Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1906-04-11
get READY FOR SEED
Sugar Co. is Making Preparation
to Send out Beet Seed
Get Contract Number
PROSPECTS BRIGHT FOR. 1906. .
Do net Scant Your Seed I'm Sowing
Hand Drills Preferable 10
Small Acreage
April 10, 1906.

~APAAA ~ AcNVs
We shall begin sending out our beet
seed soon now and will notify each con-
tractor by postal card where to call and
get his seed.
Your contract number for the coming
year will also be on this card and we hope
you will write the number on your con-
tract as soon as you get the card. This
contract number that you get this year
will be permanent, and when you begin
to draw beets next fall, you had better
put tl.is number in large plain figures
on each side of your beet wagon box so
it can readily be seen by the weighman
when weighing your load.
Some of our growers have expressed
desire to SOW early and this is all right,
for early sown beets generally give the
best tonnage and also test good if har-
vested as soon as ripe.
Land should be plowed thoroughly
well, and if dry sunshiney weather
prevails, should be partially fitted after
each half days plowing, as the fitting
can be done so much quicker and easier
just as land is drying soon after plow-
ing. If land is dry enough, it should be
thoroughly fitted and firmed before
seeding. This can be done by using
roller, harrow, float, disk or whatever
tool you have, remembering that the
main point is TO fne and firm the soil
So it will fit closely around the seed and
at the same time retain the moisture to
sprout it. Fall plowing should be
dragged over as soon as possible in order
TO dry and warm the surface of the land
so it will sprout the weed seeds which
can be killed by work in fitting.
Do not scant your seed in sowing and
especially is this true if you sow very
early, for we may get some cold disagree.
able weather when the seed is coming
mp, and then only the very strongest
seeds will grow. Early sown beets
should not be sown over one half inch
deep aud i'll sowing with grain drills, if
you aren't very careful, you will get
the seed too deep which makes it come
up very uneven and weakly if it comes
up at all Later sown beets should be
covered deeper; from q to one inch.
and if land is very dry, even little
deeper still. There can be no absolute
set rules that will prove true in all
seasons and different kinds of soil and
weather Good, thoughtful common
sense should thoroughly be mixed with
all of the details of raising beet crop,
or in fact, TO economically and success
fully raise any farm crop. No grain.
drill, unless a shoe drill, should be used
to drill beet seed without some device
TO gauge the depth of the hoes Most
grain drill manufacturers make devices
to attach to the hoes of a grain drill to
drill beet seed, and if you arc intending
to use your grain drill you had better
see your implement dealer and secure
some such thing for you drill. A grain
hoe drill can be fixed TO control the
depth by boring holes through pieces Of
boards or planks, rounding the ends and
fastening them to the drill noe imsuch
shape as they will slant up with the
hoes sticking through enough so they
will deposit the seed at the proper depth
There is no better way to sow a few
acres of beets, even up to five or seven
acres, than to use some good hand drill
for one in the hands of good operator
Will deposit the seed in the ground at
more uniform even depth than any
horse drill, which means fine, even
stand when the seeds come up. If the
land be ever so level, you will find that
a four row horse drill is always putting
some rows deeper than others, which.
makes an uneven stand In drilling
with four row horse drill, you must
expect in some places to find seeds on
top of the ground. If you can set yodr
horse drill according to the time of seed
ing and the conditions of the weather.
50 that one half of the seed sown is lust
the right depth TO suit you, that will be
well done, d one quarter will be to
shallow and the other quarter to deep.
Sow plenty of seed so that if you get it
drilled so that one half grows YOU will
have a good stand of beets. Our seed
that we send out to you is all new. has
been tested, and tests good. If you do
not get stand of beets it certainly will
be your fault.
We wish you would be very careful
md examine your seed receipts before
fou sign them to see if they call for the
anne number of lbs. that you get. We
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