The Columbus journal., 1904-05-18
suaar oess cvls,Dre.

While Il Il true that in IN sectioas
sugar beets cannot be pro0tAbH
grovn on account Of soil and climatic
conditions. yet there Il . wide bo1t
running through the northern statee.
from New York to Minnesota. where
II b safe industry to. consider. The
proper selection Of soil upon which
the beets are to be grown is The 1rst
essential to successful beet culture.
Not only h the top soil OF importance.
but the subsoil - wen. A subsoil
rich In lime. . clay or sandy loan.
which Vim hold moisture well In .
dry season. are the best pgovidinS
they are veil drained. The top 0odl
should be fertile. easily tillable and
free from stones: very heavy clays
- ven % very light sands shoald b
avoided. FAN plowing seems % b
favorable practice In the beet bo1t
and II Il has been plowed In the fAll
to . depth OF six inches or over and
has not settled too much. It need not
be replowed In the spring. but har.
r0wed ~ soon - soil conditions VIII
permit, and . dust mulch established
to preserve the winter moisture. II
necessary to plow again in the sprint.
It should be done early and each halt
days plowing should be narrowed and
rolled, % that the chance Of drying
out viii be reduced to the minimum.
While It II desirable to have rich
soil. u should not be manured the
same spring ~ planted, - this has .
tendency due to the nitT0genous
content, to cause the beets to make
too rapid . growth without becoming
sufficiently rich In sugar. Since the
purpose in the growth Of sugar beet
il to obtain the largest total yield a
sugar per acre, and inasmuch - The
sugar content Of the beet % ven -
the right growth and development r
very largely Influenced BY the char.
acter OF the fertilization. this matthe
becomes Of . very considerable I'M
portance. The sugar beet draws
heavily upon the son for nitrogea and
potash. 20-ton per acre crop. remov.
ing 100 pounds Of nitrogen. and 191
pounds Of potash. Phosphorus acid u
also needed especially during the ear
ly growth. As was stated. the rapid
growth should not be encouraged too
late In the season. therefore the nitro.
gen provided should be in quickly
available forms such % nitrate or am
monia compounds and applied early.
The potash should be In the form 01
sulphate and from 100 to $50 pounds
per acre II . proper application.
Good results follow the use Of phos-
phoric acid derived from superphos-
phate. Tho mineral fertilizers are
best applied the fall previous to plant
ing or at any rate quite early in the
spring. while the nitrogen may be
used as . top dressing after the
plants are up.
The time for planting win vary
slightly with the season. usually
around the beginning of May. The
soil should be pulverized to . depth Of
four or five inches; then packed we'll
The best way to plant is asross the
last harrow marks, usingA beet seeder
drill. This drills four rows at time,
sixteen, eighteen or twenty inches
apart. The seed should not be GOV.
cred more than q half or one inch
deep. Eighteen pounds Of seed are re-
quired per acre IL the rows are eight
cen inches apart and twenty pounds II
sixteen.
Cultivation Is to begin as early -
the plants are above the ground.
After the third or fourth leaf has de-
veloped. punching should begin-i. e.,
hoeing out the beets before thinning.
leaving little bunches about two inch
es wide and six or seven inches apart
After another cultivation, the punches
are thinned. After thinning they
should be cultivated from . week or
ten days to keep out the weeds and
preserve the moisture. The beets are
laid by" when the cultivator cannot
be run without breaking of the
leaves.-D. I. Duncan in Farmers Re.
view.