Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1899-02-24
of the affected beeis should be brought
to the Laboratory.
HOW To PIT THE BETS.

| OF the Hlecteu oeelS snouIu uc ptouSht
To the Laboratory.
| HOW To PIT THE BETS.
As To the best method of doing thus.
we would suggest the following plan.
In the first place do not harvest Our
beets until they are ripe. as green beeI-
do not keep As veil IN pits As ripe ones,
AID besides should you harvest when
too green they NIGH not contain the
necessary II per cent of sugar with
purity of 80 per cent.
In average seasons hobeets should he
pilled before October Is, aud if the
weather is warm it would be uetter To
wait until the 2Olh. hut IN no case
should tie bcets be allowed to remain
unharvcsted-aud not pitted-uutil the
ground freezes. Frost bitten bceiN viii
n)t keep; therefore ali beets tina You
pi; must be free from frost and he coy
cred mp the same day that they are har
vested We would advise making live
To seven pits 20 the acre, placing not
less than two tons IN each PIT.
When rcadyto PIT, lit the beets from
forty to forty.tiye rows, with n house
harvester. These loosened beets must
then be pulled out of the ground 10y
hand and thrown IN piles. 1t is advis
able, in case the strip YOU have lifted
contains forty-hve rows, To make pile
every SIX rods the length of the strip,
and this section of forty-tiye rows is
about four rods wide and six rods long,
each pit would thus contain the beets
from twenty-four square rods (about
one-seventh of an acre.. To prevent
unnecessary handling it is advisable to
first pull out the beets from the middle
of the marked twenty tour square rods,
placing them in such shape as to make
vacant place IN the center, Of about
one rod wide and two rods long, theL
to pull the balance of the beets, thrO y
ing IN a windrow close "a aud surround
ing this vacant spot. When this is Tia
ished, top The beets Cat the base of the
bottom leaves with one stroke of the
knife and throw them in the vacant
place, (wlth the roots laying towards
the center of the plD, making Il slant
lag pile four feet high, the length of the
pile depending entirely upon the yield.
After all the bccts are topped and piled !
~ 10 proper shape. cover the pie witt /
six inches of dirt, being careful not to
have any leaves or straw on the bees
81 mixed with them.
1t is generally advisable not 10 put !,
much more than six inches of dirt over
the beet, in Or,obei, "a. to keep them
free fr.m ftost you should cover Ink pit
before iLe weather gets cold. say ten
lays or .ws weeks after harvesting. III
any cas-, before hard frost se,s in cvcu-
y WIKI five or six inches of lose straw
md place about two iachcs OF dir; on
OPP Of the straw to prevent it from
blowing awaG AID Tor the purpose OF
'achiog it, rs when well packed it viii
keep the cold air out of the pit. Thu,
Inc covering in The end will be- com
,o,sed OF six inches Of dirt, two inches
II dirt, two inches OF packed straw and
hen two inches more dirt. Ia an ordi. q
AIRY season such covering should keep
our beetS from freezing, but should /
here he exceptionally cold weather YOU .
night find It necessary Gin case we
ave not ordered all Sour be, 5 tie q
vcrcd to the factory ly ihar time) to /
over the remaining gucs ~hA long J
manure Il