12 
THE COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
3. Beet ground should be as uniformly level as the lay of the land 
will permit. 
4. Early planted beets have generally given the best yields. The 
seed bed should be warm, Moist , but not wet, for the best germination. 
5 A uniform stand is seldom obtained when seed is covered more 
than two inches deep. The vitality of the beet seed does not seem to be 
sufficient to send the sprout out of the ground from greater depths 
Moisture conditions must indicate the depth to plant, as a shallowcovered 
seed makes a rapid growth with proper soil and moisture conditions. 
fi Earlv thinning of beets has given the best results, since young 
t>lants recover from the effects of the thinning process without too serious 
a delav in plant growth. The beet farmer aids in the thinning process by 
seeding not more than 5 to 10 acres at one time. His help can get over 
his entire field before the beets are too large for successful thinning. 
7 Cultivation is for the purpose of keeping down weeds, prevent 
baking of the surface and give encouragement to continuous development 
of the beets. 
8 The iudicioususe of water tends to produce well shaped beets, 
increases the'tonnage and gives a good sugar content, when proper sun 
and soil conditions prevail. 
9 Each factory furnishes field superintendents who are assisting 
farmers to learn the efficient use of water in sugar beet culture. 
10. Beet farmers should plan for at least four weeks of the growing 
season after the last irrigation to mature the crop. 
11. The Colorado climate,sun and soils are well adapted to sugar beet 
culture. This industry seems destined to grow with the development of 
irrigation in the state. 
12. The growing of beets requires a crop rotation which shall main¬ 
tain the humus and plant food elements in the soil. In Northern Colorado 
where sheep feeding is carried on quite extensively, the manure is care¬ 
fully saved, composted for a year, and then hauled to the beet lands. 
13. A practical rotation of alfnlfa, potatoes or other cultivted crop, 
beets and grain is being gradually adopted. 
14. The culture of sugar beets is. improving farm methods m all 
crop production. 
The Station has planned some cultural experiments with sugar 
beets and other root crops for the seasons of 1906, 1907 and 1908 
for the purpose of determining the best methods for improving 
the quality and increasing the tonnage of these most profitable 
crops. Results will be given in other progress bulletins. 
