Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-02-07
How to Grow Sugar Beets.

In the first place, select suitable piece
of ground-a low, mellow, and loamy
corner of your last years corn-feld would
do first-rate, provided the ground is not
sodden with water. Sugar beets want
| moisture and great deal, but not too
much. The soil must also be friable, and
the deeper the better. Having such a
piece selected, pillow it up the first chance
you can get; take your time when at it
and pillow deep-at least one foot, and as
much more as possible. Unless it is in
very good heart, spread on thick coat
ing of barnyard manure or muck COM
post, and let Jack Frost and the rain and
snow dissolve and mix it all through the
soil for you, better than you could do it
yourself, and free of expense. After you
are through planting corn next spring, turn
in and get your beet patch ready. Plow
it again, good and deep; this will mix the
| sour subsoil, first turned up, all through
the good soil; then it will not damage
your crop. Harrow the ground very
thoroughly; furrow out two and half
feet apart; fill the burrows with compost
that you set to work making as soon as
you read this, and which will be in just
the right condition when wanted for use;
fill the burrows level full, then turn two
kOuC CdCu OFC1 OA OLC
nure. making ridge, and making it
pretty high.
Next go along with hand rake, and
smooth off the tops of the ridge-being
sure to keep it straight. Get a seed sower
and plant your seed, not too Thick It is a
common fault to sow too much beet seed ;
the beets must stand five or six inches
apart, finally. You can try your sower
and regulate it on board, to SOW about
twice this amount; then, when the plants
are up about two or three inches high, so
that you can see the rows plainly, give
them a good and unsparing thinning
out.
[ may as well remark here, for the ben
eft of those who have never raised crop
of sugar beets, that they are very quick
growers when young, and being of yell
lowish green, are Immediately distin-
guished from all weeds. They are moth
ing like carrots. Carrots are grand for
feed, but they need to be tenderly nursed
till eight inches high. They are four
times the bother, and yield only one half
the crop that beets do. You have no
trouble hunting to find the row in beets
They are hardy, and if covered up will
almost grow out in the night; that is more
than my experience will bear in carrots
Your beets thinned out and growing
nicely, go through them with hand pillow
Gf you have one) while they are still very
small, blowing from the row; in few
days pillow to them. This can be done
before it is advisable to begin with a
horse, and then you get the start of the
few weeds that survive your winter plow-
ing and the preparation of the ground.
AS they grow larger, pillow deeper, and in
case of drouth run the cultivatOr through
often, just skimming off the crust it Will
let the moisture in the soil at night and
much increase the crop; and now you are
ready to harvest the crop. 1t is best to
pull them out, as they then come clean,
without any dirt; they pull easily, as they
grow one-half cut of the ground; boys
can readily pull them. If you have too
many to pull, go through with sharp
hoe and cut the tops off, pick them up
out of the way, and save to feed to the
cows; then take team and pillow, turn
one furrow away from each row and then
throw them out; have them picked up
and thrown in heaps to dry, then put
AWAY for the winter and keep in dark
place.
Ifyou follow these simple directions
YOU will not be disappointed at harvest,
for when you go to gather the crop you
will find it in abundance. You may, by
this method, count on five hundred
bushels to the acre-and more, if the
season is good; besides, your soil is all
the time improving. In France, where
beets are raised by the thousand acres for
sugar, the country has improved so much
that It is estimated that the soil lsIour OF