If the land is in good condition, containing sufficient available nitrogen to meet the requirements of the crop, neither guano nor sulphate of ammonia should be used. They largely increase the weight of the produce per acre ; but heavy crops are generally poor in sugar, and furnish a juice that presents much difficulty to the manufacturer. If the land is very poor, and if farmyard manure cannot be obtained and be applied in autumn, 3-4 cwt. of Peruvian guano, or 2 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia, mixed with 2 cwt. of superphosphate of lime, per acre, may be sown broad cast iu autumn, aud 2 cwt. more of superphosphate may be drilled in with the seed in spring. Superphosphate of lime and bones are excellent for sugar-beets, and never injure the quality of the crop, like the indiscriminate use of ammoniacal manures. On light soils, in which potash is often deficient, tho judicious use of potash salts has been found serviceable, but only iu conjunction with superphosphate and phosphatic guanos.
Sowing.—The best time for sowing beetroot in England is the beginning or middle of April. If sown too early, tho young plants tuay be partially injured by frost ; if later than the first week in May, the crop may require to be taken up in autumn, before it has had time to get ripe. About 10-12 lb. of seed is required per acre. As regards the width between the plants, generally speaking, the distance between the rows and from plant to plant should not be less than 12 nor greater thau 18 in. Should the young plants be caught by a night's frost, and suffer ever so little, it is best to plough them up at once and re-sow, for they are certain to run to seed, and are then practically useless for the manufacture of sugar. Sugar-beets require to be frequently horse- and hand-hoed. As long as the young plants are not injured, the application of the hoe from time to time is attended with great benefit to the crop. It is advisahle to gather up the soil round each plant, in order that the head may be completely covered with soil. Champonnois' researches point to the advantage of planting in ridges, by which the supply of air to the roots is greatly facilitated.
On the Continent, the conditions best calculated to ensure the roots possessing the characters most desirable from a sugar-maker's point of view have been much studied. They are chiefly as follows :—(1) Not to sow on freshly-manured land : it is eminently preferable not to manure for the beet crop, but to mauure heavily for wheat in the preceding year ; (2) not to employ forcing manures, nor to apply manure during growth ; (3) to use seed from a variety rich in sugar ; (4) to sow early, in lines 16 in. apart at most, the plants being 10-11 in. from each other : there will then be 38,000 beets on an acre, weighing 21-28 oz. eacb, or 52,800-70,400 lb. per acre ; (5) to weed the
fields as soon as the plants are above ground, to thin out a,s early as possible, and to weed and hoe often, till the soil is covered with the leaves of the plants ; (6) never to remove the leaves during growth ; (7) finally, not to take up the roots, if it can be avoided, before they are ripe, the period of which will depend upon the seasons.
Good seed may be raised by the following means. The best roots, which show least above ground, are taken up, replanted in good soil, and allowed to run to seed. This seed is already good ; but it may he further improved by sowing it in a well-prepared plot possessing all the most favourable conditions; the resulting plants are sorted, set out in autumn, put into a cellar, and in the spring, before transplanting, those of the greatest density, and which will give seeds of the best quality, are separated. These are transplanted at 20 in. between the rows and 13 in. between the feet, which are covered with about in. of earth. Finally they are watered with water containing treacle and superphosphate of lime, as recommended by Corenwinder.
Harvesting.—Sugar-beets must be taken up before frost sets in. When the leaves begin to turn yellow and flabby, they have arrived at maturity, and the crop should be watched, that it may not get over-ripe. lf the autumn is cold and dry, the crop may be safely left iu the ground for 7-10 days longer than is needful ; but should the autumn be mild and wet, if the roots are left in the soil, they are apt to throw up fresh leaves, and nothing does so much injury. In watching the ripening of the crop, a good plan is to test the sp. gr. of the expressed juice. A root or two may be taken up at intervals, mad reduced to pulp on an ordinary band-grater, the juice obtained by pressing the pulp through calico, and the density observed by a hydrometer. As long as the gravity of the juice continues to increase, the crop should be ,left in the land. Good sugar-yielding juice has a sp. gr. of about 1.065, rising to about 1.070. Immature roots, cut across, rapidly change colour on the exposed surface, turning red, then brown, and finally almost black. If newly-cut slices turn colour on exposure, the ripening is not complete ; but if they remain some time unaltered, or turn only slightly reddish, they are sufficiently ripe to be taken up. The crop should be harvested in fine, dry weather. In order that the roots may part with as much moisture as possible, they are left exposed to the air on the ground before being stacked, but not for longer than a few (lays, and they need to be guarded against direct sunlight. Perhaps the best plan is to cover them loosely with their tops in the field for a couple of days, then trim them, and at once stack them.