The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1910-10-26
IRRICATE THE BETS
Time for Letting In Water De-
ponds Largely on Weather.
So Long as Leaves Look Fresh and
Healthy It Is Unnecessary to APP
ply Water-Signs Of Wit In
dictate Lack Of Moisture.

The time for the irrigations of the
ponds largely upon the weather. The
beet leaves being of considerable size
and the weather warm the evapora-
tion from their surface is great and
on hot days they will wilt, but this is
no sign that irrigation is required. for
on examination 1t will be found US
ually that the soil contains consider
able moisture, says Field and Farm.
The beets wilt because the root Is not
able to supply moisture to the leaves
fast enough to make up for the evapo-
ration from their surfaces. As soon
as night falls and evaporation Is
greatly curtailed the leaves will as
sumo their normal condition. So long
as the leaves look fresh and healthy
in the early morning it is unnecessary
to apply water, but should the plants
show signs of wilt at that time irri-
cation is necessary. From two to
four applications of water should be
sufficient for the season except on
very porus soil. where the moisture
quickly drops below the point where
the roots can reach 1t. Under such
conditions more frequent irrigations
are necessary In many of our ir-
rigated districts there is a question as
to the relative advantages of irrigat-
ing in the daytime or at night. In
some sections In seasons like this
when the supply is limited 1t is neces-
sary to use water for the entire period
in which 1t can be obtained, so that
day and night irrigation Is practised.
Again. many growers object to night
work. as 1t deprives them Of sleep
and it is more difficult to control the
water properly. Those who advocate
night irrigation, however. have found
that they obtain better results. espe-
cIally when the temperature of the
water is low. Their contentious are
that the water will go farther due to
less evaporation; that the water Is
warmer at that time. on account OF Its
exposure to the sun during the day
and finally. that there is far less
danger Of scalding or drowning out
than during the hot period of the day
All of these contentious are well
borne out by the facts. II may be
stated also that the proper levelins
OF the field and the use Of boxes or
tubes for distributing the water to
the burrows. as practised by our best
farmers. render night irrigation nc
more difficult than day irrigation
while results are generally better. The
final watering. as a rule, should be
given four or six weeks before har
vest. SO that there will be ample time
for the roots to mature and store the
sugar. In this connection 1t may be
well to call attention to the fact that
if the beets mature during warm
weather, some time before they are
harvested. the percentage of sugar
will decrease gradually. Experience
alone will decide the best practise &c
have the crop ready for the factory
when 1t is at the proper stage OF ripe
ness. The decision as to this latter
question is entirely with the field men
employed by the factory. At this stage
they may visit the various fields In
their districts and select beets. usual
ly Ave or six. at various points In the
field. These are turned over to the
factory chemist for analysis and II the
sugar percentage and purity are sum
GENTLY high orders are issued to har
vest the crop. The picture on this
page shows a field near SCOTS Blum
Neb, on the South Platte river. ss
taken by Mr.. Wallace. the editor OF
the Valley OF the Nile. and he ought
to know a thing or two about It.