252 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The Bodin heaper may be employed for hilling, but it has 
the disadvantage of not throwing the earth to a sufficient 
height above the collar of the beet. 
Harvesting .—Toward the 15th of September the beet crop is 
harvested. The beets are known to be ripe when the leaves 
become yellow and fall off. In spite of its length the root can 
easily be torn out by the hand by inclining it toward the side 
of the hill. The plow is also used for this purpose, the share 
and coulter having been first removed. It is directed into the 
middle of the hills under the roots which fall on either side 
partially covered by the earth, which protects them from the 
early frosts. The roots are now cleaned, the collar removed, 
and heaped together. Should a frost be apprehended, the 
heaps are covered with leaves until they are collected in carts 
and placed in the pits. 
The use of the plow in harvesting effects a notable saving 
in time and labor; nor is any of the labor lost, inasmuch as 
the plowing is useful for the succeeding crop, whether of wheat 
or beet roots. 
When two crops of beet roots are toffie raised successively, 
every movement of the soil is beneficial, and it is not unusual 
to see the second year’s crop much better than the first. The 
soil which has been assiduously cultivated and exposed in hills 
for a year to atmospheric influences is well adapted to the 
growth of a second crop. The cost of cultivating the beet in 
hills is no greater than in drills, all things being considered ; 
the plow takes the place of the hoe to a great extent, a larger 
surface of ground is exposed to the influence of the air, and 
the cultivation is deeper than that possible under any other 
system of cultivation. 
PRESERVATION OF THE BEET. 
The proper conservation of the beet root plays an important 
part in the manufacture * 0 ! sugar or alcohol. Many manu¬ 
facturers lose large sums of money annually by the roots be¬ 
ing attacked by the frost, which renders them useless for manu- 
