=Sowing.= The best time for sowing beetroot is the beginning or middle of April. If sown too early, the young plants may 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 to 12 lbs. 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 than 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 advisable 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. The conditions best calculated to ensure the roots possessing the characters most desirable from a sugar-maker's point of view 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 manure 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 to 11 in. from each other; there will then be 38,000 beets on an acre, weighing 21 to 28 ounces each, or 52,800 to 70,400 lbs. per acre; (5) to weed the fields as soon as the plants are above ground, to thin out as 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 season. 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 be further improved by sowing it in a well-prepared plot possessing all the most favorable 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 1-1/2 in. of earth. Finally they are watered with water containing molasses and superphosphate of lime, as recommended by Corenwinder.