Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1877-06-21
Ac9lC CULTURAL.
p1ISIVG FIELD BEETS.

county, Pa. gives his experience as
follows in regard to raising field
beets
"Observing an inquiry and your an
swer in your journal of the Sd inst,
page 234, as to the proper mode OF
cultivation to insure a remuneratlve
crop of mangel wurtzels or field beets
has prompted this COMMUNICATION
Some thirty.fve years since | began
the cultivation of the field beet and
ruta baga turnip. For two or three
seasons a most discouraging failure
was the result Of just the process IN
the preparation Of the ground you
recommend-which is the English
method Of preparation and cultlva-
ton.
INV reso!ute determination to
overcome the difficulty led me to hunt
up and examine various agricultural
publications. In the Farmers Cabl-
net, Philadelphia publication as far
back as 1886, if my memory serves
me, found few lines from the pen
of John Hare Powell Of West Phlla-
delphia, attributing failure Of the root
crop in this country to ridging the
ground, as is the custom in England
where a moist soil and moist climate
make it necessary. 'Drouth Is the
great enemy Of the American farmer,
said Mr.. Powell-'requiring the man
gel wurzel and ruta baga to be plant
ed on a level surface or rather below
the surface.
"Herein l perceive the cause of my
failure. A liberal supply of the best
barnyard manure at my command |
had placed in a deep furrow trench
covered with a furrow Of the pillow
from each side and then leYelled off
with a scantlng, tongued and han
died so as to be managed with horses
and drivers. This completed my for
mer preparation Of the ground. Cp-
on this ridge l drilled in the seed of
the beet and turnip. In the first
place not one fourth Of the seeds ger
minated, in the second place such as
obtained moisture enough to struggle,
into view had to contend with the
drouth superinduced by artificial
ridge-or watershed, as it can be
properly termed since a generous
rain only wet the ground between the
rows Of my roots.
"The common sense Of Mr.. Powell S
suggestions directed me to prepare a
thoroughly MANFRED field, with fine
ly pulverized surface, over which |
passed my marker, drawn by one
horse between pair Of thills bolted
upon the head, and fitted the handles
so as to be under perfect CONTROL
The only farther description Of my
implement for marking, pertinent to
my method Of preparing the ground
for the drill, is that Of the teeth OF
the marker which are set three
feet apart, and are only six inches
long. made of three by four scantling
of the same size as the head, and left
full size, only being rounded in front
This implement leayes the field with
fiat mark three inches wide little
below the surface, and exactly three
feet between the rows. If you do as
you ought, you will mark only two
rows after the first passage of the
marker, which should be perfectly
straight. This done, with one of
Emery's drills (mine is one of the first
he made,) drawn by one horse, and
the drill set to SOW five pounds Of
mangel wurtzell or two pounds of ru-
ia baga seed per acre, careful man
will put in eight acres a day. My
beets are always planted in April, as
early as the ground is fit to work,
which insures all the seed to germi-
nate, giving the chance to have a
plant every twelve inches in the row
by thinning out with the hoe The
work between the rows is done en-
tirely with the horse, and thill cul-
tivator provided with cast-steel re.
versible shares. Since | adopted lev
ell cultivation, | have been uniformly
rewarded with from eight to ten hun
dred bushels per acre of mangel
wurtzels. The same preparation Of
the ground and entire process will in
sure an equal yield Of ruta bagas,
which my experience proves should
be planted about the last Of May"