The Ordway new era., 1909-12-31
1lLLINC THE BETS
question as to Depth Of cuItiva.
tIon and Proper Time.
ono Great Mistake Of Farm.rs u,.
Flowing Deep Is That Fields Ar.
TOO "et-JudicIous lrrisa.
tion Essential.

IN considering the question of ,h.
cultivation OF the bcets II is of,o, a,
question In the mind of tho prouo.
whether he should cultivate decn mr.
Sha'io~. and just at what time no
Shouid begin the cultivation.
As We have often said. farmin, IL
not n constant science, but yarlo,Io
one. writes Prof. +. Knorr In p,nnL
ana Range. The various Operations
depend upon the climatic conditions
more than upon all else. We hov.
FOUND In our experience. that vbu.
heep cultivation is beneficial one yoa,
IL may mean failure tho next year
hiter year. however. We find that a
ialrly deep cultivation at th. fore mart
OF the season. that Is from four In Ryo
inches In depth and gradual .nar
low cultivation toward thr end Of fh,
ripcnlng season gives the best aver
age results.
We hoy" met with great deal Of
opposition among the beet rrpvrrs
when "" suggested drcp cultivation
for the first time. the argument ALWAYS
being that the cultva'ur covers to-,
many Of III" small h"r's "" admit
that this ma' cau~ uttl. trouble
but 1t Is nothing scrim- Those that
have disc attachment for rhr cult
vators may attach these as ir.d,rs To
prevent the covering.
One great mistake that many farm.
ers make when they wish to prnciicr
deep plowing Is To go into the field
when 1t is too wet This. as rule,
Will puddle tn" soil. turn It NJ In large
pieces that will soon bake In the sun,
and thus ruin the field for the season.
II deep cultivation Is to be followed
take care that the soil is dry cnoug.
to work up nicely. and break up into
"a loose mulch
For the past few years we have hal
the opportunity to observe a large
number of beet fields We made II a
point to see how the cultivation W.
done. and found that In the majority
OF cases the growers used what We
know as the Austin" knives from one
end OF the season to the other, with
the exception when the ditchIng hoes
We're used In many OF these cases
we found that the knives were very
duh. and as n result the actual cuti-
walton was not more than about one
inch deep.
What are the results OF this kind
of working? In the first place, the
soil dries out quickly. In the hot windy
weather rapid evaporation takes
place, and We are forced 10 either ir.
rigate the bects or suffer loss from
n much decreased crop. The other OBJ
lection to this kind OF cultivation Is
that we do not have n good loose bed
for the roots TO develop.
1t is nothing uncommon for beet
growers to say Il have plenty water;
my beets will not suffer for the want
of It," II Is not so much Il matter OF
suffering. but matter of expense, n
good cultivation does not cost any
more than the mere scratching OF the
soil. but the application OF water Is
an extra expense.
In Germany the saying is Sugar Is
boed into the beets." Here. where
we do but very little hand work. We
should strive to do better horse work.
There Is no reason whatever why We
cannot grow as good beets as the
farmers on the other side Of the wa
ter
The matter of good loose soil for
the roots to grow and to develop Is
also greater item than many
would suppose. By the way oil Illus
tration let us compare the root sys-
tenn of a plant with the stomach OF
IN animal or the craw of chicken.
In order to get n good healthy am
NAL we must feed it just the rlsht
kind of feed to make good. vigorous
growth If we give these animals
great amount of succulent or WASH!
foods they must fill their stomach to
tho utmost and keep it full in order
IN get sufficient nourishment out OF
II to make growth. Give plant 700
much water and the root system Is
continually crowded with very huch
diluted plant food, as n cause oi t"is'
growth is checked to large extent
when the soil is loose and Just enough
water is given the roots will seek 'he
n,ant food and take 1t up in such a
manner as it is required by the pan.
for the best results. In a hard SUN
so;, the fine roots find 1t dliilcnit 10
make their way through and seek inc
food. BY digging around plants IN
hard soil we find that the roo's "s
knarled and stunted' the enor' ,,, anu
expended means loss TO 'he ''e'"
of the crop. .,r,, svs.
- cultivation, and judicious irri-
aation | with our sugar beets, and the
resnIts will mean greater profit for
a.,.salyes ss and a more satisfactory beet
for the factory.
Fall 6utchering.