The contract price for blocking and thinning, hoeing
two to three times, topping and piling topped beets, is
from $18.00 to $22.00 per acre, the farmer furnish-
ing house room or shelter for the families helping in
the hand work in beet fields.
In the intermountain states factories

Siloing \\2i\re: been unable to afford adequate stor-

Beets . , ,

age for beets at harvest tmie, when thou-
sands of tons come in to the factory over and
above its slicing capacity. They have therefore
been forced to ask farmers to pit or silo a certain per-
centage of the crop, on the farm, awaiting later orders
for delivery. These orders usually come within
ninety days from digging. The beets for siloing are
piled carefully on ground from which the surface soil
is removed sufficiently to give an even, smooth bottom
for the pile. Here, the beets after being topped, are
carefully ricked up in piles of one to several thousand
pounds each. Earth is shoveled on several inches deep,
leaving at the top a vent to carry off excess heat from
the piled beets below. A few beet tops thrown over
this vent, prevent chilling of the beets on a cold night.
Siiirar Beef Culture 223

Should extreme weather occur, more dirt is thrown
on the silo cover. No straw, beet tops or anything
that will decay or rot, should be placed on the beets,
experience having shown that this is a bad practice.
