling begins for bunching. 
The bulk of the crop is usually sold in 
bunches; however, if any of the beets get 
too large for bunching they may be pulled, 
topped and sold in bulk. For best cash 
returns, however, the early crop must be 
made to develop quickly. There are sev¬ 
eral points that deserve attention. Our 
methods are as follows: 
The very richest and warmest ground 
is selected for the early beets. A broad¬ 
casting of manure is desirable, and the 
earlier in the Winter the manure is ap¬ 
plied the more it affects the growth of 
the beets. Just as soon as the frost is 
out the ground is plowed and harrowed. 
Fertilizer high in nitrogen (5-S-5) 1,500 
lbs. per acre, is broadcast and harrowed 
into the soil. We use the Early Wonder 
beet, because it is blood red, a quick 
grower, round, smooth and tender: the 
tops are of a desirable red color, and they 
are small, so that they are easily tied 
into bunches. Five to 10 lbs. of seed is 
used per acre, drilled in rows 14 in. 
apart. About April 1 the soil is cold and 
wet, therefore the seed will come up more 
quickly if planted shallow (%-in. or 
less ). 
Cultivation begins as soon as the beet 
seedlings are up. By stirring the soil fre¬ 
quently. the ground will warm up quickly 
and retain its moisture. Thinning begins 
just as soon as the thinnings will “meas¬ 
ure up” quickly. When doing this work 
it must be remembered that there is noth¬ 
ing particular about it. .Tusf grab small 
handfuls of the tops, leaving enough be¬ 
hind to maintain “a stand.” The remain¬ 
ing seedlings will look scraggly and hope¬ 
less, but in a few days they will recover ! 
and seem to grow faster than ever. A 
couple of weeks later the rows will have ! 
to be thinned again. However, at this j 
time it is well to do the work carefully. 
The larger beet greens, will fill the pack- 
ages more rapidly than those pulled ear¬ 
lier. but the price is usually much more ( 
for those pulled first. 
The plants that are to develop into 
beets are finally thinned to stand from “ 
to G in. apart. Furthermore, it must bp 
understood that the crop of beet greens 
do retard the development of the large 
beets just a little, but why worry if the 
greens sell well? Part of the early sow¬ 
ing is sowed thinly and those rows are 
thinned without delay so that the “bot¬ 
tom beets” will develop as quickly as pos¬ 
sible for early bunching. Quick-grown 
early beets direct from seeds are free from 
“whisker” roots; they have a long and 
pretty tap root, and the quality is de¬ 
licious and tender. It is generally known 
that beet plants transplanted from cold 
frames will develop beets for market a 
few days earlier than seed sowed in the 
field, but the experienced buyers know 
the difference at once. With transplanted 
beets the tap root is always broken; side 
roots conspicuous and quality tough. 
Early in the Spring the soil is cool, so 
that ammonia is slowly available. There¬ 
fore. when the leaves are 2 in. high WC 
sow 200 lbs. of ammonia sulphate per 
acre along the rows. This fertilizer ma¬ 
terial furnishes the plant food ingredient 
which forces a quick growth. Further¬ 
more. just as the roots begin t<> develop 
into beets, we drag a garden hoe down 
each row. This operation stops the weeds 
and throws a loose dirt mulch over the 
developing roots. This' keeps the skin 
beautiful. R. w. oe baun. 
Injuring Young Trees 
Kiler Richards, in bis article on “A 
Farmer’s Apple Nursery." page 572, 
makes the following statement: "Do not 
be worried if you skin a tree new and 
then.” I feel that the paragraph on 
“Care of Trees” is too lenient with the 
careless grower. Young trees which are 
barked are injured to a greater or less 
extent, and great care should hi* taken to 
avoid damaging the trunks of these young 
trees. Tying the bark back in place will 
prevent the tissue from drying out and 
healing will occur more rapidly. Fire 
blight and other diseases are liable to gain 
a foothold and may cause serious injury 
to the young tree. Fainting of wounds 
with soft, grafting wax is probably the 
best method to use on injured trees. 
Connecticut. S. P. XI. 
Kodak as you go. 
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Picture taking by the Kodak system is very simple now-a-days and less expensive 
than you think. 
Kastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., The Kodak City 
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