Farm And Garden

That "co-operative efforts have deinonstrated that sugar beets can be grown wifh profit in all the western statea where irrigation assists the farmer" ia the assertion of a writer in Farm and Fireside, who relates the following experience: Seed was planted April 29, in new land, froru which the native sagebrush had but recently been cleared. The soil was plowed to the depth of 8 inobes, ind thoroughly pulverized with a row before planting. Water was tnined in the furrows on May 10 to supply moisture for germinating the seed. This was repeated at intervals of ten days to two weeks thronghout the season or until October. The water never flowed longer than one honr in a place and was not permitted to touch the tubers or tops on the surface. Beets were tbinned June 10 by cutting out all but two or three in every foot of row, the distance between rows being about 16 inches. Cultivation followed each irrigation, and the ground was kept clean of weeds. The average yield was 14 tons to the acre, the beets averaging about one-half pound each for those in original seed rows. Having made several snccessful experiments in transplanting onions, I decided to transplant some sugar beets and watch developments. At thinning time, when the beets were aboufc the size and length of a flnger, I spaded up several hundred and reset the same as cabbage plants, by making holes with a dibble and allowing them to 611 with water from the ditch, trickling along the furrows before flrming the inoist soil around the plants. To my surprise, f ully nine-tenths of the transplanted beets lived and grew splendidly. The tubers ceased going downward aud began to spread out like turnips, and when f ully grown resem bied rutabagas. The leaves spread flat upon the ground instead of growing upward, as in the original seed rows, thus maintaining perpetual moisture and killing out grass and small weeds. When harvested, the transplanted tubers averaged one-third heavier than the others and contained about 3 per cent more saccharine matter and purity. Deep fall plowing puts the soil in better conditioii and is advisable, except on sandy land. Close tillage and careful hand thinning and weeding are as much necessary in sugar beet culture as in onion growing. Shallow stirring of the soil between rows is beneficial after each ram or irrigation, and frequent hotiiug aida in keeping down vpeeds and increasing fertility. Highly manured land will produce large, coarse specimens coutaining bnt little sugar and possessing poor feeding valne. On ordinary soil, with careíul tillage, beets testing f rom 16 to 20 per cent and yielding au average of 18 tona to the acre can be grovm.