Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1923-06-01

ana is pIowed IN the ran, 1t Is hardy
possible to pillow too deep, provided the
ground is in condition to be plowed at
ALL If the soil is shallow and under
lain with clay, 1t will be better to pillow
only one or two inches deeper than
usual, and then use the subsoil pillow.
If the blowing must be delayed until
spring it is not advisable to pillow more
than one or two inches deeper than
the ground was previously plowed.
Object of Flowing.
The whole object of blowing should
be to make deep, rich seed and root
bed which can be penetrated easily by
the beet roots and from which the
plants can draw an abundant supply
of food necessary for their constant
and rapid growth. The seed bed must
be firm enough to hold the plants Sc
curely in place and to retain a good
supply Of moisture, but not so compact
that the air cannot circulate freely
through it. If the seed bed is care
fully selected, properly supplied with
humus, and thoroughly prepared. the
success of the crop is more than half
assured
Considering the yield and quality of
the beets as compared with the cost
of growing them with different widths
of rows, 20 inches Is generally salts
factory, although this width of row
requires a special cultivator. Good,
strong land that is capable of growing
a satisfactory row of beets every
twenty inches will soon pay for beet
cultivator in the extra yield when COM
pared with the wider row in which
corn cultivator could be used. Shall
low planting. one-half to three-fourths
of an inch, is advisable provided there
is moisture enough in the soil to pro-
duce termination.
At present practically all sugar beet
seed is planted in solid rows As soon
as the plants have developed from four
to six leaves, they must be spaced and
thinned, since they must stand one in
q place at intervals of from eight to
twelve inches in the row in order to
produce beet roots satisfactory In
yield and quality.
The beets should receive a good hoe
ing at the time they are thinned, the
earth loosened on all sides and weeds
carefully removed. The number of
subsequent hoeings will depend upon
local conditions. Cultivation should
begin just as soon as the rows can be
followed. 1t is usually possible to cul-
tiyate once before the spacing and
thinning are done a second should be
given as soon as they straighten up
after thinnirs. No fixed rule can be
laid down as to the number of cult
vations that field should receive dur
ing the season. This must be gov
erned by soil and weather conditions
and by the presence of weeds.
Operation of Harvesting.
Harvesting sugar beets consists of
three distinct operations-lifting, pull
ing and topping The lifting is usu-
ally done either with double-pointed
implement somewhat resembling a
two-pointed pillow, or by means of
side litter, which is a small shoe or
pillow on the end of long shank. After
the beets are loosened they should be
thrown into piles. In knocking off the
earth from the beets care should be
taken not to bruise the roots unneces-
sarily. In topping, the beets should be
cut off squarely at the lowest leaf
scar. This is usually done with one
stroke of a heavy knife.
The beets should then be covered to
prevent evaporation. The roots work
much better in the mill if they are
kept fresh and crisp, and they lose
considerable weight if exposed to the
sun and wind.