Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-03-29

that time ready to lay by. Never hill
your beets, as level cultivation keeps
the moisture best.
Thinning Out Beets,
Care should be exercised in doing
this part of the work, asAit is by far
the most important part of the culti-
walton of the crop. It is absolutely nee
essary that this should be done just
at the right time, and the sooner it is
done the better for the crop. AS soon
as the plants have second pair of
leaves they should be thinned.
To do this work the beets should be,
punched, directly after thoro cultiva-
ton has taken place, with common
garden hoe, cutting six inches of the
beets out and leaving two-inch bunch.
After the beets are punched the best
beet in each bunch is to be left stand
ing by the thinner, and the others are
to be pulled out by hand, together
with all weeds nearby. This will leave
a single plant about every eight or ten
inches.
The first hoeing must be given with
an ordinary hoe, about two inches
deep, q few days-not more than Il
week-after the beets have been thin
ned, care being taken to kill the weeds
close to the plant, but in such man
ner as not to loosen the beet. The hoe
must perform this work between the
different plants as the cultivator only
clears the ground between the rows.
A similar hoeing is necessary once or
twice after this. Both of these hoeings
should be as deep as it is possible to
make them without injuring the
plants.
Under ordinary circumstances no
work should be necessary in the field
after The first of August. The beets
are ready to be harvested by the first
part of October, sometimes week or
two earlier. The beets increase mostly
| in tonnage in September and the first
part of October. Harvesting with full
force shoulder not be started before the
| middle of October.
Harvesting is done with horse pull
er, which loosens the beets, but leaves
them in the ground. After this the
beets als picked up by hand and top
ped with corn-knife at the base of the
bottom leaf, and are then ready to he
shipped or sliced in the field and ship
| ped later. Ill
| When beets arrive at the factory an.
average fifty pounds is taken from each
load, These are then thoroly washed
and examined to see if they are prop
erly topped, then weighed again, the
lloss determining the tare, All beets
delivered on cars are treaTA the same
way. The factory will have a deduc-
ton for freight, having special rates
with all lines of railway running into
the place where the, factory is locat-
ed. The rates are very reasonable.
I he
obtain general idea of the manner
| led. In raising sugar beets it is abso-
/ Of trying TO save necessary labor. SUI
gar beets need work, butt they paw
double or treble as much as any other
crop growing for the work required.
Eight years. experience in Nebraska
and California has shown that eight
tons Of beets per acre will pay for all
the work performed on the field as we'll
as for seed, and also allowing three dol
Il lars per acre for rent, all yield above
this tonnage being clear profit. A good
farmer, who takes the right care of
the crop and selects proper land,
should, in an average season, raise not
less than fifteen tons of beets per acre
Old beet growers in these states NE
4 braska and California; say the beet
crop is the best paying crop they raise.
Farmers in these states growing more
i than ten or fifteen acres contract early
j in the spring with one or more labor
lers to do the thinning, hoeing and top
ping at a total cost OF $15 or SIG per
acre. While there is a demand Tor con-
siderable labor, yet there is no great
difficulty in securing the same III
communities where factories are estab-
lished. 4ss
Those farmers who desire to try five
or more acres of sugar beets will be
i furnished with seed by the Iowa Beet
} Sugar and Development Co., lat the stip-
( ulated price. Also with the necessary
machinery at so cents per acre for drill
r which will plant ten or twelve acres q
day; 25 cents per acre for cultivate,
, with which he can cultivate from ten
/ to twelve acres a day, and Is cents pel
, acre for puiler, with which he can hor.
/ vest three to four acres daily. In.
! structions for those growing beets will
: be given once week by experts sen,
: out at the factory's expense.
II Contract With the Farmer.
v After laboring diligently with Thu
l. i
!, to put up the required amount Of
!. money to build a factory, Mr.. Emery
e the president of the latter corporation
/; found that the project was too heavy
J for that city, and having contracted fol
4 an immense acreage of beets with tn,
!; farmers, with true grit and great faitf
t in the future of the industry, he SCI
Y about forming a company with cap
a italization amply sufficient to insure
t chain of factories in Iowa, if condi
u tons were right, and further secured
' a market for the acreage he had al
r ready contracted for. Later the ide;
0 was conceived of further charging tn,
plan of having the beets grown in The
8 northern, northeastern and eastern
!, portions Of Iowa, with the idea in view
= of giving territory contiguousto town.
!, where railway facilities were good, al
opportunity to grow the beets ant
: thus test their willingness and also t.
determine the points for the location
of factory. Now that the plan i
q WORKING smoothly and :, 1norlyat l,o,