"" i! iti"H b.....iJL iMliii UNIVERSITY OF B.C. LIBRARY DUPL 3 9424 05045 446 8 STOkAGt llEk FKCCJiSi=ING-ONE Lpl-D16B U.B.C. LIBRARY lieinceDeries Zbc IRural Science Series Editbd by L. H. bailey THE SUGAR-BEET IN AMERICA El}e Eural .Scinice ^txitB Edited by L. H. Bailet The Soil. Kiiig. The Spraying of Plants. Lodeman. Milk AND Its Products. Wing. Enlarged and Bevised. The Fertility of the Land. Boberts. The Principles of Fruit-growing. Bailey. 20th Edition, Bevised. Bush-fruits. Card. Bevised. Fertilizers. Voorhees. Bevised. The Principles of Agriculture. Bailey. Bevised. Irrigation and Drainage. King. The Farmstead. Boberts. Rural Wealth and Welfare. Fairchild. The Principles of Vegetable-gardening. Bailey. Farm Poultry. Watson. Enlarged and Bevised. The Feeding of Animals. Jordan. (Now Rural Text-Book Series. Bevised.) The Farmer's Business Handbook. Boberts. The Diseases of Animals. Mayo. The Horse. Boberts. How to Choose a Farm. Hunt. Forage Crops. Voorhees. Bacteria in Relation to Country Life. Lipman. The Nursery-book. Bailey. Plant-breeding. Bailey and Gilbert. Bevised. The Forcing-book. Bailey. The Pruning-book. Bailey. (Now Rural Manual Series.) Fruit-growing in Arid Regions. Paddock and Whipple. Rural Hygiene. Ogden. Dry-farming. Widtsoe. Law for the American Farmer. Green. Farm Boys and Gir^s. McKeever. The Training and Breaking of Horses. Harper. Sheep-farming in North America. Craig. Cooperation in Agriculture. Powell. The Farm Woodlot. Cheyney and Wentling. Household Insects. Herrick. Citrus Fruits. Coit. Principles of Rural Credits. Moiinan. Beekeeping. Phillips. Subtropical Vegetable-gardening. Bolfs. Turf for Golf Courses. Piper and Oakley. The Potato. Gilbert. Strawberry-growing. Fletcher. Western Live-Stock Management. Potter. Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from University of Britisin Columbia Library http://www.archive.org/details/sugarbeetinamerOOharr THE SUGAR-BEET IN AMERICA BY F. S. HARRIS, Ph.D. DIRECTOR AND AGRONOMIST " ' UTAH AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIO» AND PROFESSOR OF AGRONOMY UTAH AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1919 All rights reserved COPTBISHT, 1919, : By the MACMILLAN COMPANY, Set up and electrotyved. Published January, 1919. NoTtSOOO ^XtS» J. 8. Gushing Co. — Berwick ,'' Losses from poor thinning, 121 Hoeing 122 Cultivating 123 CHAPTER X Irrigation and drainage 126-147 Irrigation 126 Beets adapted to irrigation farming, 126 Sources of irrigation tvater, 127 Measurement of water, 128 Preparing land for irrigation, 129 N Methods of irrigating beets, 130 Contents xi y PAGES Water requirements of beets, 131 Time to apply water, 133 Size of irrigation, 136 Relation of irrigation to size, shape, and quality of beets, 137 Drainage 144 Reasons for drainage, 144 Effects of drainage, 145 Kinds of drains, 146 Installing the drainage system, 147 CHAPTER XI Harvesting 148-157 Time of harvest 148 Digging 151 Topping • . , 152 Mechanical harvester 154 Hauling ......... 155 Siloing 157 CHAPTER Xn By-products 158-183 Sugar-beet tops 158 Composition of the tops, 159 Feeding and storing tops, 161 Soiling beet tops, 163 Use of beet silage, 166 Sugar-beet pulp 168 Uses of beet pulp, 169 Waste sugar-beets and root-tips 176 Sugar-beet molasses . 177 Waste lime and minor by-products .... 181 xii Contents CHAPTER XIII PAGES Pests and diseases 184-204 Insect pests 184 Extent of pest injury, 184 Preventive measures for controlling pests, 185 Blister-beetles, 187 Army worms, 187 The commx)n army-worm, 188 The fall army-worm, 189 Sugar-beet webtvorm, 190 Cutworms, 190 White grubs, 191 Wireworms, 192 Flea-beetles and leaf-beetles, 193 Grasshoppers, 193 Beet-root aphis, 194 Sugar-beet nematode, 195 r^e 6ee< leafhopper, 197 Disease injury 198 Leaf-spot, 199 Heart-rot, 200 Seat, 201 So//-ro/, 202 Beet-rust, 202 Rhizoctonia, 203 Sugar-beet mosaic, 203 Damping-off, 204 CHAPTER XIV Factors affecting quality of beets .... 205-212 What are good beets 20.3 Conditions producing good beets . . , . . 208 Contents xin CHAPTER XV Production of sugar-beet seed Importance of good seed High germination . Sources of seed Disadvantages of importing seed Types of beets Single-germ seed . Breeding .... Chemical test of mothers, 221 Steps in selection, 222 Commercial production of seed Siloing, 223 Planting mother beets, 225 Care of seed crop during growth, 226 Harvesting and threshing, 227 By-products, 228 Yields and profits, 228 PAQES 213-230 213 214 215 217 219 220 221 223 CHAPTER XVI Cost of producing beets 231-249 Need for low cost 231 Difficulty of obtaining costs 233 Cost of growing in various sections .... 234 Relation of number of acres raised to cost and profit . 237 Cost based on time 240 Examples of acre-cost 247 CHAPTER XVII Beet raising and community welfare Stability to agriculture Promotes good farming 250-257 251 252 xiv Contents PAGES Increases crop yields 253 Educational value 254 Employment for children 255 Winter employment 255- Centralized population 25G Increases other business 256 National independence 257 CHAPTER XVIII Sugar-making 258-267 Storing the beets 258 Washing and weighing 260 Slicing and extraction 261 Purification of the juice 262 Evaporation 263 Graining 264 The Steffen process 265 CHAPTER XIX Sugar-cane 268-274 Adaptation 270 Soils and manuring 271 Cultural methods 272 Harvesting 273 Extraction of sugar 274 CHAPTER XX World's use and supply of sugar .... 275-293 Kinds of sugar and properties 275 Sugar in nature 277 Sugar as a food 279 Contents xv PAGES Increase in use of sugar 283 Use in different countries 286 Source of supply 289 Future use and supply 291 APPENDIX A BiBUOQRAPHT 295-311 APPENDIX B American beet-sugar companies and factories, January, 1918 312-319 APPENDIX C Sugar statistics 320-331 PLATES FACINQ PAGE I. A good field of sugar-beets . . . Frontispiece 11. John Taylor 16 III. E.H.Dyer 18 IV. Mature beet plant ; cross and longitudinal sections 24 V. Houses for labor ; pumping irrigation water . . 46 VI. Soils for beets 58 VII. Soils ; alfalfa plowed under ; plowing ... 66 VIII. Preparation and cultivation of land . . . 108 IX. Tillage; a good stand of beets . . . .110 X. Planting; cable machinery; cultivating and hoeing . . . . . . . .114 XI. Thinning beets ; cultivating 118 XII. Hoeing beets ; irrigating 122 XIII. Experiment tanks; ditch machine; beets topped 142 XIV. Beet lifter; topping beets 150 XV. Topping ; silo in field ; rack for unloading . . 152 XVI. Beet dumps 154 XVII. Bins in a beet factory 156 XVIII. Beet dump ; sugar factory 158 XIX. Silo practice 172 XX. Feeding cows on by-products ; feed yards . .176 XXI. Sheep feeding; injury by army-worms; catching grasshoppers ISO XXII. Nematode injvu-y ; beet spot 196 XXIII. Curly-leaf; rot in storage 200 XXIV. Well-shaped beets ; poorly shaped ; three types of beets 206 xvii xvm Plates PACmO PAGE XXV. Pedigreed beets; silos for mother beets; steck- linge 220 XXVI. Good crop of seed 226 . XXVII. Diffusion battery; carbonation and sulfur tanks 260 XXVIII. Filter presses ; vacuum pans ..... 262 XXIX. Centrifugal machines ; sugar warehouse . . 266 XXX. Planting sugar-cane ; unloading cane . . . 270 XXXI. Vigorous growth of cane ; sugar-cane in Louisiana 272 XXXII. Harvesting cane with hand cutters; cane wagons in Cuba 274 THE SUGAR-BEET IN AMERICA THE SUGAR-BEET IN AMERICA CHAPTER I GENERAL VIEW OF THE INDUSTRY The beet-sugar industry in America has but recently passed out of the experimental stage. It was undertaken nearly a century ago by men who had more enthusiasm than knowledge concerning the raising of beets and the methods of extracting sugar from them. Early attempts to establish the industry on the Western Hemisphere were not successful, partly because of the lack of scientific methods and partly because beet-growing was first tried in unfavorable localities. It also required time to train farmers to grow beets and experts to make beet-sugar. Legislation, also, has been a factor. When regions well adapted to beet-culture were chosen, when farmers became familiar with methods of raising beets, when methods of extracting sugar from the beets were improved, and when legislation was favorable, then was the industry able to establish itself and to pass beyond precarious infancy. This stage being passed, the industry has now entered the period of vigorous youth — the time of greatest virility and growth. The beet-sugar industry is now firmly es- tablished in America ; it is ready to take its place in the sisterhood of great American industries. 2 The Sugar-Beet in America The key to successful beet-sugar manufacturing is a supply of good beets at a reasonable price. The actual making of sugar can be conducted about as well in one place as in another if the beets are available. The growi:h of the industry, therefore, depends on an extension of the beet-producing area and on perfecting the methods of growing beets in sections where they are now produced. Those persons familiar with the conditions necessary to beet production, and those acquainted with American geography, are convinced that only a small part of the land well adapted to beets is at present planted to the crop. Figure 1, which shows the relative number of sugar factories in Europe and in the United States, in- dicates that in America the area devoted to beets may be increased many times before it will reach the limits that have been found profitable in Europe. Reference to Chapter IV, wherein the conditions for raising beets are considered in detail, will show that many parts of the United States are well adapted to the production of sugar- beets. Now that the industry is well started, it seems probable that it will grow rapidly in the next few years. This growth will be fortunate for American agriculture, which needs stimulation of more intensive methods. Ex- perience has shown that wherever a beet-sugar factory has been established in a community, the price of all farming land has risen. This has resulted not alone because beets themselves make a profitable crop, but because raising them promotes better farming and con- sequently a higher return to each acre of land. The deep plowing and the thorough tillage, so indispensable to beet- culture, increase the yield of subsequent crops on the same General View of the Industry Michigan Minnesota. 4 The Sugar-Beet in America land. The cost of these tillage operations is met by the beet crop, the increase in yield of the other crops usually coming as a net profit. Beets make an excellent crop to fit into the rotation. On account of the tillage required, they permit the eradi- cation of weeds that persist in other crops ; they furnish, through their by-products, a large quantity of stock feed ; they are deep-rooted, and consequently bring from considerable depth plant-food that is later made available to shallow-rooted crops; the period when work is re- quired by beets fits well with the raising of grain and alfalfa ; and, finally, they furnish a cash crop, which should be found in every rotation. Because of these conditions, beet-raising is a help to the individual farmer. The community as a whole is also benefited by the beet-sugar industry. Considerable ready money is thereby brought into the region and the farmer is enabled to know before the crop is planted that he has a sure market at a definite price. This tends to stabilize all phases of business in the community ; it gives a standard market value to all land capable of raising beets profitably. The factory furnishes work to farm hands who would otherwise be idle in winter; boys and girls find emplo^-ment in the beet fields when school is not in session. This employ- ment of the people of the community makes the industry valuable even when direct profits of beet production are small. Perhaps the greatest reason for encouraging the do- mestic production of beet-sugar is the greater national independence that results from having at home a supply of such an important food. In times of peace the ad- General View of the Industry 5 vantage of this condition is not strikingly apparent, but war forces the situation home. Within the last century the world's use of sugar has in- creased from about one million tons in a year to twenty million, an increase of two thousand per cent. There are many reasons for expecting this increase to continue until the world's requirement will be several times what it now is. At present the United States uses about five times as much sugar as it produces from beets. It is evident, therefore, that beet-sugar is still only a minor factor in supplying the home demand. In view of the increasing importance of sugar as a food, that great areas of land in the United States are well adapted to beets, that only a small percentage of the sugar consumed in the country is produced at home, and in view of the many benefits of a domestic beet-sugar industry, it seems imperative that greater attention be given to the sugar-beet in America. CHAPTER II DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY The beet-sugar industry has grown in a century from nothing to its present enormous proportions. It is a significant example of the appHcation of science to the needs of mankind. With the demand for sugar exceed- ing the supply and increasing faster than could be satis- fied from known sources, new and better methods of securing sugar were sought. By applying the principles of plant-breeding to the sugar-beet — a plant formerly having only a low percentage of sugar — the quantity of sugar that can be extracted from a ton of beets was increased several fold. The same incentive has also led to the application of the principles of chemistry and physics to the manufacturing of sugar. When the in- dustry first began, beets low in sugar were the only kind obtainable, and even this little sugar had to be extracted by imperfect processes; but as time went on the beets were improved and the processes perfected, until at pres- ent sugar can be obtained from the beet at a fraction of the cost of a hundred years ago. EARLY USE OF SUGAR The use of sugar as an important food is confined to modern times ; formerly it was known only as a medicine 6 Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 7 sold by apothecaries. In ancient times, honey was the chief source of sweet. This was supplemented by sweet fruits and sirups, but no refined sugar was extracted from any som-ce to be used as ordinary food. It is not certain whether the first sugar was obtained from sugar-cane or from the bamboo, which belongs to the same family. Early Greek and Roman writers men- tion it as a rare product. Theophrastus, in the third century B.C., refers to it as honey which comes from bam- boos, and Pliny tells of sugar in Arabia and India. Very little sugar-cane was found in Bengal before the fifth century a.d., but about this time it was introduced into the Tigris Valley and soon after into the Euphrates Val- ley. In 627 A.D. it was found in Persia and carried west- ward. About the middle of the eighth century the Moors carried it to Spain, this being its first introduction into Europe. It is known to have been raised in China at an early date and has been grown there continuously ever since. By the tenth century, sufficient sugar was produced in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates to attract traders, and it was sometimes used as food in special feasts. It was not until the middle of the seventeenth century, however, when Queen Elizabeth of England introduced it into her household, that sugar could be considered as part of the diet. Sugar-cane went from Spain to Sicily and Cyprus in the thirteenth century. The King of Portugal in the fifteenth century sent cuttings from Sicily to Madeira and the Canary Islands, from where it went to Brazil during the early part of the next century. About the same 8 The Sugar-Beet in America time it also became important in the Island of San Do- mingo. By 151S there were iwenty-eight mills on this island. It reached Mexico in 1520, Guadalupe in 1644, and Martinique in 1650. The first sugar mill in Cuba was built in 1547. Sugar-making was brought to Louisiana in 1751 by the Jesuit fathers, but after about twenty- five years' trial it was abandoned, not to be tried again tin 1791. Thus with the introduction of sugar into the diet of the people of Europe, the colonies of the European coimtries furnished an abundant supply. At that time the consumption was very low compared with that of the present. AMien sugar first became an article of commerce, the high price prohibited its general use. As late as 14S2 it sold for as much as S275 a hundred pounds on the London market, although it had been considerably cheaper a century before. By the close of the fifteenth century the price had fallen to 853 a hundred pounds in London. Competition became very keen among the English, Dutch, French, and Portuguese traders for the sugar trade of Europe in the early part of the eighteenth century. Each country was anxious to have its colonies fm-nish the chief supply of sugar, most of which was at that time pro- duced bv slave labor. KUiLY mSTORT OF BEETS The first use of beets as a cultivated crop is not known. Theophrastus. in the third centiu'y B.C., describes two varieties of beets grown in Greece — the deep red and the white. The barbarians who conquered Rome carried Derelopment of the Beet-Sugar Industry 9 beets back and planted them in Bohemia on their return. Oliver de Serres. in 1590, seems to have been the first to record the sweet properties of the beet. He said that "the juice \'ielded on boUing is similar to sugar sirup." He be- lieved that alcohol could be made by fermenting the beet. The red beet was introduced into England in 154S, but the white variety was unknown there until 1570. Four varie- ties were known by 17S2, the small and large red, the yellow, and the white. In 17S6 Abbe Commerel published a book on the value of beets as feed for stock. Discovery of sugar in beets. Although De Serres had suggested the sweet properties of beets, he did not obtain pure sugar from them. It was left to the German chemist, Andrew S. ^larggraf , a mem- ber of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, first to obtain sugar from the beet. This he accomplished in 1747, but it was a half centur^" before this discovery was put to any practical use. The methods used by Marggraf in extract- ing sugar in the laboratory are described as f oUows : " After having cut the beets into thin slices, he dried them care- fully and reduced them to a powder. On eight ounces of beet thus pulverized, he poured six ounces of alcohol recti- fied as highly as he could obtain it, and placed the mixture over a gentle fire in a sand bath. As soon as the liquid came to a boiling point he withdrew it from the fire and filtered it into a flagon, which he stoppered and left to it- self. After some weeks he perceived that it had formed crystals, which presented all the physical and chemical characters of the crj-stals of sugar from cane. The alcohol 10 The Sugar-Beet in America which remained contained sugar in solution and also a resinous matter which he abstracted by evaporation." First commercial extraction of beet-sugar. Karl Franz Achard, son of a French refugee in Prussia, was the first to extract sugar from beets on a commer- cial scale. He had been a student of Marggraf, who had turned his attention to the beet as a source of sugar. After the death of his teacher in 1782, Achard devoted himself faithfully to perfecting methods of extracting the sugar. The laboratory methods were too expensive to be used on a large scale. In 1797, after fifteen years of work, he announced his methods, and two years later presented them and samples of sugar to the Institute of France. His statements brought forth considerable ridicule, but the Institute was suflficiently aroused to ap- point a commission of nine leading scientists of France to investigate the whole problem of extracting sugar from beets. On January 25, 1800, the commission made its report, which, on the whole, was favorable to Achard, although it doubted some of his claims. In the meantime, the producers of cane-sugar had be- come alarmed and feared that some of their profits might be lost. It is reported that in 1796 a society in England offered Achard $30,000 if he would abandon his work and make the world believe his attempts had not been a success. Two years later a new offer of $120,000 was made and refused. An attempt was then made to destroy interest in beet-sugar through Sir Humphry Davy, the celebrated English chemist. He said that while sugar could be obtained from beets, it was too sour for food. Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 11 The early work of Achard was encouraged by financial assistance from Frederick the Great, but after his death in 1786 the work was somewhat interrupted until his successor, Frederick William III. came to the rescue. Through the aid of the latter, the first beet-sugar factory in the world was built on Cunern Estate, near Steinau in Silesia, in 1799-1801. In 1802 a factory was built near Paris for experimental purposes. These first fac- tories experienced many diflBculties in purifying the sugar. This, together with the low sugar-content of the beets, discouraged all but the most enthusiastic. Assistance from Napoleon. The establishing of the beet-sugar industry on a pay- ing basis really came as an incident in the wars of Napo- leon. As a measure against England he established in 1806 a blockade in which any merchandise from England and her colonies was not allowed on the continent. This cut off the chief source of sugar ; as a result the average price from 1807 to 1815 was thirty cents a pound. At times it went much higher than this. In 1806 the French Government offered a bounty on beet-sugar, but it was not until 1811, near Lille, that the first commercial fac- tory in France was established. On January 12, 1812, Napoleon issued a decree pro- viding that one hundred select students should be sent from schools of medicine, pharmacy, and chemistry to the six special beet-sugar schools that he had established the year before. He also set aside large tracts of land to be devoted to beet-raising and compelled the peasant farmers to plant sugar-beets. The decrees of Napoleon 12 The Sugar-Beet in America to encourage the beet-sugar industry were so liberal and the price of sugar was so high that by 1812 forty factories were in operation. These factories handled 98,813 tons of beets produced on 16,758 acres and manufactured them into 3,300,000 pounds of sugar. This may be called the real beginning of the beet-sugar industry. From France the industry spread rapidly to the other countries of Europe, especially to Germany and Russia. In Germany, Achard established a school which was attended by students from all parts of Europe. These students carried back to their respective countries technical information which, encouraged by the success of the French manufacturers, led to the establishment of many factories. Decline of the industry. With the downfall of Napoleon in 1815 and the return of peace, the ports of Europe were thrown open to the cheap sugar from the colonies. As a result, the newly established industry was not able to hold its own. The quality of beets was still poor and the processes used in the manufacture of sugar were so imperfect that it was impossible to compete with cane-sugar produced by slave labor. Only one factory in Europe survived the reconstruction that followed the overthrow of Napoleon. This was the factory of M. Crespel at Arras, France. Revival of the industry. For some time in France the beet-sugar industry fluctuated according to the laws that were passed. In an effort to revive beet-sugar production during the period from 1822 to 1825, over one hundred new factories were Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 13 built. The processes of manufacturing were improved so greatly that 5 per cent of sugar could be extracted instead of 2 per cent, as formerly. Researches of Pelouze in 1821 led to better methods of breeding, which made progress more rapid. By 1836 there were 436 factories in operation. This alarmed the importers of cane-sugar and led to legislation which was unfavorable to beet-sugar producers. This legislation caused the abandonment in 1837 and 1838 of 166 factories. In 1840 and 1843 attempts were made by the cane-sugar interests to have the government buy the beet-sugar fac- tories and close them, but this failed. In 1847 colonial cane-sugar and beet-sugar were taxed equally, which made it diflBcult for the beet-sugar to compete, because the cane- sugar was nearly all produced by cheap slave labor. The abolition of slavery in 1848, however, helped the beet- sugar industry. From 1851 to 1873 the making of beet- sugar in France was very spasmodic, since it depended almost entirely on the attitude of legislation. In Germany, where legislation was more consistent, the industry grew slowly but surely. Considerable atten- tion was given by scientists to the improvement both of the quality of beets and of the manufacturing processes. In 1836 Germany had 122 factories which used 25,346 tons of beets and produced 1408 tons of sugar. The average percentage of sugar extracted that year was 5.5, while in 1886 it averaged 12.18 per cent. The per capita consumption of sugar in Germany was 4.4 pounds in 1836, but had risen to 7.14 pounds in 1856, and in 1906 it was 41.08 pounds. The factory price of sugar in Magdebiu-g fell from 9.4 cents a pound in 1854 to 4.2 cents in 1886. 14 The Sugar-Beet in America Fig. 2. — Comparison of the amount of beet-sugar produced in Ger- many, Austria-Hungary, France, United States, Russia, and Belgium, in different years. Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 15 In 1877 Germany had 286,000 acres of beets, which produced 378,000 tons of sugar, while in 1886 the out- put of sugar was more than 1,000,000 tons. Germany did not equal the sugar production of France until 1878, but since that time she has led the world in beet-sugar. She produced 2,223,521 tons of sugar in 1906. The aver- age percentage extracted that year was 15.69. In other countries of Europe the beet-sugar industry followed rather closely the lead of France and Germany (see Fig. 2). At present there are beet-sugar factories in all the European countries except Norway. Ware ^ shows in the following table the relative impor- tance of the industry in 1877-78. By this time the beet-sugar industry had become thoroughly established : Table I. — Number of Sugar Factories in Europe, in 1877-78, WITH THE Total Production and the Per Capita Consumption of Sugar in Each Country Countries Kilograms Pro- duced 1877-78 Approximate Con- sumption Per Capita, Kilograms Factories Existing Germany .... France .... Austria-Hungary . Russia .... "1 Poland ... J Belgium .... Holland . . . ] Sweden . . . > Denmark ... J 375,000,000 325,000,000 245,000,000 250,000,000 50,000,000 25,000,000 6 9 2 2 6 8 330 513 248 288 153 42 1 Ware, L. S., "The Sugar Beet," p. 40 (1880). 16 The Sugar-Beet in America THE INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES The first effort to grow sugar-beets in the United States was made about 1830 at Ensfield near Philadelphia. In 1836 a number of citizens of Philadelphia became in- terested in sugar-beet culture and sent James Pedder to France to study the business. A company knowm as *'The Beet Sugar Society of Philadelphia" was organized with James Donaldson, the chief promoter, as president. Pedder sent home about 600 pounds of seed to be dis- tributed among the farmers for trial. No evidence is available that a factory resulted from this effort. The first factory was erected at Northampton, jNIassa- chusetts, in 1838, by David Lee Child, assisted by Edward Church and Maximin Isnard, who had played an impor- tant part in establishing the industry in France and who was at this time French vice-consul at Boston. The seed was imported from France. It gave a satisfactory yield — from thirteen to fifteen tons to the acre — but the beets were low in sugar. In 1839, 1300 pounds of sugar were produced and several prizes were taken. The in- dustry could not be made to pay under the circumstances, and the factory never ran after 1840. Soon after the settlement of Utah, in 1847, the Mor- mon pioneers began to establish different home indus- tries in order to make themselves as industrially inde- pendent as possible. Since at this time all manufactured goods had to be hauled from the IMissouri River to Salt Lake City by team, sugar was worth from forty cents to one dollar a pound. John Taylor (Plate II), who was laboring as a missionary in France, studied the beet-sugar Plate II. John Taylor, who introduced the beet-sugar ind>istry into Utah in 1852. (Courtesy of Frank Y. Taylor.) Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 17 industry, and in 1852 purchased from Faucett, Preston, and Company of Liverpool, for $12,500, a complete outfit of machinery for making beet-sugar. This arrived at New Orleans in April, 1852, from where it was taken on another boat to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It took fifty-two ox teams four months to haul the machinery from Fort Leavenworth to Provo, Utah, where it had been decided to erect the factory. Five hundred bushels of beet seed came with the machinery. The Deseret Manufacturing Company, the corporation that was pro- moting the industry, was unable to carry it on because of the many unexpected expenses. The machinery was, therefore, purchased by the Mormon Church and moved to Salt Lake City, where it was installed in an adobe build- ing at Sugar House Ward, where additional machinery was received in 1853. On account of the difiiculty that was experienced in getting sugar to crystallize, sirup only was made and the project was finally abandoned in 1855. In 1864 the Gennett Brothers, Germans living in New York, became interested in the beet-sugar industry. One of them went to Europe to study the conditions on that continent. On his return, 2300 acres of prairie land were purchased at Chatsworth, Illinois, and the Germania Beet Sugar Company was organized with a capital of $200,000. The mill had a capacity of fifty tons a day, but it was able to extract only a small part of the sugar from the beets. In 1866, 4000 tons of beets were raised on 400 acres. A series of unfavorable years induced the company to move the plant, first to Freeport, Illinois, and later to Black Hawk, Wisconsin, but it was never a success. Some of the machinery was finally taken to 18 The Sugar-Beet in America California. Failure was due in part at least to a lack of interest on the part of farmers in raising beets. Two Germans, by the name of Otto and Bonestell, erected a plant of ten tons daily capacity at Fond du Lac, Wis- consin, in 1868. After two years of partial success, the enterprise was abandoned. Otto went to Alvarado, California, in 1870 and associated himself with Klineau and E. H. Dyer, who the year before had raised 150 acres of beets as an experiment. The $125,000 factory which they erected produced 250 tons of sugar in 1870, 400 tons in 1871, 560 tons in 1872, and 750 tons in 1873. The average cost of producing sugar was about ten cents a pound. The plant did not pay and later was moved to Santa Cruz County. In 1871 the Sacramento Beet Sugar Company began the operation of a small plant. It made sugar and molasses for several years and was finally sold to E. H. Dyer. This was the first plant in the country to use the diffusion battery system of extracting the juice. Other unsuccessful attempts to establish the industry were made at Portland, Maine (1896), Edgemoor, Dela- ware (1877), Franklin, INIassachusetts (1879), and Rio Grande, New Jersey (1879). These failures were due to various causes: (1) lack of experienced beet-raisers, (2) poor quality of beets, (3) imperfect machinery, (4) mis- takes in locating factories, and (5) general lack of interest in the industry. Commercial success in the United States. The successful commercial production of beet-sugar in the United States may be said to date from about 1890. Plati. 111. E. II. Dj'er, father of the American beet-sugar industry. (Courtesy of- E. F. Dyer.) Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 19 Previous to this time, E. H. Dyer (Plate III), after years of experimentation and after four complete financial failures and reorganizations, succeeded at Alvarado, California, in establishing a factory on a paying basis, in 1879. This was the first beet-sugar factory that had been made to pay in the United States. In 1888, Claus Spreckels built at Watsonville, California, a factory which the first year made 1000 tons of sugar. Thus, in 1889 there were but two beet-sugar factories operating in the United States, both in central California. About this time the Oxnard Brothers interested them- selves in the industry. They went to Europe and made a careful study of it there. In 1890, they built a factory at Grand Island, Nebraska, and in 1891 one each at Norfolk, Nebraska, and at Chino, California. This served to arouse interest in the industry over a wider section of the country. In the intermountain region a factory was established at Lehi, Utah. From this time on, the growth of the industry has been constant and at times rapid, stimulated largely by favor- able legislation. The Sugar Bounty Act of 1890, on which McKinley worked, gave two cents a pound bounty on domestic beet-sugar. This was to run fifteen years (1890-1905), but in 1894 it was repealed and the Wilson Act, which was not so favorable to the industry, was enacted. "Development was more rapid following the passage of the Dingley Act of 1897, according to which imported sugars were taxed as follows : refined sugar, $1.95 per 100 pounds; 96° sugar, $1.68 per 100 pounds, with a reduction of 3^ cents for each degree below 96 and an increase of 3| cents for each degree above 96. 20 The Sugar-Beet in America During 1899 fourteen new factories were constructed." In 1892 there were only a half dozen factories with an 11 10 -9 -8 -7 6 Acres beefs har^eskcf- Y/e/c/s per C7cre ^ % si/^c/r ex/rac/eaf — % su^ar ).^ I .J.^ I .J.. 'I .J. ^-5 ^ ^ ^ 4 5 -2 -1 IS-^g 1904 ' 1906 ' 19'08 ' I9'l0 ' \^\1 ' HU 1916 Fig. 3. — Growth of the beet-sugar industry, with the yield and quality of beets, in the United States since 1899. output of 13,000 tons of sugar, but by 1902 there were forty-one factories, yielding 2,118,406 tons. Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 21 Later developments. Since 1890, growth of the beet-sugar Industry has in the main been regular and constant (Fig. 3). During periods when legislation has been favorable it has been more rapid than at other times. This has been the history of the beet-sugar industry the world over. In 1912, seventy- seven factories operated in the United States, and by 1915 the number had increased only to seventy-nine. This slowness in factory building was caused largely by the uncertain effect on the industry of reducing the tariff on imported cane-sugar. The passage of the Underwood- Simmons Tariff Bill reduced the tariff on imported sugar 25 per cent after March 1, 1914, and provided that all the duty should be removed after May 1, 1916. The latter provision was, however, amended before it went into effect. The retention of the tariff, taken with the effect of the European war, greatly stimulated the erection of sugar factories in 1916 and 1917. In 1917, fourteen factories, with a daily slicing capacity of 11,000 tons of beets, were erected in the United States. The high price of sugar resulting from the war also made it possible to pay farm- ers more for beets. This in turn greatly stimulated the raising of beets, — and the acreage of beets rather than the number of factories is the real limiting factor deter- mining the sugar production in America. CHAPTER III THE SUGAR-BEET PLANT It is through the remarkable organizing capacity of the sugar-beet plant that nature is able to take unusable substances and by combining them properly produce the useful product, sugar. The whole beet-sugar industry rests on giving to this plant the conditions necessary to do its work most effectively ; then after it has produced and stored its precious nectar, to extract and prepare it for the use of man. The important agent in the whole process is the plant — the greatest of nature's laboratories. BOTANICAL GROUP The sugar-beet belongs to the goosefoot family, or Chenopodiaceae. The chief cultivated members of this family are beets and spinach. Many weeds belong to the family, among which are goosefoot, pigweed, lamb's quarter, Russian thistle. The species Beta vulgaris includes sugar-beets, mangel wurzels, common garden beets, and leaf-beets. There is a wild form of the same genus (Beta maritima) which grows as a perennial along the coast of southern Europe. The cultivated forms of Beta are thought by some to have originated from "a variety growing wild on the western coast of the Mediterranean and on the Canary Islands, and known as Beta vulgaris L., var. maritima Koch. 22 The Sugar-Beet Plant 23 Whether this plant is really distinct, or is itself a variety of Beta maritima, is not certain." ^ Those who hold that the cultivated forms and the wild coast plant are the same species, use the name Beta vulgaris (which is the older) for the entire group. Those who prefer to keep them botanically separate, use the names B. vulgaris for the cultivated plant and B. maritima for the wild Beta. HABIT OF GROWTH The sugar-beet is ordinarily a biennial, storing food in the root during the first year, and sending up seed stalks the second. In some climates there is a tendency for many plants to produce seed the first year, particularly if there has been a period of drought or other conditions causing a temporary rest in the growth of the plant. The plant may also live and produce seed during a number of successive years if it is kept alive during the winter. Many beet plants do not produce seed even during the second year but continue throughout the season to send out an abundant growth of foliage without sending up root-stalks. This condition is probably due, in part at least, to environmental facts, since the percentage of beets failing to produce seed varies greatly during differ- ent seasons. Some years this lack of fruiting is rather serious in fields producing beet seed. The Beta maritima, in its native habitat along the Mediterranean, completes its cycle of gro\\i:h in one year. The self-planted seed germinates in the fall and produces considerable growth before its activity is reduced by the ^ Pereival, " Agricultural Botany," p. 352. 24 The Sugar-Beet in America mild winter. In the spring growth is resumed, and by early autumn the seed is ripe and again ready for planting. PARTS OF THE PLANT The enlarged root is the predominating part of the beet plant. The first year the stem consists of the crown on FiQ. 4. — The sugax-beet has a very extensive root ssrstem. top of the root from which the leaves spring. It is very much shortened and scarcely distinguishable from the fleshy root. The second year seed-stalks are sent up two 1^^ ^■P^ r^ r 'I 1 K t > i i L 1 1^ J j 1 Plate IV. — Above a mature sugar-beet plant two years old, showang the method of growth of seed stalks ; below, cross and longitudinal sections of sugar-beets ; the cells of the dark rings are richer in sugar than those of the light ones. The Sugar-Beet Plant 25 to four feet tall. They bear the flowers and seeds and most of the leaves. The first year the leaves are large and usually erect, although they sometimes form a sort of rosette on the ground. This varies with the strain of beet and also with the conditions of growth. The weight of the leaves is about one-half that of the root. The pro- portion of leaves is greater for small than for large beets. The leaves on the seed-stalk the second year are much smaller than those growing from the beet crown the first year. The fleshy root (Fig. 4) is an enlarged taproot, thickest just below the crown and gradually tapering into a slender root which may extend several feet into the soil. Branch- ing from the taproot are numerous secondary roots that extend as feeders throughout the soil. These secondary roots are clustered in two rows extending down the beet usually in a spiral direction, although frequently straight. The upper six or eight inches of the old beet are almost free from the secondary roots. One examination showed the greatest branching between eight and fourteen inches in depth. Attached to the secondary roots are number- less root-hairs which absorb water and plant-food from the soil. The beet is made up of a series of concentric rings of alternating lighter and darker color shown in Plate IV. These rings are composed of two kinds of parenchyma cells, the ones with a denser finer structure being richer in sugar and dry matter. The larger coarser cells are richer in water. For this reason, beets with a larger number of small compact cells are richer in sugar than those in which the larger water-storage cells predominate. Although 26 The Sugar-Beet in America small differences in sugar-content cannot be distinguished by an anatomical examination, there is a rather definite correlation between structure of the beet and sugar-con- tent. HOW THE PLANT FEEDS AND GROWS The development of the plant from a tiny germ through the various stages to maturity is an interesting and complex process. When the seed is planted, it absorbs moisture and swells. Part of the starch stored in the seed is changed into sugar by the action of enzymes, and the cells composing the germ enlarge and divide till the germ becomes a seedling. At first the germ must depend en- tirely on the food stored in the seed, but a few days after germination the rootlets penetrate into the soil and leaves appear above ground. The plant is now ready to begin gathering and making its own food. The feeding of the plant goes on in two distinct pro- cesses : the gathering of soluble salts and water from the soil and the taking of carbon from the air through the leaves. After these two kinds of raw materials are gathered, the plant in the wonderful laboratory of its own cells produces all the compounds necessary to its life and to the performance of its very complex functions. From the soil the plant absorbs various materials that are dissolved in the soil solution. The materials like nitrogen that are used extensi\'ely by the plant are ab- sorbed in much larger quantities than such unnecessary elements as sodium. These materials must be dissolved before they can be taken up by the plant. The root- hairs, which are minute, single-cell extensions of the root The Sugar-Beet Plant 27 system, reach to all parts of the soil and come in close contact with the individual soil particles. (Fig. 5.) By a process kno^vTi as osmosis, water passes from the soil through the cell-wall of the root-hairs into the root, and finally from cell to cell throughout the plant wherever it is needed, or it may pass directly to the leaves where it is lost by tran- spiration. Each day during rapid gro-^lh, the plant in this way takes up and loses several times as much water as its weight. Water is used as a carrier of Fig 5. — Root-hair extending through the soil m all foods Withm '^°'^ "°°*^'* ^^'^ *^' '°'^ particles. the plant. It also helps in regulating the plant as well as entering into many of the compounds of which it is made up. More than half of the weight of sugar comes from water which is combined chemically with carbon. The mineral compounds which the plant obtains from the soil are : the salts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, and nitrogen. These, together with h}'drogen and oxygen from water and carbon from the air, make up the ten elements essential to the life of all ordinary plants. If any of these are entirely absent, the plant cannot grow. Many other elements are also 28 TJie Sugar-Beet in America taken up by plants, but while they may be used in various plant processes, they are not essential to growi;h. These various soil compounds are also taken up by osmosis, each one independent of the other. If the plant- cells are low in one of the required substances that are present in the soil solution, it passes through the cell- wall of the root-hairs and from cell to cell to the place where needed. The movement continues as long as the compound is used by the plant if the supply in the soil is maintained. If this supply becomes depleted, the growth of the entire plant is retarded by a shortage of this one element. This explains the importance of keep- ing the soil well supplied with all the necessary plant- foods. The processes taking place in the leaves are even more interesting. The leaf is made up of layers of cells of various kinds. On the surface of the leaf are tiny open- ings called stomata through which air and other gases pass freely. These stomata are much more numerous on the under side of the leaf. The air, containing carbon- dioxid gas, enters the leaf through the stomata antl circulates between the loose sponge cells, where a trans- formation takes place. The cells of the leaf contain chlorophyll, or leaf green, which, through the action of sunlight, is able to cau.se a union of carbon dioxide and water with the final formation of sugar. By this process the greater part of the ])lant material is made. In this laboratory the food of man and beast is prepared. If a process similar to this did not take place in plants, it would be only a short time till practically all animal and plant life would disappear. The Sugar-Beet Plant 29 After the sugar is made in the leaves, it is transferred from cell to cell to all parts of the plant, where it is used in the formation of starch, cellulose, and the other com- pounds. Thus the greater part of all plants comes from water and the air and only a comparatively small amount from the soil. An especially large part of the sugar-beet is made of air and water. As the leaves grow older, the percentage of ash in them increases and the nitrogen de- creases. The old practice of stripping part of the leaves from the beets is harmful, since it reduces the formation of sugar. THE STORAGE OF SUGAR Although the sugar-beet plant begins the manufacture of sugar and other compounds almost as soon as the first leaves are formed, very little material is stored at this time, since all the food gathered is needed for growth. The plant is adding to itself rapidly and is sending out new roots and leaves ; hence none of the sugar manu- factured in the leaves is available for storage. It goes into the production of more leaves and roots and to the general growth of the plant. After the sugar-beet has produced most of its growth and approaches maturity, it stores sugar very rapidly. Practically all the sugar manufactured by the leaves dur- ing the latter part of the season is stored in the root in order that the plant may use it the next year in produc- ing seed. The storage is not uniform in the various parts of the root. This is shown in Fig. 6, which was taken from analyses reported by Briem.^ This drawing shows that ' " American Sugar Beet Growers' Annual," 1908, p. 67. 30 The Sugar-Beet in America .-11.9 the beet is richest in sugar slightly above the middle of the beet and that the sugar decreases toward the two ends. The tip of the root is lower in sugar than any other part except the center of the crown. The section of the beet do\\'Ti through the center has appreciably less sugar than the section directly opposite toward the outside. The part of the beet lowest in sugar has only about two-thirds as much as the highest. The ideal condition would be to leave all the beets in the ground till completely ripe, which is the time when the highest percentage of sugar is stored. This is not always practical, however, when a large acreage must be harvested. Some of the beets must be dug be- fore they are entirely ready, and the digging season must be ex- tended beyond the best time in order to harvest all the crop. After sugar has been stored in the beets, it may again be transferred to other parts and used. This storage and later transfer of sugar are dependent largely on soil and climatic conditions. The storage of a high per- centage of sugar in the root while the leaves are com- paratively low in sugar is made possible by the fact that sucrose diffuses out of the cells with difl5culty, whereas the glucose and fructose of the leaves move rapidly from Fig. 6. — Diagram showing distribution of sugar in different parts of the sugar-beet. The Sugar-Beet Plant 31 cell to cell and are distributed independent of the amount of sucrose present. FACTORS AFFECTING PERCENTAGE OF SUGAR The amount of sugar contained in the beet is of the highest importance to the manufacturer of beet-sugar. The same expense is attached to handling the beets and running them through the mill if they contain 10 per cent sugar as if they contain 20 per cent. The expense of refining and handling the larger quantity of sugar is only slightly greater in the latter case, whereas the returns would be almost double. Beets low in sugar cannot be handled at a profit ; the life of the industry depends on getting roots sufficiently rich in sugar to justify its ex- traction. A number of factors modify the amount of sugar pres- ent. Probably the most important of these is the breed- ing, or heredity, of the strain. When Marggraf first ex- tracted sugar from beets in 1747 the amount of sugar contained was low, but a hundred and fifty years of care- ful breeding has increased the amount by several times. One reason why the beet-sugar industry was not able to continue after protection was removed following the downfall of Napoleon was that strains of beets were not available with a sufficiently high sugar-content. Only after better varieties were developed in Germany was it possible to extract sugar from the beet at a profit. The commercial strains now on the market differ widely in the amount of sugar they produce under the same climatic and soil conditions. It is necessary to continue 32 The Sugar-Beet in America a rigid selection in order to keep the beets up to as high a production of sugar as possible. With no crop are the requirements more exacting. Climatic conditions affect very much the amount of sugar stored in beets. Seed out of the same bag may one year produce beets having but 14 per cent sugar, and another year 18 per cent. Some of the factors entering into seasonal effects may be controlled ; others cannot. ]\Ioisture, which greatly affects not only the yield but also the quality of the beets, may be controlled by irrigation. This is discussed more fully in Chapter X. Many attempts have been made to point out correla- tions between the shape of beet and its sugar-content, but these have not been very successful. If there were correlations of this kind it would save a great deal of chemical work in selecting beets with a high sugar-content. RELATION OF SIZE OF BEET TO SUGAR-CONTENT The relation between size and percentage of sugar has long been a subject of study. Observations have shown that often very large beets are low in sugar and the small ones high. In order to determine the exact correlation between these two factors the Utah Experiment Station ^ made tests extending over several years and including nearly seven thousand individual beets. The results of that test are summarized in Table II, which shows the number of beets of each weight and sugar-content, A definite negative correlation is shown, although it is not ' Harris, F. S., and Hogenson, J. C, "Some Correlations in Sugar-Beets," Genetics, Vol. I, July, 1916, pp. 334-347. The Sugar-Beet Plant 33 O + 14 H PL, 00 I-H K H ^ i-l H W M o CQ s o *"* tx< « o p •o H ■-^ w H o o ^ ^ K u CO E^ n. f— 1 o z O) o H . CO . o OS (M r- Oi .-1 CO t^ —1 •^ to «0 0> CO o •* lo t^ o r^ lO >o CO 05 OS lO CO rH rH Tjt lO 05 CO i-i 00 CO X X Oi oj X o X to • X O lO O X lO to to -^ CO IN (N - lO 00 o GO CO to t> O X »c t^ o ■<* lO to -^ to lO o lO 1-1 CO IN X CO CO C^ )-* OJ rji O to Tji lO to IN CI IN •^ CO t>. lO f^ -H o lo o CI X t^ ^ (N .-1 C^ (N -1 --1 I^ ^ ^ lO CO rH «^ CO U5 CO CO CO to rt to Tf t^ to t^ X -* CO - (N - Tft xt^toiiDTticoiNi-iooiXi>qic-^_coiN cilN-^r-irHrHl-trHrHi-irHT-i 34 The Sugar-Beet in America large. This means that, while there is a tendency of the large beets to be low in sugar and the small ones to be high, this relation does not always hold. In some dis- tricts large beets may have a very satisfactory sugar- content, whereas in others this may not be the case. FLOWERS AND SEEDS The sugar-beet produces perfect flowers. The arrange- ment of parts is shown in Fig. 7. The stamens are partly attached to the perianth ring. Pollen is readily carried /: '-^ovary-^ K )) i perianlh^SS^ FiQ. 7. Diagrams showing parts of the sugar-beet flower. Much enlarged. from flower to flower by insects, thrips playing an im- portant part in cross fertilization. The ovary is par- tially imbedded in the flesh of the receptacle and con- tains from one to three seeds. The flowers are produced in dense clusters along an axis, resulting in the forma- tion of seed-balls containing a number of seeds or germs. Much extra work is required by this arrangement, since The Sugar-Beet Plant 35 hand thinning is made necessary. If but one germ were contained in each seed-ball, the work of thinning would be greatly reduced. Attempts have been made to pro- duce strains of seed having a single germ, but these have not proved to be successful. The seed-ball is hard, similar to the shell of a nut, and completely covers the tiny seeds it holds. In germination the primary root first appears. Very soon the cotyledons may be seen. The seedling consists of a short hypocotyl, two fleshy cotyledons, and a primary root from which a few fibrous laterals arise. CHAPTER IV CONDITIONS FOR GROWING SUGAR-BEETS Probably no other common crop should be more closely confined to regions adapted to its growth than should sugar-beets. This is due in part to the great expense required to raise an acre of beets, and where natural conditions are unfavorable, the returns for this expense and labor are small. Another important item to be considered is that sugar-beets are not raised by iso- lated farmers; there must be a sufficient number of beets in a region to justify the erection of a factory. Thus, a large amount of capital is tied up in a manufacT turing plant. This will be wasted if beets cannot be raised successfully. In raising a crop like potatoes, adaptation is not so im- portant. The individual farmer may raise a few potatoes for his own use even though the country is not well adapted to potato-growing. If at any time he wishes to raise some other crop, he is perfectly free to change and no one is injured. With sugar-beets, on the other hand, there may be a great loss if the industry is established in a region not adapted to it ; hence the importance of know- ing the conditions contributing to the success of sugar- beet production. These conditions may be grouped as : (1) climatic conditions, (2) nature of the soil, and (3) economic conditions. Of the climatic factors, temper- 36 Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 37 ature, sunshine, moisture, and wind are of greatest eon- sequence. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS Temperature. The sugar-beet will grow in most parts of the United States and Canada where the ordinary crops of the temperate climate thrive ; but the region maturing beets of desirable sugar-content, purity, and yield is confined to a rather narrow strip across the continent. It lies ty largely in a wedge-shaped area including California, "^ Oregon, and Washington on the west, and tapering ir- regularly to the east, with Michigan and the states to the east as the sharp end of the wedge. So far as sugar is concerned, the best sugar-beet regions are those with an average temperature of about 70 ° F. x, during the three summer months — June, July, and August. The distribution of the heat over the summer period as well as the daily variations in temperature affects the average temperatiu-e required. Unlike corn, beets are not injured by cool nights during the warm part of the growing season. A great amount of heat is not required when the beets are young; neither will they thrive if the weather is cold and damp just after planting. This condition retards germination and causes part of the seeds to decay in the soil. The young plants that emerge are also likely to be attacked by disease, such as that caused by the damping-off fungi. With a protracted cold spring, the young beets sometimes receive a set-back from which they never fully recover. Beets should do well in most localities where the sum- 38 The Sugar-Beet in America Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 39 mer temperature is suitable, provided planting is not begun until the soil is warm enough to insure good ger- mination and a rapid growi:h while the plants are young and tender. Hot weather during this period is unde- sirable, since this condition makes the young plants less able to overcome the shock resulting from the disturb- ance they receive at thinning time. A severe frost just as the plants are coming up is al- most fatal, and replanting is usually necessary. At this time they are most sensitive to frost. Later, after a few leaves have been developed and a number of healthy roots sent into the soil, they become much more hardy. In the fall of the year the beet can stand rather severe frost without injury, very much more than can be endured by corn. Severe freezing in the fall is likely to cause trouble by freezing the beets in the ground, in which case it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to harvest them, and almost complete loss results. In order to be entirely safe, an area raising sugar-beets should have about five months in which severe freezing does not occur. Slight frosts during this time, particularly in the fall, may do no dam- age. The short season in the cooler parts of America prevents the proper ripening of the beets, resulting in a low sugar-content and consequently poor milling quality. The high temperatures of the southern part of the United States have a tendency to cause a vegetative growth producing good yields, but the beets are poor in quality. In some regions having a high temperature at certain seasons, beets are planted at a time that will en- 40 The Su gar-Beet in America able them to make the greater part of their growth during the cooler part of the year. Sunlight. Sugar is made by the action of sunlight on the chloro- phyll of the beet leaf ; hence the storage of a large amount of sugar requires a great deal of light. In northern latitudes where days are long, the beet is able to store sugar faster than farther south where the summer days are shorter. For this reason, the growing period of the north does not need to be so long. Workers in the United States Department of Agricul- ture ^ as a result of experiments were led to the conclusion that the sugar-content of the beet is not dependent on direct sunshine. Diffused sunlight from a cloudy sky seemed to be practically as good as direct sunshine. Sun- shine probably has a sanitary effect, however, since at- tacks of diseases are much greater during damp, cloudy weather than during periods when the sun is shining brightly. The effect of sunlight is so closely related to temperature and moisture that it is rather difficult to discover just what its effects are. Moisture. Favorable soil moisture conditions are essential to suc- cess in beet-raising. A crop costing less to produce may be raised where it is too wet or too dry for maximum yields without the results being serious, since little is involved. With sugar-beets it would not pay to go to * Wiley, H. W., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bur. of Chem. Bui. No. 96. Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 41 42 The Sugar-Beet in America all the trouble necessary to produce the crop if the yields were greatly reduced by unfavorable conditions. The use of irrigation water makes possible an easy con- trol of soil moisture, and as a result the beet-sugar indus- try of America is largely an industry of irrigated districts. Michigan is the only important sugar-beet state where irrigation is not practiced. The methods of maintaining proper moisture relations by the aid of irrigation are discussed in a later chapter. In non-irrigated regions, the production of sugar- beets follows the zone with a favorable distribution of rainfall as closely as the zone of favorable temperature. The time and manner in which the precipitation is re- ceived, as well as the total amount, must be considered. In a district having heavy soil that packs or crusts, a heavy rain at the time the plants are sprouting may cause trouble. A region having the greater part of its rain during the period when the beet is growing most rapidly and ceasing before harvest time is fortunate. Regions having a continuously rainy and damp summer, however, do not raise good beets. Small showers at the right time may be beneficial, but usually they do not wet down far enough to do any good. If the precipitation comes in heavy rains, there may also be considerable loss due to run-off from the surface of the land. Such storms also have a tendency to pack the soil and cause crusting. It is desirable, therefore, in con- sidering a region for sugar-beet production, to study the nature of the rainfall as well as the total amount. Hail- storms are not so injurious to beets as to crops having the marketable portion above ground. Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 43 Wind. In many beet-producing sections winds at certain sea- sons are rather serious. This is particularly true with spring winds that come about the time the seed is planted or immediately before or after. Winds coming before the seed is planted are likely to dry out the seed-bed so much that it is necessary to plant the seed too deep in order to find sufficient moisture. Winds about the time of plant- ing may blow the seed out of the ground and make the stand very irregular. When the young plants are commg up, winds often cause injury to the seedling by the cut- ting action of shifting sand. Hot winds may also com- pletely dry up the young plants even when sufficient water is present deeper in the soil. The bad effects of winds may be overcome in part by a number of methods. Windbreaks, an abundant supply- of humus, plowing, cultivating, keeping the rows at right angles to the direction of the wind, and the formation of a mulch of small clods at the surface of the land all help. Sometimes it is necessary to shift the period of seeding in order that the plant will not be in a critical stage at the time of regular winds. THE SOIL For the production of good sugar-beets, the soil should be fertile, deep, and of a texture that is easy to work. No particular kind of soil is absolutely necessary. Any good soil adapted to the raising of general crops such as potatoes, corn, and the small grains will also produce beets, which are raised on soils of every texture ranging 44 The Sugar-Beet in America from a sand to a clay. A coarse sand is not good because it does not hold sufficient water, and it is not usually strong in available plant-food. A clay is not the best, since it does not furnish the root a medium in which to expand readily. It is, moreover, not adapted to the great amount of working necessary in beet-raising. A medium loam is, on the whole, most satisfactory. It should be deep enough to allow an easy penetration of the feeding roots. A fuller discussion of the relation of beets to the soil is given in Chapter V. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS Competition ivith other crops. Many districts adapted to the culture of beets do not produce them because beets cannot compete with other crops in these sections. Some of these crops yield greater returns to the acre and will, as a result, shut out beets in districts where land is limited and the highest returns must be secured. Other crops, because they use little labor, prevent beets from getting a foothold where labor is the limiting factor. Beets would thrive in many of the districts that grow truck crops near large cities, but greater returns are ob- tained from the latter than could be had from beets. Likewise, many orchard districts give a return to the acre of land with which beets cannot compete. Attempts have been made to introduce sugar-beets into the corn- belt, but corn is so well adapted to these regions that no competing crop has been able to displace it. Beets re- Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 45 quire attention at the same time corn must be eared for, and since corn in this section brings more money for the labor, sugar-beets will probably not gain much of a foot- hold unless economic conditions change. A decided ad- vance in the price of sugar or a decline in the price of corn might change this balance entirely. Sugar-beets have not secured a strong foothold in the great wheat sections of the country, partly because the farmers can earn more money with less labor by han- dling a large acreage of wheat than by handling a few acres of beets. The farmer who has been used to raising 500 or 1000 acres of wheat and doing most of the work by machinery is not likely to be satisfied to spend all of his time over fifteen or twenty acres of beets, particu- larly if he has to do most of the work by hand. It takes time for sugar-beets to come into active com- petition with long-established crops, even though condi- tions are highly favorable to their growth. Farmers have to learn how to raise the crop, and they are limited in their markets to regions having a sugar factory. This means that the industry is usually extended gradually and not rapidly ; but where it is well established, sugar- beets usually have little difficulty in competing with most of the ordinary farm crops. Labor. More than ten times as much hand labor is required to rdise an acre of beets as to raise an acre of wheat, over five times as much as to raise an acre of corn, and more than twice as much as to raise an acre of potatoes. The horse labor required for beets is over three times that 46 The Sugar-Beet in America for wheat, oats, and barley, and about one and one-half times as much as for potatoes. If only four to eight acres of beets are raised, the amount hardly justifies bringing in expert contract labor; but if the farmer at- tempts to do all the work himself, other crops are greatly interfered with. If he has children of his own or if he can hire school children, he may be able to get along. From fifteen to twenty-five acres are necessary in order to make it pay to take advantage of contract labor for thinning and harvesting. New growers should not attempt to raise too many acres of beets, since they are not familiar with the re- quirements of the crop and great waste may result from their inability to do work at the proper time. After a few years of beet-raising, the farmer learns to adjust the acreage to the labor he can command diu-ing the busy season. On the small irrigated farms in the thickly settled regions, the labor question is not so acute as in the newer regions that have small population. A survey in Utah showed that as the size of farm decreased, the percentage of the land raising beets increased. Where beets are raised on a large scale, the labor prob- lem is solved by hiring foreigners to do the hand work. Some of these are permanent farm hands; others may have had experience working in beet fields in their native land but are doing city work in this country. This class of labor may be induced to go to the farms for a few months during the busy part of the beet season. The most satisfactory way when possible is to keep the hands on the farm throughout the year, having other means of employment when they are not needed in the beet fields. m ^...., riRT MMi^^r M ^.■'^ :- -f. B^flH^^^^^P' - JlH IGpp, gfff^- t mm ^fi ., ;. ! ■'? t~ .^s ^-^pj^' ^pyi b -f "i^ |Hk - '^ B .IPP.^WJ Plate V. — Afwn , choap houses of this kind are often constnioted to care for foreign hibor ; center, houses of this kind attract labor which is an important item for success in raising sugar-beets ; bdoiv, pumping water for irrigation. (Courtesy Pacific Sugar Corporation.) ; Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 47 To get this result, it is necessary, or at least desirable, that small houses be built near the fields. Plate V shows desirable houses for this purpose. Provision for suitable living conditions for those who must do hard manual labor is a greater factor in getting and keeping hired labor than is realized by many farmers. Many suitable workers could be induced to move to the farms to meet the labor situation if more suitable living condi- tions and better pay were provided. Where gangs of foreign laborers are imported, they are much more contented and do better work if they work together in colonies rather than as individuals. To satisfy this condition requires large acreages. In some communities movable houses are used by the contracting laborers, the houses being moved from field to field as necessary. These houses are very desirable where the individual fields in a district are too small to make it worth while to build permanent houses. The labor question is probably the most difficult gen- eral problem with which the sugar-beet growers have to contend. It is a problem that must be handled by com- munity action or by the sugar companies who are gen- erally well prepared to secure and distribute this labor, since they can determine through their field men the approximate labor situation throughout the territory contributing beets to their factory. If the farmers can be induced to report their probable labor needs to these field men in advance, the proper amount of imported labor usually can be secured. The United States Government is attempting to keep in touch with the labor situation in all parts of the country 48 The Sugar-Beet in America in order that the best possible distribution of the laborers may be made. In some communities where there is in- sufficient labor, farmers bid against one another for the labor that is available, resulting in prices out of all pro- portion to the service obtained. Such action does not improve the labor situation ; it merely raises wages with- out increasing the efficiency of the labor. An appeal to the sugar companies or the government for additional workers might bring the required labor at prices satis- factory to both the growers and the workers. When labor must be hired, it is much more satisfactory to have the work done by contracts based on tonnage than merely to contract by the piece or by the acre. Time labor, though usually slower than piece contracting, results in better work if properly supervised. Since man labor constitutes nearly half the total cost of growing beets, and since more than two-thirds of this labor comes at the time of thinning and harvesting, it is imperative that as many labor-saving devices as possible be used. Relief at the harvest season seems to be in sight, for a number of mechanical toppers are proving successful. No practical method has as yet been devised for lessening materially the labor of blocking and thinning. Up to the present time machines designed to do this work have failed to give satisfaction. Capital. The raising of sugar-beets requires much more capital than do most other crops. In the first place, good sugar- beet land is usually high-priced. Special planters, culti- vators, harvesters, and racks are required in handling the Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 49 crop. The chief item to consider is the expense of raising the crop. It costs more to produce an acre of beets than is required to purchase outright several acres of the cheaper wheat lands. This money must all be spent be- fore any returns are obtained. In the older districts where beets are known to do well, this item is not so serious, since the banks are willing to advance money on the prospect of the crop ; but in dis- tricts where the success of beets is uncertain, the amount of money required to produce a crop may be a serious matter. Under conditions of this kind, it is often neces- sary for the sugar company to furnish implements on " time " and to render other financial aid during the grow- ing season. Transportation. The transporting of beets is one of the deciding factors in determining whether or not the crop can be raised in a given district. Because the crop is bulky, there is a decided limit to the distance it can be hauled profitably. There are many small areas that can produce excellent beets, but are not of sufficient size to support a factory and are too far from any factory to justify hauling the beets. There are also good beet districts that are large enough to support a factory, but the whole district is so far from a railroad that it would not be practical to attempt establishing a factory. It costs about thirty cents a ton to haul beets a mile by team ; hence it is not practical to have beet fields at great distances from dumps. Ordinarily, beets cannot be hauled more than three or four miles by team. This depends somewhat 50 The Sugar-Beet in America on the kind of roads and on how busy the farmer is with other work at the time beets are to be hauled. The whole beet-sugar industry is closely tied up with the question of transportation. Each prospective sugar- beet area must be considered from this viewpoint as well as from its adaptability to the raising of beets. Special troubles. A number of special troubles must be kept in mind in considering conditions for beet-raising. Among these are diseases and insect pests. A number of factories have failed because beets in the district have been so greatly infested by curly-leaf and other serious troubles. For this reason it would not be advisable to invest hun- dreds of thousands of dollars in a mill where external con- ditions only seemed to be favorable to the industry. It is much safer to raise beets for a number of years first in order to see whether any of these serious troubles de- velop. Hot winds, severe drought at a critical period, and many other unfavorable conditions may completely outweigh other favorable ones. Kind of farmers. Successful sugar-beet growing requires good farmers. Every operation from the plowing of the land to the de- livery of the beets is particular and calls for skill and painstaking care. There is no operation that can be slighted without reflecting itself in the returns. Many farmers fail because they are not willing to look after details. They want to apply wheat-growing methods, and these methods simply will not succeed with sugar- Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 51 beets. The farmer who does not want to bother with the crop from the time it is planted until it is ready to har- vest had better devote himself to extensive crops; he certainly cannot make a success in raising beets, — at least not until he changes his methods. The sugar-beet is sensitive to the attention it receives. It does not thrive under "horse-back" methods of farm- ing. The farmer who would succeed with it must get down on his knees and use his fingers, almost fondling each plant. If he is not willing to do this, he will not be a good beet farmer. The people of some communities are not adapted to the raising of beets. They are not willing to give the personal attention and the work that is required. If their chief thought is to do as little work as possible and to make their profit by selling the farm instead of tilling it, they are not good beet farmers. In order for a community to be successful at beet-raising, it must have the attitude that a farm is a place on which to raise crops and not a place that is just held to be sold at the first opportunity. For this reason new communities rarely succeed with beets. Usually it is necessary to wait until those on the land feel that they are established in a permanent home. The period of good beet-farming does not come until the days of boom and land speculation have passed. The high sugar-content and purity of sugar-beets are artificial characters produced by years of special culti- vation, selection, and breeding. The quality of the crop is, therefore, subject to modification by cultural methods. It responds readily to good treatment, and as quickly deteriorates under bad. A good farmer will succeed with 52 The Sugar-Beet in America beets, whereas his neighbor who is a poor farmer will fail miserably. In considering the advisability of establishing a factory in a region, considerable attention should be given to the kind of farmers who will raise the beets. The factory. The first consideration in attempting to introduce the sugar-beet industry in a district is, of course, a guarantee from the farmers that they will grow a suflBcient acreage of beets to assure a reasonably long run for a factory. Many of the factories that have failed would have con- tinued had the supply of good beets been large enough. Quality of beets is perhaps more important than quantity, because if the proper quality can be secured, the prices can usually be regulated so as to make it profitable for the farmers to produce the necessary quantity. If beets testing 12 per cent or more of sugar and with a purity coeflBcient of at least 70 per cent cannot be obtained, the success of a factory is doubtful. The price paid by the manufacturers for beets constitutes over two-thirds of the total cost of manufacturing beet-sugar ; and the cost is relatively much less for good beets than for poor ones. Factories that must work beets from which only 220 pounds of sugar can be extracted from each ton are distinctly at a disadvantage when compared with those that can extract 300 pounds with practically the same expenditure for manufacturing, even if the better beets cost considerably more. With a given quality of beets, it is very desirable that the quantity grown be as great as the economic conditions Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 53 will justify. For a good run of an average-sized factory, 3000 to 5000 acres or more of beets should be grown. It has been found that factories with a slicing capacity of 800 tons daily are materially more efiScient in sugar manu- facturing than are those handling less than 500 tons daily. It is a mistake, however, to build a factory with a large daily capacity in a district not capable of furnishing beets to supply the daily tonnage for a run lasting in the neighborhood of ninety to one hundred days. Since it is impossible to determine accurately beforehand just what acreage a new region will grow, it is usually better to build a medium-sized factory capable of being enlarged than to build a large one that may need to be removed. In choosing a location for a factory, one of the first considerations is an abundant supply of pure water. Large quantities of alkali salts or other foreign matter in the water make the extraction and purification of the juices much more difficult than with pure water. Cheap fuel must be available as well as a good quality of cheap limestone. With much bulky material such as beets, coal, and limestone to be moved, transportation costs run high unless the lowest possible rates are secured. For this reason it is an advantage to locate a factory where there is competition from two or more railroads. It is also better to locate the factory in a position as nearly in the center of the beet-growing area as possible rather than to favor a position near a village. The closer the factory is to the beet fields, the better is the condition of the beets when they reach the factory. CHAPTER V SOILS Successful sugar-beet production, as well as even' other phase of agriculture, is dependent on the intelligent han- dling of the soil. All farm profits ultimately go back to the land. Live-stock, important as it is, merely furnishes a means of marketing what the soil produces. Every effort should be made to understand the needs of the soil in order that it may be made to yield bounteously and permanently. RELATION OF SOIL TO BEET-CULTURE Sugar-beets are not so sensitive as to require a special kind of soil. They will grow on any good agricultural land on which the ordinary field crops tlirive. As with other crops, however, beets do better on some soils than on others. This is reflected much more in the yield than in the quality of beets. Wiley,^ after making a rather exhaustive study of beets raised on soils in many parts of the United States, reports : 1 Wiley, H. W., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bur. of Chem. Bvl. No. 96, p. 34. 54 Soils 55 " The data show in a general way what has been observed before, that the quahty of the soil has but Httle to do with sugar content of the beet. It is true that if the soils be so very poor that the beet is very much stunted in its growth, reaching a weight of only two or three ounces at maturity, the poverty of the soil would act in this way to increase the percentage of sugar in the beet ; but this is only incidental, since any unfavorable condition would act in the same way, as, for instance, a deficient rainfall or imperfect cultivation. It is quite certain that a very rich soil, in the presence of an environment otherwise favorable to a large growth, would have the opposite ef- fect, for the overgrown beet is prone to have an excess of cellular tissue, to become pithy and be less sweet. In this case, also, the effect is largely fortuitous, for it is evident that in any condition of over-fertility the beets may be grown so close together as to prevent large size, and thus their percentage of sugar may be largely con- served. "It is undoubtedly true that the use of certain fer- tilizers in definite proportions may tend to increase the percentage of sugar. This is particularly true of potash and phosphoric acid. On the contrary, an abundant supply of nitrogenous fertilizer may tend to depress the content of sugar. In the latter case the effect is probably due to a tendency to increase the growth, while in the former case it may be partly due to securing a proper ripening of the beet and thus avoiding overgrowth, and partly to actual saccharigenic influences of the fertilizers themselves. Whatever the physiological action may be, it is evident that neither soil nor fertilizer is the dominant 66 The Sugar-Beet in America or even important factor affecting the percentage of sugar in the beet." Even though, as pointed out above, the soil does not affect greatly the sugar-content of the beet, it is of the highest importance in determining yield ; and after all it is yield in which the farmer is most interested. The fac- tory is also interested in securing a high tonnage of sugar to the acre. Every phase of the soil should, therefore, be given consideration by the producer of sugar-beets. ORIGIN OF SOILS The material of which the soil is made has been de- rived largely from the rocks and minerals composing the crust of the earth ; but in some soils a considerable part is made up of vegetative matter from the bodies of dead plants. All agricultural soils contain a small quantity of organic matter which is intimately mixed with the mineral matter. It is difficult to tell in all cases just the kind of rock from which a given soil is derived, since a great amount of weathering and mixing often cause it almost to lose its original identity. Numerous minerals may be isolated from every soil, but in the finer soils the minerals are separated only with diflBculty on account of the minuteness of the particles. Among the most common minerals making up the soil are quartz, the feldspars, hornblende, pyroxene, mica, chlorite, calcite, dolomite, gypsum, apatite, and the zeolites. Each of these brings to the soil some plant-food that helps to nourish the crop. Some of them make much better soils than others, but all contribute their part. Soils 57 Few of these minerals occur separately; they are usually combined to form the different igneous and sedi- mentary rocks, which, on decomposing, form soils. Each one has its effect on the resulting soil. Granite, con- taining a potash feldspar, gives a soil rich in potash and also high in phosphoric acid, which comes from small apatite crystals. Eruptive rocks as a class decompose slowly, but usually form highly productive soils. Hard limestone dissolves slowly, but the softer varieties go into solution readily. Limestone soils, from which much of the lime has been leached, form some of the richest soils. Many of the better sugar-beet sections of America have soil high in lime. Sandstone soils are often poor, but this depends on the material cementing the grains together. Claystone soils are usually rich in plant-food, but are too heavy for the best growth of sugar-beets. Hardpans are formed where an excess of alkali accompanies the clay. Soils are formed from minerals and rocks by the various chemical and physical agencies of rock decay known as weathering. The most important of these agencies are : (1) heat and cold, (2) water, (3) ice, (4) the atmosphere, and (5) plants and animals. Their action is both me- chanical and chemical, the mechanical causing the break- ing up of the rock into finer fragments, and the chemical causing a change in the actual composition of the material. CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS Soils may be classified according to their origin as either sedentary or transported. Sedentary soils are of two 58 The Sugar-Beet in America kinds : those that overUe the rock from which they were formed, and those formed in place largely by the accumu- lation of organic matter, as in swamps. Transported soils vary with the agent used in carrying the materials of which they are composed. Those transported by running water are called alluvial ; by ice, glacial ; by wind, seolian ; and by the ocean, marine. Each of these kinds of soils has its own peculiar properties, although the composition is dependent largely on the rock from which it is formed. Probably more sugar-beets are raised on the alluvial soils than on any other group, although good beet sections are found on all the groups. In addition to classification according to origin, soils are sometimes classified by their chemical composition, by the native vegetation growing on them, by the crops to which they are suited, by the size of particles com- posing them, and by a number of other properties. For our purpose the classification according to the crop adap- tation is probably most interesting. SOIL AND SUBSOIL (Plates VI and VII) For practical purposes, the soil layer is divided into the surface soil and subsoil, the subsoil being the part below the plowed zone. Soils vary greatly in their general make-up; some are but a few inches deep and overlie rock, whereas others are hundreds of feet deep and fairly uniform throughout. Every gradation between these two is found, including clay surface soil with gravelly subsoil or gravelly surface with clay below. In arid regions the 1 % ' 3I Si '"'J 1 • ',:'::::^'-':}-'^^ m ^' ''-^^ wM ^"i ' '--^^ - ^ J^ -/ . y u Jh Soils 59 difference between the surface and the subsoil is not great, the subsoil being in many cases just as fertile and mellow as the upper layer. In humid regions, on the other hand, the subsoil is often compact and, on account of its lack of aeration, seems "dead" when brought to the surface. Such soils sometimes require a number of years to be- come fertile. Sugar-beets, on account of their deep pene- tration of roots and their high air requirement, find their best growth only in soils having a subsoil condition that is favorable. Any hardpan layer is particularly detri- mental. SOIL TEXTURE Soils vary greatly in the size of particles composing them. Some are made up almost entirely of coarse parti- cles ; others are composed entirely of fine. Most soils, however, contain some fine and some coarse grains, the relative number of each determining the texture, which cannot be modified by the farmer. The texture of the soil has a great infiuence on the method of tillage as well as on a number of its properties, such as the water-hold- ing capacity, the circulation of air, and the availability of plant-food. These all help in determining the kind of crop that should be grown. For example, peaches and cherries thrive on a soil having a coarse texture ; the small grains prefer a "heavier" soil ; sugar-beets and most other crops do best on soils of intermediate texture, such as the loams. The various sizes of particles composing the soil have been classified by the United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils, as follows : 60 The Sugar-Beet in America Table III. •Number of Soil Particles in a Gram of Soil OF Different Textures Name Diameter in AIlLLIMETERa Number op Particles IN A Gram op Soil 1. Fine gravel . 2. Coarse sand . 3. Medium sand 4. Fine sand . . 5. Very fine sand 6. Silt .... 7. Clay . . . 2.00O- 1.000 1.00O-0.500 0.500-0.250 0.250-aiOO 0.100-0.050 0.050-0.005 Less than 0.005 2.52 1,723 13,500 123,600 1,687,000 65,000,000 45,500,000,000 A soil composed entirely of particles of a single size is never found ; hence the name given to a soil type depends on the relative mixtm'e of these various sizes. The terms most commonly used for these mixtures are: (1) coarse sand, (2) medium sand, (3) fine sand, (4) sandy loam, (5) loam, (6) silt loam, (7) clay loam, and (8) clay. Farmers, speaking in a general way, usually call their soil sand, loam, or clay. Of the properties of the soil affected by texture, prob- ably none is of greater practical importance than the water-holding capacity. Moisture is held in thin films around the soil particles and the quantity that can be re- tained depends largely on the surface area of the particles, which, in turn, depends on the size of the particles. This is illustrated by the fact that a coarse sand will hold scarcely 15 per cent of water, whereas a clay may hold 45 per cent. Soib 61 SOIL STRUCTURE Structure refers to the arrangement of the soil particles, which may be wedged tightly together or so arranged that there is considerable air space between. The numerous sizes of particles present in any soil make possible a great difference in structure, particularly in fine soils. Soil tilth, which has such great practical importance, is determined largely by its structure, or the grouping of particles. Soil grains packed tightly together form a soil of poor tilth. When plowed, such a soil breaks up into clods instead of falling apart in granules or floccules. A loose structure gives lines of weakness extending in every direction through the soil. When this condition exists, the soil crumbles readily, but when the opposite condition is found, much work is necessary to put the soil in good condition. The facts that sugar-beets in growing expand greatly and that they require considerable air make very desirable a soil with a good structure. IMPROVING SOIL TILTH The tilth of a coarse-grained soil cannot be greatly af- fected, since it is always fairly good, but a clay requires constant care to prevent its becoming puddled. Many farmers have learned through experience that by culti- vating a clay soil when too wet, they can so injure the tilth that several years are required to get it back into good condition. Almost an\i:hing causing a movement in soil may affect its tilth. Among the common factors are: (1) tillage, (2) the growth of roots, (3) alternate freezing 62 The Sugar-Beet in America and thawing, (4) alternate wetting and drying, (5) or- ganic matter, (6) soluble salts, (7) animal life, and (8) storms. The tilth of the soil is the result of a combined action of a number of these factors, all of which improve it, except certain kinds of storms and certain soluble salts like sodium carbonate. AIR IN THE SOIL Oxygen is as necessary for the growth of plants as it Is for that of animals. It is, therefore, impossible to have a fertile soil unless there are spaces through which air can circulate. Seeds in germinating, and roots in growing, require oxygen which is absorbed while carbon dioxid is given off. The decay of organic matter uses oxygen and forms carbon dioxid which accumulates In the soil air. If conditions in the soil do not favor a free move- ment of air, the oxygen supply soon becomes reduced to a point at which plant growth is retarded. The aeration of the soil is dependent on texture, structure, drainage, and a number of other factors. In a coarse sand, air moves readily, but In a clay, especially if it is compact, the movement is slow. Puddling greatly reduces aeration, whereas flocculating the soil particles into groups pro- motes the ready movement of air. A water-logged soil, on account of the lack of oxygen, usually has a low crop-producing power. A free circu- lation of air, resulting from placing drains under such a soil, is In part responsible for the increased yields that follow drainage. The beneficial nitrifying and nitrogen- fixing bacteria require an abundant supply of oxygen for Soils 63 their best growth; their action is practically discon- tinued when the air supply is reduced greatly. SOIL HEAT The temperature of the soil is important because of its influence on the germination of seeds and on the growth of plants, and also because of its effect on chemical changes and bacterial action in the soil. When a soil is cold, life in it is dormant and chemical action is reduced. The earlier a soil is warmed in spring and the later it is kept warm in fall, the longer is the growing season. This is very important for sugar-beets, since there is not time during a short season to store large quantities of sugar. Soil heat is derived largely from the sun, the rays of which are most effective when striking perpendicularly. A south slope, therefore, is considerably warmer than one facing the north. A sandy soil is also warmer than a clay. On account of the high specific heat of water, a wet soil is much slower to warm up in spring than a well- drained soil. The high evaporation from a wet soil also reduces the temperature. Such factors as colors, specific heat, and tillage play an important role in regulating soil temperature. ^ ORGANIC MATTER The chemical, physical, and biological conditions of the soil are greatly influenced by organic matter because it reacts favorably on the tilth, the water-holding capacity, and the temperature of the soil. Through its decay, or- ganic matter increases the availability of mineral matter 64 The Sugar-Beet in America and hastens desirable chemical changes in the soil. It also makes possible the work of bacteria by furnishing them food. The organic matter of the soil is derived largely from the decay of roots, leaves, and stems. If the beet tops and crowns are left in the field, a considerable amount of organic matter is furnished. In arid regions, where the growth of native vegetation is light, the organic content of the soil is low and requires special attention. Indeed, the getting of a good supply of humus into the soil is one of the chief problems in the management of most soils. Organic matter is maintained by the addition of farm manure and other plant and animal refuse and by the raising of crops to be plowed under. The wise sugar-beet farmer will use large quantities of stable manure and, in his rotation, will arrange to plow under some leguminous crop or the manure resulting from it. On new land, it is often necessary to raise clover or alfalfa and turn under a crop before beets can be made to thrive. SOIL MOISTURE No factor in crop production is more important than soil moisture. Every plant and animal requires water for its life and growth. Plants may live a considerable time without receiving mineral food, but if water is with- held they soon wilt and die. The yield of beets in any particular year usually is a reflection of the moisture conditions during the growing season. Even in humid regions, the lack of available moisture often is responsible for a failure in the beet crop. On more than half of the Soils 65 tillable surface of the earth, the shortage of moisture is the chief limiting factor concerned in crop growth, while in parts of the humid regions an excess of water in the soil prevents the cultivation of vast areas of otherwise fertile land. It is apparent, therefore, that soil moisture is worthy of the most careful consideration. The quantity of moisture in the soil is not so stable as the mineral constituents, but it varies from season to season and from day to day. More is being added from time to time, and losses occur through a number of chan- nels. Even if for a short period no water is added or lost, a constant movement is going on with a tendency to es- tablish an equilibrium which is seldom or never reached. Many forces are at work, making it difficult to determine all the laws by which soil moisture is influenced. The conditions of the moisture depend largely on the quan- tity present and the nature of the soil, which is able to hold only about a certain amount of moisture. When more is added, it percolates rapidly. As the quantity decreases, the tenacity with which it is held increases. A sandy soil reaches the point of saturation with much less water than does a clay. The condition of the moisture, therefore, is not always the same with a given percentage, but varies with the texture of the soil. The water of the soil is usually divided into three classes, determined by the percentage present. These are : (1) free, or gravitational, (2) capillary, or film, and (3) hygroscopic water. The maintenance in the soil of the proper moisture content for the best growth of crops is one of the most difficult phases of farming. The practical side of this question is discussed more fully in Chapter X. 66 The Sugar-Beet in America SOIL ALKALI In many of the sugar-beet areas of America, a condi- tion known as alkali in the soil is met. This condition is found in practically all arid regions and results from the presence of large quantities of soluble material in the soil, which is rendered valueless by these salts if they are present in quantities that inhibit crop gro\s"th. Many soils containing considerable alkali will raise good crops until stronger concentrations are brought near the sur- face by evaporation of large quantities of water. In fact, some farmers contend that sugar-beets do better if a small amount of alkali is present. It is well known that after beets get a good start they are able to endure more alkali than many other common field crops. Experiments,^ however, have shown that young beet seedlings are rather tender, and if much alkali is present near the surface when the seed is planted, germination will be poor. In considering a tract of land for sugar-beet production, a careful survey of alkali conditions should be made, since new land is not likely to show the salt so much as is old, particularly when careless methods of irrigation are used. In the management of soils containing rather large quan- tities of soluble salts, even though toxic limits have not been reached, the farmer should know how to prevent accumulation at the surface. He should also make pro- vision to reclaim the land when such a step becomes necessary. 1 Harris, F. S. "Effect of Alkali Salts in Soils on the Ger- mination and Growth of Crops.'! J out. Agr. Research. Vol. V. pp. 1-52 (Oct. 4, 1915). Plate VII. — Top, an alkali spot, showing a soil condition unfavorable to sugar-beets ; center, a full crop of alfalfa being plowed under to pre- pare the land for sugar-beets ; usually corn or potatoes follows alfalfa a year before beets are planted ; below, plowing beet land, Colorado. (Photo L. A. Moorhouse.) Soils 67 Any soluble salt present in sufl&cient quantities may be considered an alkali. The salts most commonly causing injury are sodium chloride, or common salt ; sodium sul- fate, or Glauber's salt ; sodium carbonate, or salsoda ; and magnesium sulfate, or epsom salt. In addition to these, sodium nitrate and a number of other salts cause injury in some districts. Sodium chloride is injurious to beets when present in lower concentra- tions than any of the other salts mentioned; sodium carbonate, or black alkali, injures the soil when present in low concentrations by dissolving the organic matter and causing a hard crust to form. Beets will grow in rela- tively large quantities of the sulfates. The injury done to crops by alkali salts results largely from the shutting off of water from the plant on account of the soil solution's having a greater concentration than the plant-cells. By the law of osmosis, water passes from the dilute to the more concentrated solution. In a normal soil the root has a cell-sap with a higher concen- tration than the soil solution ; hence water passes from the soil into the plant. When the soil solution is made too concentrated, water passes out of the roots into the soil and the plant dies. The permanent reclamation of alkali lands rests on the removal of the excessive salts by drainage. The methods of accomplishing this are discussed in Chapter X. Where the accumulation of alkali results from the over-irriga- tion of higher lands, the remedy is obviously the preven- tion of percolating water, which carries soluble salts from the higher and concentrates them in lower lands. Any practice that reduces evaporation, such as cultivation, 68 The Sugar-Beet in America cropping, or the use of farm manure, tends to reduce the accumulation of these salts. ACID SOILS Soil acidity is not nearly so serious a problem in the sugar-beet areas of the country as is alkali, but in some districts it occurs. Sugar-beets, in common with most ordinary crops, require for their best growlh an alkaline, or basic, reaction of the soil. This is not the condition mentioned above as alkali, but refers to the chemical reaction. Such important crops as alfalfa can hardly be made to grow on an acid soil, since the bacteria that fix nitrogen in connection with growth on the roots of these plants require a basic reaction. Acid soils are most often found in humid regions where the basic ele- ments of the soil minerals have been leached out, leaving the acid part behind; in swamp lands where the decay of large quantities of vegetable matter also results in an acid condition due to the accumulation of organic acids. An acid soil is indicated by the growth of a number of plants, among which are common sorrel, sour dock, and horsetail, also by the failure of alfalfa and other leg- imies to do well. Blue litmus paper and a number of other laboratory tests may be used in determining acidity and the amount of lime necessary to correct the condition. The kind of lime to use depends on conditions; burned lime and ground limestone both accomplish the result. Ground limestone, however, is usually cheaper and, if fine enough, is effective. SoUs 69 PLANT-FOOD IN THE SOIL The method by which plants secure their food from the soil has been known less than a century. From the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans down to the beginning of the nineteenth century, investigators sought to find some one substance in the soil that was the real food of plants. At different times it was thought to be fire, water, niter, oil, and many other materials. During this period all plant-food was supposed to come from the soil ; it was not known that the greater part of it comes from the air. Of the ten elements required by plants, seven, in ad- dition to those obtained from water, come from the soil. These are potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, sulfur, and nitrogen. A number of non-essential elements, including sodium, chlorine, and silicon, are also taken up by most plants. All crops require the same elements for their growth, although they do not use them in the same proportion. Sugar-beets and potatoes use relatively large quantities of potassimn, the grain crops require considerable phosphorus, while alfalfa and clover use more calcium. Soils are made up largely of insoluble material of no food value to plants. The amount of actual plant-food in the soil is comparatively small, but since plants do not use large quantities of this food, the supply of most of the elements is sufficient for crop production. Only a small part of the total plant-food of the soil is available during any one year. Roots penetrate every part of the surface soil, but they can absorb only the material that is in solu- 70 The Sugar-Beet in America tion. The carbon dioxid given off by roots assists in dissolving the minerals of the soil. The making available of reserve plant-foods as fast as needed by crops is one of the chief problems of soil man- agement. This is done : (1) by tillage, which aids the weathering agencies in their action on soil particles; (2) by drainage, which allows air to circulate more freely through the soil; (3) by plowing under organic matter, which in decaying helps to make the minerals soluble; and (4) by numerous other less important means. The nitrogen present in the soil is made available by nitrifica- tion, which is favored by tillage and by a desirable mois- ture-content. Plant-foods that are likely to be scarce are discussed in Chapter VI. SOIL BACTERIA The soil is not a mass of dead matter, but is filled with myriads of living organisms, which are constantly trans- forming its compounds and renewing its productiveness. These organisms work on the bodies of plants and dead animals and make the material composing them useful to growing plants. All life on the earth is dependent for its continuance on these unseen organisms, but for whose renewing action the available plant-food would in time be consumed, all plant life would then cease, and animals would soon follow. The most important of these organisms of the soil are the bacteria, the existence of which was discovered in 1695. They are so small that it would take about 25,000 of them placed side by side to reach an inch. They in- Soils 71 crease very rapidly when conditions are favorable. Many of the diseases of plants and animals are caused by bac- teria. This does not mean that all are harmful; many are decidedly beneficial. These germs cause the decay of the coarse organic matter of the soil and assist in the formation of the more useful humus. They are exceedingly important in con- nection with the nitrification, that is, with the transfor- mation of nitrogen from the unavailable form to the nitrates, which are taken up by crops. Certain forms of bacteria also assist in fixing the nitrogen of the air and in making it into a food for plants. This is done mainly in connection with the legume crops, although some forms fix nitrogen without the aid of legumes. SELECTING A SUGAR-BEET SOIL As previously stated, sugar-beets do not absolutely re- quire any given kind of soil ; they are successfully raised on almost every type of soil when other conditions are favorable. This does not mean that all soils are equally well suited to raising the crop. Usually it does not pay to raise beets on any but well-adapted soils. A number of conditions must be strictly avoided. One of these is a hardpan near the surface that would inter- fere with the deep rooting of the beets. Another condi- tion to be avoided is a water-logged soil. Of course this can usually be overcome by drainage, but as a rule beets should not be planted until after the drain is in operation. So far as texture is concerned, a loam is best adapted 72 The Sugar-Beet in America to beets, for it is easy to work and allows a ready move- ment of air. At the same time, it will hold sufficient moisture to meet the needs of the beet plant. A sand, although easy to work, is likely to be lacking in fertility and water-holding capacity. A clay, though having a high water-holding capacity, is likely to be difficult to work and is usually not sufficiently well aerated. Depth, proper texture, fertility, and desirable w^ater relations de- serve careful attention. CHAPTER VI MANURING AND ROTATIONS The fact that sugar-beets may often be raised for several years on the same land without a decrease in yield has led many farmers to believe that the productivity of the land can be maintained without either the appli- cation of fertilizers or changing the crop. The opposite point of view, that beets are very hard on the land, is some- times held. Neither of these extremes is true. Where sugar-beets are raised continuously, a certain amount of food is carried away. Particularly is this the case if the tops and crowTis are removed, since they contain the great part of the mineral salts of the entire plant. An unreplenished deposit of money in the bank, no matter how large, will in time be exhausted if continually drawn on. The plant-foods in the soil may be considered in much the same way. Fortunately most soils on which sugar-beets are raised in America are high in mineral plant-foods ; further, very little of this mineral matter is lost if the by-products are returned to the land. Nevertheless, maintaining the fertility of the soil and thereby insuring a high yield is one of the chief problems of sugar-beet production. 73 74 The Sugar-Beet in America PLANT-FOOD REQUIREMENTS OF BEETS As previously stated, all crops use the same foods, but they do not use these foods in the same proportion, and as a result, the various crops have different fertilizer needs. Of the seven mineral foods used by crops, all are present in most soils in suflBcient quantity to meet the needs except nitrogen, potash, and phosphorus. In a few exceptional soils other minerals are lacking, but they form no important need. The following table gives the amount of these scarce plant-foods used by sugar-beets in com- parison with other crops : Table IV. Mineral Foods Removed from the Soil by Crops Gbop Yield Nitrogen Potash Phosphoric Acid Sugar-beets 10 tons 30.0 pounds 70.0 pounds 14.0 pounds Potatoes . 6 tons 47.0 pounds 76.5 pounds 21.5 pounds Wheat . . 30 bushels 48.0 pounds 28.8 pounds 21.1 pounds Barley . . 40 bushels 48.0 pounds 35.7 pounds 20.7 pounds Oats . . . 45 bushels 55.0 pounds 43.1 pounds 19.4 pounds Corn . . 40 bushels 56.0 pounds 23.0 pounds 21.0 pounds Meadow hay . . 1.5 tons 49.0 pounds 50.9 pounds 12.3 pounds Red clover 2.0 tons 102.0 pounds 83.4 pounds 24.9 pounds This table shows that sugar-beets use relatively large quantities of potash but not so much nitrogen or phos- phoric acid. Studies of the effect of the various fertilizers on growi:h have shown that excessive nitrogen stimulates leaf growth. Manuring and Rotations 75 Potash is closely associated with photosynthesis in the formation of sugar in the leaves, whereas phosphoric acid is required in large quantities in the formation of seeds. This may explain in part the high potash re- quirements of sugar-beets, since work must be carried on in the leaves in producing sugar. WAYS OF MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY Various means may be used in maintaining the pro- ductivity of the land. Probably no system is complete that does not provide for the return to the land of at least a part of the mineral matter removed by the crop. This may be accomplished by the use of barnyard manure or by the addition of the substances in the form of com- mercial fertilizers. The plowing under of green-manure may also help in making available elements contained in the soil in large quantities, but in a condition that the crop cannot make use of them. In cases in which legumes are used for green-manure, there is also a direct addition of plant-food in the shape of nitrogen. Every good sys- tem of keeping the soil productive will include a rotation so arranged that the maximum returns will be secured and that will, at the same time, maintain the soU in good condition. Under most conditions, the practical method of maintaining the fertility of sugar-beet soil will combine all the ways mentioned. Farm-yard manure will be supplemented by the wise use, in a commercial form, of elements necessary to balance the needs of the crop on any particular soil; and crop rotations will be practiced in which some legumes will be plowed under as 76 The Sugar-Beet in America a green-manure. With this combination, the produc- tivity of the soil should not only be kept up but should actually be increased. HOW TO DETERMINE FERTILIZER NEEDS In order that there may be no waste of material, it is important to know just what are the fertilizer needs of the soil. This problem is not so simple as it might at first seem to be. Soon after the methods by which plants feed and the elements they require from the soil were discovered, it was thought that by making a chemical analysis of the soil, its fertilizer requirements could be determined at once. It soon was found, however, that so many factors entered into the problem that this method could not be relied on. For example, an analysis may show a soil to be rich in potassium and at the same time this soil may give a marked response to the addition of potash fertilizers. This is true for all plant-food ele- ments. In some cases, the elements shown by a chemical analysis to be lowest in the soil are the ones that give least returns when added as fertilizers. Numerous exper- iments have shown that an analysis of the soil is useful when taken with other tests, but that alone it is not sufficient. Field tests carried over long periods of time have been found necessary in making a thorough diagnosis of the needs of a soil. These may be supplemented by pot tests and by chemical analyses. A complete understand- ing of a soil cannot be obtained without a combination of field and laboratory tests. When all this information Manuring and Rotations 77 is brought together and carefully studied, a fairly ac- curate judgment of the soil requirements may be made. The practice of applying any kind of fertilizer the dealer may have for sale, without making a thorough investi- gation, cannot be too strongly condemned. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR BEETS In some regions where an abundance of farm manure is available, little or no commercial fertilizer may be needed for beets. There are many sections, however, where the supply of manure is insufficient. In these places com- mercial fertilizers will find increased use. The kind of fertilizer will of course depend largely on soil conditions. From Table IV it is evident that the sugar-beet plant uses relatively large quantities of potassium, which means that sugar-beet fertilizers should be well supplied with this element. After this requirement is satisfied, an effort should be made to supply a well-balanced fer- tilizer for the average soil. Voorhees ^ shows that sugar- beets grown on light soils often require potash, while on heavier loamy soils this element is not needed. He brings out the fact that fertilizers that produce too rapid or too prolonged growth tend to reduce the percentage of sugar. Phosphoric acid is one of the most necessary constituents to produce a large and rapid leaf growth in the early part of the season when the plant is preparing itself for the storage of sugar. This fertilizer should, therefore, be present in comparatively large quantities in the soluble form during the early period of growth. » Voorhees, E. B., "Fertilizers," pp. 235-240. 78 The Sugar-Beet in America While applying nitrogen in a form to encourage steadj' and continuous growth would result in a large yield, it would also produce beets low in sugar. In order to en- courage the desirable early growth, nitrogen should be supplied largely in the readily available form in the spring before planting; organic, or slow-acting, forms should not be applied at that time. When beets are raised for stock feed, fertilizing should be done in such a way that rapid and continuous growth is secured. This is accomplished by large applications of nitrogen and phosphoric acid tlu-oughout the season, especially the former. The liberal use of farm manure would be desirable in this connection, especially on heavy soils. On light soils all the fertilizer elements could be supplied as commercial fertilizers. A discussion of the sources of the various fertilizer elements follows. Nitrogen. The most expensive of all the fertilizer elements is nitrogen. The supply of this element is also limited. Formerly, it was obtained in the form of guano, which is manure and decayed bodies of birds, but this supply is now practically exhausted. At present the chief source is the beds of sodium nitrate, or Chile saltpeter, found in Chile. It lies near the surface of the ground in great beds, but is so mixed with rock and earth that the leach- ing out of the salt is necessary before it is ready for market. Nitrogen in the form of sodium nitrate is directly avail- able to plants. Ammonium sulfate is another important source of Manuring and Rotations 79 nitrogen. In making coal-gas by the distillation of coal, a quantity of ammonia is given off. The gas is passed through sulfuric acid in which the ammonia is removed and ammonium sulfate formed. This salt is about 20 per cent nitrogen. By means of electricity and in other ways, it is possible to combine the nitrogen of the air in such a manner that it can be used as a fertilizer. The chief products of these processes are calcium nitrate and calcium cyanamid. The main diflBculty in the way of using these fertilizers more widely is the lack of cheap power which is required in their manufacture. Many animal products are used for their nitrogen. Dried blood, dried flesh, ground fish, tankage, hoof-and- horn meal, and wool and hair wastes are all used. The availability of nitrogen in these compounds decreases about in the order named. The nitrogen of dried blood is available at once, whereas in leather and hair it becomes available slowly. It is probable that the future supply of nitrogen wUl come more and more from the use of leguminous plants rather than from the addition to the soil of material from the outside. The supply of these materials is diminishing, but there is no limit to the use that may be made of these nitrogen-gathering crops. Phosphorus. Fertilizers yielding phosphorus are obtained from both organic and mineral sources. Bones in various forms are extensively used. Formerly they were used chiefly raw, both ground and unground; now most of the bone is 80 The Sugar-Beet in America steamed or burned to remove fat and nitrogenous ma- terials which are used for other purposes. The fine grinding of bone makes its phosphorus more readily avail- able. Tankage relatively high in bone is used largely for its phosphorus; if high in flesh scraps it is valuable for its nitrogen. Bone is sometimes treated with sulfuric acid to render its phosphorus more available. Mineral phosphorus is found in several kinds of rock, which usually have the phosphoric acid in combination with lime, iron, and aluminum. The presence of the last two elements reduces the availability of the phos- phorus. Rock phosphates are used in various ways. Formerly practically all of the rock was treated with sulfuric acid to form super-phosphate, or acid phosphate as it is often called; but of late years the use of finely ground raw rock-phosphate has increased, especially in soils rich in organic matter. The acid phosphate is doubt- less more immediately available than the raw rock, but it is also much more expensive. In the manufacture of steel from pig-iron, much phos- phorus is removed with the basic slag, called Thomas slag. It is often ground and used as a fertilizer. Potassium. Most of the potash fertilizers used in the world have in the past come from the Stassfurt deposits in Germany. Here many minerals rich in potash are found. Some of these are ground and put directly on the land ; others are leached with water to concentrate them before being used. Kainit and silvinit are among the most common of these minerals. Manuring and Rotations 81 Wood ashes have for generations been known to be high in potash. They are often applied directly to land, but are sometimes leached to obtain the potash in a more concentrated form. In some countries where sunshine is abundant, sea water is evaporated and potassium ob- tained by fractional crystallization. During the last few years much potash has been obtained from kelp, which is harvested in the sea with special boats. This is a promising source of potash. The mineral alunite is also being used to a considerable extent as a source of potash. Rather extensive beds occur in Utah and other parts of the West. Other minerals, such as orthoclase feldspar, have a rather high potash- content, but cheap methods of making it available have not yet been developed. INDIRECT FERTILIZERS Many soils, particularly in humid regions, have an acid reaction which is not conducive to the best growth of most crops. It is necessary to neutralize this acidity be- fore sugar-beets will thrive. This is best done by the use of some form of lime. Burned lime has been used ex- tensively, but it is gradually giving way to finely ground limestone which is much easier to handle and much cheaper. The effectiveness of limestone depends to a great extent on the fineness of grinding. Many substances are added to the soil because of their stimulating action. Among the most common of these are common salt, gypsum, iron sulfate, soot, and man- ganese salts. It may be advisable to use some of these 82 The Sugar-Beet in America materials in special cases, but their general use is not recommended, since they add no plant-food and their temporary benefit may have a later and undesired re- action. HOME-MIXING OF FERTILIZERS Many farmers would rather pay more for fertilizers that are already mixed than to take the trouble of mix- ing them. This is largely because they do not realize how much more they have to pay for the various elements when purchased in the commercial brands of fertilizer than if obtained as the simple fertilizing materials, such as sodium nitrate, acid phosphate, and potassium sulfate. Fertilizer manufacturers possess no special secrets that cannot be learned by any farmer who will study the subject a little. It is a poor policy to pay hundreds of dollars every year for a fertilizer about which nothing is known except what is told by a salesman. Better economy would lead the farmer to spend a few dollars buying books on the subject, as the information obtained from any good book on fertilizers may make possible a saving of 25 to 50 per cent of the fertilizer bill. Any farmer can, with but little expense, prepare a place in which to mix fertilizers. Then by purchasing the materials best suited to his conditions, he can mix them himself and thereby obtain a much more effective fertilizer at the same cost. FARM MANURE FOR SUGAR-BEETS In every beet-producing section an effort should be made to utilize fully all farm manure that can be obtained. Manuring and Rotations 83 This is the surest means of preserving soil fertility. Prac- tically every farm produces a quantity of this by-product of animal husbandry, and a wise use of it is fundamental to permanent agriculture. Since the very dawn of history the excreta of animals have been used as fertilizer. Al- though for a long time little was known of the way in which it improved the soil, the increased yield of crops was evident. Manure is now known to benefit the soil by adding directly a quantity of plant-food, by increas- ing the organic matter, and by aiding the work of de- sirable organisms. It may not in all cases be a com- plete and well-balanced fertilizer for beets in all soils, but it can always be recommended with safety. Where sugar- beets have been raised for any length of time, farmers have learned the great value of manure. Probably no other common field crop has done more to promote a careful use of farm manure. The amount to apply depends on that available, the nature of the soil, and the rotation used. When beets are raised in a regular rotation, the manure can usually be applied with greater profit to the sugar-beet crop than to almost any other crop in the rotation. An applica- tion of five to twenty tons to the acre usually gives good results ; ten tons is a fair application. The amount de- pends in part on the kind of manure. Quality is influ- enced by the kind of animal producing it and by a number of other factors. Manure produced by poultry and sheep is concentrated and dry; that produced by cattle and horses contains more moisture and coarse material. The manure of any kind of animal is influenced by the kind of food it eats and by its age and work. Old animals 84 The Sugar-Beet in America that do but little work and eat much rich food produce the best manure. Liquid manure is richer in plant-food elements than the solid, but it lacks the organic matter so beneficial to most soils. Good husbandr^y requires the saving of both the liquid and the solid manure, which can easily be kept together if suflBcient bedding material is used to absorb the liquid. Handling farm manure. Experience has demonstrated that the best way to handle manure is to haul it out and spread it on the land while it is fresh. This prevents any serious loss from leaching or fermentation, which are the methods by which manure deteriorates. When left carelessly exposed to the weather for six months, manure loses about half its value. This loss can be overcome in a large measure by proper storage without expensive equipment. The plant- foods contained in manure are readily soluble and but little rain is required to dissoh^e and carry them away. If manure is left scattered in the open yard, it is wet through by every rain and the greater part of the plant- food is washed out before the season is over. If manure has to be stored for any length of time, it should be piled so that it cannot be leached. This may be done by putting it under cover or by making the pile of proper shape. Manure is filled with bacteria and fungi which are constantly at work. Some of these make the manure heat, causing a loss of considerable nitrogen. Since these destructive organisms work best in manure that is fairly loose and dry, their action is most easily prevented by Manuring and Rotations 85 compacting the manure to exclude air and by keeping it moist. Many farmers haul manure to the field and leave it standing for months in small piles. This practice allows destructive organisms to work rapidly. More- over, the leaching of the piles causes an irregular dis- tribution of plant-food in the soil. The idea that the manure should not be spread until the farmer is ready to plow it under is erroneous. Manure must be stored during a part of the year if no vacant land is available for spreading it. Storage may be in special manure-pits, under sheds, or in the open yard. Expensive pits probably do not pay, but simple devices to assist in handling manure are doubtless good. When an open yard is used, the neatest and most sani- tary kind of pile, as well as the one allowing least loss, is one with vertical sides and with edges slightly higher than the middle. The manure that is produced each day should be put on the pile and should be kept compact and moist. A manure-spreader is a great time-saver and makes possible a more even distribution than can be made by hand. GREEN-MANURES The plowing under of growing plants to increase the organic content of the soil has been practiced for gen- erations. This practice has been found favorable, par- ticularly in preparing new land for sugar-beets. The decay of plants helps to make available the mineral foods of the soil, and to correct physical defects. Plate VII. Legumes make the best green-manure crops, since they increase the nitrogen supply by taking this element from 86 The Sugar-Beet in America the air and combining it in such a way that it can be used by other plants. The clovers, vetches, cowpeas, soy- beans, field peas, and alfalfa are all plowed under as green- manures. The small grains are also much used for this purpose. A worn-out or poor soil will usually produce a fair growth of rye which, when plowed under, puts the soil in a condition to raise other crops. For beet land under irrigation, probably no crop will be better as a green-manure than alfalfa w^hich is used in a rotation wherein the last crop of alfalfa is plowed under. ROTATIONS Reasons for crop rotations. Some sort of crop rotation has been practiced for many centuries. The reasons for this practice were probably not at first understood; even today all the ef- fects of alternate cropping are not kno-wTi, but so many reasons are now evident that no good excuse seems to exist for not practicing some kind of rotation on almost every farm. As pointed out in Table IV, all crops do not require the various foods in exactly the same propor- tions: some use more potash or nitrogen; others need relatively more phosphorus or lime. If one crop is grown continuously on the same land, the available supply of scarce elements is reduced and the yield will finally decrease; but if crops with different requirements are alternated, the food supply of the soil is kept in a more balanced condition. Each kind of plant has a differ- ent rooting system and manner of growth. If shallow- rooted crops are grown continuously, only part of the Manuring and Rotations 87 soil is used; an alternation of deep- and shallow-rooted crops overcomes this diflBculty. The improvement of the soil furnishes one of the chief reasons for crop rotation. This improvement is made possible by the use of legume crops, which fix nitrogen from the air. The nitrogen fixed by these crops can be used by others which follow in the rotation, but it would be lost practically if legumes were raised continuously. The control of plant diseases, insect pests, and weeds is made possible by the rotation of crops; indeed, such considerations often compel a farmer to change his crops when he would not otherwise do so. Economy in the use of man-labor, horse-labor, machinery, and irrigation water results from the raising of a number of crops on the farm. These considerations alone, without any other benefits, would be sufficient for practicing rotations. Sugar-beets require a great deal of tillage. The land must be plowed thoroughly and deeply ; cultivation dur- ing the growth of the crop is practiced; and finally at harvest time, the land must be stirred to considerable depth to get out the beets. The large roots go deeply into the soil and promote thorough aeration, and when the beets are topped a large quantity of organic matter is added to the land from crowns and tops. All these practices promote a desirable condition in the soil. It is also highly desirable to have part of the results of these intensive methods of cultivation reflected in later crops. This end is achieved by rotating the crops. The crop that follows beets in the rotation is benefited by the tillage given to the beet crop, even though beets add no plant- food to the soil as do legumes. 88 The Sugar-Beet in America Principles of good rotations. No one rotation is good under all conditions ; soil type, climate, markets, and many other factors must be con- sidered when planning a rotation. A number of cardinal principles, however, if kept in mind, will be of considerable assistance. It is first necessary to decide what crops can best be grown under the conditions and what area of each crop it is best to grow. The following principles should then be observed : (1) raise about the same acreage of each crop every year ; (2) have at least one cash crop ; (3) include a legume crop in the rotation; (4) alternate tilled and non-tilled crops; (5) alternate deep- and shallow-rooted crops; (6) alternate exhaustive and restorative crops; (7) include crops that together will make the best use of irrigation water, labor, and equipment ; (8) a forage crop should be included ; (9) follow the best sequence of crops ; and (10) add manure to the right crop in the rotation. It is not always possible to conform to all these rules, but they may serve as useful guides. Rotations with sugar-beets. The rotation that should be practiced varies with so many conditions that the naming of any particular one to include sugar-beets may be misleading. It must be remembered, therefore, that no rotation is best for all conditions. Some of the factors that influence the rota- tion are : (1) kind of soil, (2) the kind of crops that can be raised profitably in the region, (3) the proportion of the farm that is to be planted to beets, (4) the amount of fertilizer available, (5) the number of live-stock kept on Manuring and Rotations 89 the farm, (6) the presence of pests and diseases, (7) the amount of labor that is available, and (8) many other conditions. In several of the beet-producing areas where beets have been raised almost continuously for many years, the nematode has made it impossible to continue the crop unless a rotation is introduced. In planning a rotation for these conditions, it is necessary to eliminate plants that will foster this pest. Crops available for this pur- pose are listed in Chapter XIII. In several districts land has become so high-priced that it is impossible to raise at a profit many of the crops that would ordinarily be included in rotations with sugar- beets. Where a condition of this kind is found, the plan- ning of a good rotation becomes a real problem. The plant-foods removed by the beet crop may be added in commercial fertilizers, but this does not keep out injurious diseases and pests, neither does it provide the proper balance in the farm business. A short rotation used in some of the areas of California having high-priced land consists of beans and sugar-beets. In the Arkansas Valley of Colorado and western Kan- sas, the cucurbit group of crops forms an important part of the rotation with sugar-beets. Cantaloupes are the principal of these ; cucumbers are also important. These crops, with alfalfa and in some cases potatoes, make the principal crops to alternate with beets. In northern Colorado and in parts of Utah, several canning ci'ops, such as peas, beans, and tomatoes, enter into the rotation. These crops, taken with alfalfa, pota- toes, sugar-beets, and grain, enter into most of the ro- 90 The Sugar-Beet in America tations. Under these conditions, it is a rather common practice to allow alfalfa to grow until the latter part of May, then plow under the crop and after thoroughly working down the land, plant potatoes or corn. The next year beets are planted. The organic matter plowed under with the alfalfa adds to the humus supply of the soil and enriches it in nitrogen. A farmer having eighty acres of land and wishing to raise twenty acres of beets and having as other possible crops, alfalfa, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, and the small grains, might arrange his crop in a rotation some- thing like this : alfalfa, four years ; followed by potatoes, corn, or tomatoes, one year ; beets, one year ; peas or beans, one year ; beets again, one year ; grain as a nurse crop with alfalfa, one year. This would give an eight years' rotation with the following acreage each : alfalfa, forty acres ; corn, potatoes, or tomatoes, ten acres ; beets, twenty acres ; peas or beans, ten acres ; and wheat, oats, or barley, ten acres. A variation of this rotation would be to put the two beet crops together and let the peas or beans follow ; or if it was desired to have as large an acreage of beets as possible, the peas and beans could be eliminated and the beets raised three years continuously if well manured, giving a total of thirty acres of beets. If the farm were small, the same general arrangement could be main- tained, only it is probable that the relative area planted to beets would be larger. The rotation could readily be extended or shortened a year or two by increasing or decreasing the length of time the land was in alfalfa. Where alfalfa does not thrive, the same general plan Manuring and Rotations 91 could be carried out with some other sod crop, such as clover or grass. In a rotation of this kind the use of manure is usually most effective if applied just previous to the beet crop. In plowing up alfalfa, it is usually bet- ter to plant the land to some crop such as corn or pota- toes for a year before planting beets because of the in- terfering action of the coarse alfalfa crowns. Clover and grass land may often be planted to sugar-beets at once, especially if fall-plowed. CHAPTER VII CONTRACTS FOR RAISING BEETS It seems desirable both for the sugar company and for the farmer to have a contract on the raising of beets signed before the crop is planted. The farmer would have no market for the crop of beets if the sugar company did not buy them. He might feed a few to stock, but on the ordinary beet farm only a comparatively small number could be used in this way. He shoukl be sure, therefore, before planting the crop, that the sugar company will take it ; otherwise, he runs the risk of a heavy loss. Like- wise, the sugar company needs to know early in the sea- son the approximate tonnage of beets that it will have to slice in order that necessary equipment and supplies may be secured. These conditions have led to the universal practice of contracting in advance all beets that are raised for the factory. ADVANTAGES OF CONTRACTING Farming is one of the most uncertain of all businesses. This is partly because of the irregularities in prices. One year potatoes or hogs will be high and the farmer thinks he should produce more of these commodities ; but by the time he has a large number of potatoes or hogs to sell, the 92 Contracts for Raising Beets 93 price has gone so low that he makes nothing. The same condition is repeated to an extent with most products of the farm that are marketed in the usual way. The farmer should have some crop that he can depend on, with the selling price known at the beginning of the season. This condition is found in contracted crops like sugar-beets. They may not give such high returns every year as some other crops, but the fact that a knowTi price can be depended on tends to stabilize the entire farm business. With crops that are contracted, the farmer can depend on getting his money soon after harvest. Prob- ably all crops should not be contracted in advance, but a desirable arrangement is to have some contracted crop raised in connection with others that are marketed m the usual way. ITEMS INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT The contracts used by different sugar companies vary greatly in their content. Some go into considerable de- tail and specify every point ; others cover only the more important questions. Items included in some contracts for raising beets are the following : amount of seed to be planted to the acre, price of seed, price of seeding, price of beets, provision for the supervision of growing by the factory agriculturist, specific directions regarding cul- tural methods, time of digging, methods of topping, method of weighing, method of taking tare, standards for condition and composition of the beets, time of pay- ment, provision for furnishing labor, and a number of other points. 94 The Sugar-Beet in America No single contract includes everything. In one region one item is important and is mentioned ; in another region this item may never cause disagreement and would, therefore, probably not need to be mentioned. TYPES OF CONTRACTS Most beet contracts are similar in their wording and in the points they include but vary in such details as the price paid for beets, the time of performing the different kinds of work, and rates for sliding scales, and profit sharing. The flat rate contract, wherein the farmer re- ceives a definite price for a ton of beets regardless of their sugar-content or the price of sugar, is popular in many districts because of its simplicity and because no laboratory tests and complex systems of accounting are involved. The flat rate contract, however, is not likely to be so fair to all concerned as either the sliding scale, based on sugar-content of beets, or the profit-sharing plan, based on the price of sugar or the net profits from the manu- facturing of it. Although these systems of setting the price of beets are rather difficult to handle, tlie}' make it possible for the sugar company to pay more on the aver- age for beets, because the farmer takes part of the risk. Why should not both parties share the hazards of the business and also share in its profits ? Most companies also have a labor contract by the provisions of which they assist the farmer to secure the hand labor required in thinning, hoeing, and digging. The sugar company is able to get in touch with this Contracts for Raising Beets 95 labor much easier than the individual farmer and it, therefore, maintains a labor department whose duty it is to assist the farmer to get help when he needs it. Often contracts call for some special bonus based on the total quantity of beets in the district or some other con- dition that will boost the industry. These are usually local and, therefore, call for no particular discussion. SAMPLE CONTRACTS The following contract gives a flat rate for beets, but allows the farmer to share the benefits of a rise in price of sugar : No. . . Acres . , Sugar Company SUGAR-BEET CONTRACT (Locality) 1918 THIS AGREEMENT, in duplicate, this . . day of 191 , by and between .... SUGAR COMPANY, a . . . . Corporation, hereinafter called the Sugar Company, and . . . of , County of .... , . . . , hereinafter called the Grower. WITNESSETH : The Grower agrees to grow in the year of 1918, from seed to be supplied by the Sugar Company . . . . . . acres of sugar-beets, and to deUver and seU the entire crop therefrom to the Sugar Company, and the latter agrees to buy and pay for the same, upon all and singular the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, to-'wat : 1. The Grower will prepare and cultivate the said land and harvest the beets grown thereon in a husbandUke manner, and deliver all beets with the tops closely cut off at the base of the 96 The Sugar-Beet in America bottom leaf, and will use reasonable effort to protect the same from frost and sun. The Sugar Company w\W furnish the seed at 15 cents per pound to the Grower, and plant the same, when so requested, at the rate of 65 cents per acre. 2. DeUvery of beets shall bo made as follows : Until and including October 15th, only as required by the Sugar Company ; and after October 15th, the Grower shall deUver without further notification aU unharvested beets, the Sugar Company reserving the right to reject beets containing less than 12 per cent Sugar. The Sugar Company, at its option, may accept or reject any beets not delivered on or before November 30th. 3. All such beets to be delivered at the expense of the Grower in a manner and condition satisfactory to the Sugar Company, in the sheds or on cars at the .... factory, or at the re- ceiving station at In case of no care, the Grower agrees to unload in piles as directed bj' the Sugar Com- pany and shall receive ten cents per ton for such piling. 4. The Sugar Company shall not be bound to accept diseased, frozen, damaged, and improperly topped beets, and beets which do not otherwise meet requirements hereof. 5. The weight of dirt delivered with beets shall be deducted in the customary manner, and such deductions shall be conclusive. 6. The Sugar Company, on the fifteenth day of each month, will pay $9.00 per ton for all beets delivered and received during the preceding calendar month in accordance Avith the terms, specifications and requirements of this contract, that shall test over 15 per cent in sugar content. In addition to the aforemen- tioned payment, the Sugar Company will pay the Grower his proportion of one-half the increase in the price of sugar, if any, above $7.45 per cwt.. Seaboard Refining point, based on the quantity of sugar sold at such increased basic price. The latter payment to be computed and made when all the sugar manufac- tured from the beet crop of 1918 has been sold. 7. The Growers shall have the privilege of selecting, at their expense, a man of reliable character, satisfactory to The Sugar Company, to check the tares and weights of the beets grown under this contract, at the receiving stations where such beets may be delivered. 8. The Sugar Company, at its pleasure, during the growing, harvesting and delivery of the beets, shall have the privilege and shall be accorded the opportunity, by the Grower, of sam- Contracts for Raising Beets 97 pling the beets, in order to ascertain the quaUty thereof, by polar- ization and analysis. It is agreed that the polarization and analy- sis by the Sugar Company shall be accepted as conclusive. 9. This agreement shall bind both the Grower and his legal representatives, and the Sugar Company and its successors, and shall not be transferable by the Grower without the written con- sent of the Sugar Company, its successors and assigns. SUGAR COMPANY, By Witness: Agent. Grower. P. O. Address The following contract provides for a sliding scale of prices based on the sugar-content of the beets. ORIGINAL MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT Between Grower and Sugar Company (Locality) L THE GROWER agrees to prepare the land for, plant, block, thin, cultivate, irrigate, harvest, and deliver during the season 191 , in compliance with the directions of SUGAR COMPANY, hereinafter called THE COMPANY, as may be given from time to time, acres of sugar- beets on the following described lands, to-wit : quarter-section, Township, .... Range, H 98 The Sugar-Beet in America County, (State) ; but in no event shall THE COMPANY be held liable in damages for any failure or partial failure of crop or any injury or damage to beets. 2. That the seed used shall be only that furnished by THE COMPANY, for which the grower shall pa.v ten cents (10^) per pound, and twelve (12) pounds per acre shall be planted, the same to be paid for out of the first beets deUvered. Seed-bed must be approved by the duly authorized agents or field men of THE COMPANY, before the seed is planted. 3. THE GROWER agrees that all beets grown by him will be harvested and delivered to THE CO^NIPANY as directed, at the factory, or in cars at designated receiving stations of THE COMPANY, properly topped at base of bottom leaf, and that knives will not be used for lifting beets ; but hooks may be used, provided they are properly driven into the top of the crown of the beet only. THE GROWER further agrees that all beets grown and delivered by him shall be free from dirt, stones, trash, and foreign substance liable to interfere with the work at the factor^', and shall be subject to proper deductions for tare, and that he will protect the beets from sun or frost after removal from the ground. THE COMPANY has the option of rejecting any diseased, frozen or damaged beets, beets of less than twelve per cent (12%) sugar or less than eighty per cent (80%) purity, or beets that are not suitable for the manufacture of sugar. It being agreed and understood that THE COMPANY shall not be obliged to re- ceive any beets prior to October 8th containing less than fifteen per cent (15%) sugar. It also being understood that THE COMPANY will commence receiving the crop as soon as the beets are thoroughly matiu'ed. 4. In the event that any portion of the beets grown under this contract (except that portion of the crop which is to be siloed as herein provided) shall not by the 8th daj^ of October of said year be ordered dehvered by THE COINIPANY, then in such case it shall be the duty of THE GROWER to promptly commence and proceed with the harvesting and delivery of such beets as come within the contract requirements after the said 8th day of October without further notice from THE COMPANY, and to fully complete delivery of all of said beets on or before the first day of December of said year. 5. THE GROWER agrees to silo, if so directed in writing by THE COMPANY prior to harvest, any portion of the tonnage Contracts for Raising Beets 99 produced on the above contracted acreage not to exceed twenty- five per cent (25%) of the entire crop grown hereunder. 6. Beets dehvered and accepted will be paid for by THE COMPANY, as follows : $8,375 per ton for beets testing not less than 12 per cent sugar and under 14 per cent $8.50 per ton for beets testing not less than 14 per cent sugar and under 14.5 per cent $8,625 per ton for beets testing not less than 14.5 per cent sugar and under 15 per cent $8.75 per ton for beets testing not less than 15 per cent sugar and under 15.5 per cent $8,875 per ton for beets testing not less than 15.5 per cent sugar and under 16 per cent $9.00 per ton for beets testing not less than 16 per cent sugar and under 16.5 per cent $9,125 per ton for beets testing not less than 16.5 per cent sugar and under 17 per cent $9,25 per ton for beets testing not less than 17 per ,ceu<; sugar and under 17.5,pCr cent $9,375 per ton for beets testing not less than 17. 5 per c^nt sugar and under 18 per, cent $9.50 per ton for beets testing not less than 18 per cent sugar and under 18.5 per cent $9,625 per ton for beets testing not less than 18.5 per cent sugar and under 19 per cent $9.75 per ton for beets testing not less than 19 per cent sugar and under 19.5 per cent And twelve and one-half cents (12§ji) per ton additional for each one-half per cent above 19.5 per cent. For all beets siloed one dollar ($1.00) per ton extra will be paid. It being distinctly understood, however, that none of such siloed beets shall be dehvered until THE COMPANY sends written instructions to THE GROWER to make deUvery of "siloed beets" ; also that all of said siloed beets shall be ordered and de- livered prior to January 31st. Payment to be made the 15th of each month for beets de- livered and received during the previous calendar month. 7. THE GROWER shall have the privilege of selecting, at his expense, a man of reUable character, satisfactory to THE 100 The Sugar-Beet in America COMPANY, to check the tares and weights of the beets grown under this contract, at the receiving stations where such beets may be delivered, and to check in the tareroom laborator3^ the polarization of his beets. 8. It is further agreed in the event of a shortage of cars after October 8th, causing serious delay to THE GROWER, said GROWER shall be allowed to fork his beets into piles, providing he piles them eight (8) feet high, under the direction of TPIE COMPANY, at the receiving stations where large elevated dumps are established ; and no loose dirt shall be removed from the wagon box until after having been weighed back. 9. To ascertain the quality of said beets, THE COMPANY shall have the privilege at various times during the gro%ving and harvesting season of causing the beets to be sampled and polar- ized. 10. THE GROWER agrees not to assign this contract with- out written consent of THE COMPANY. The Silo clause of this GROWER cp-atracf wiU not be enforced . . SUGAR COMPANY for'th^ year 1918: By (Place): 191 . 'tlie following is a contract between the sugar company and laborers it secures for the farmers. LABOR AGREEMENT IT IS HEREBY AGREED Between Mr of No Street, City of , and The Sugar Company of That the said laborer and associates agree to take care of acres of sugar-beets ; for certain farmers who have contracted with The Sugar Company to grow beets ; the labor to consist of blocking and thinning, once hoeing, and pulUng, and topping. Sufficient number of men are to be fur- nished to do the work in a careful and efficient manner that shall be satisfactory to the farmer. The Sugar Company agrees that the farmer will make settle- ment with the laborers when each part of the work is done, as follows : Contracts for Raising Beets 101 S12.00 per acre when the thinning and hoeing is completed. $10.00 per acre when the pulUng and topping is done. It is also agreed that The Sugar Company is to furnish for the farmer a comfortable home in which the laborer is to Uve, and transportation from his present city to the house in which he is to live. As a guarantee of the performance of the above contract it is agreed that The Sugar Company is to retain for the farmer two dollars per acre from the first settlement until the work is com- pleted in the fall. It is further agreed that on arrival at the place of labor, a con- tract will be entered into between the laborer and the farmer whose beets he is to care for, which shall supersede and cancel this agreement but will describe more specifically the work to be done. THE SUGAR COMPANY Per Dated 191 . Laborer. A form of labor contract between the sugar company and the farmer is given below. ORIGINAL GROWERS' APPLICATION AND AGREEMENT FOR BEET WORKERS, 1918 SUGAR COMPANY, I, , of County of .... , State of .... , hereby make application to the .... Sugar Company (hereinafter called the company), for hand laborers to care for acres of sugar-beets, planted in rows . . • . , . inches apart, to be grown by me for said Sugar Company on Section , Township . . . . . County , State of .... , during the season beginning with the spring of 1918 ; the cost of such labor 102 The Sugar-Beet in America to be Twenty-three Dollars ($23.00) per acre for beets planted in rows Eighteen (18) to Twenty-two (22) inches apart inclu- sive; Twenty-one DoUars (S21.00) per acre for beets planted in rows Twenty-four (24) to Twenty-six (26) inches apart inclusive ; and Nineteen Dollars (319.00) per acre for beets planted in rows Twenty-eight (28) inches apart. I hereby agree that, in consideration of the said Company securing beet workers for me, and furnishing them -with railroad transportation, I will sign a contract with such beet workers, at prices above mentioned. I further agree to transfer the laborers from the railroad station to and from the land to be worked for me, or to pay the cost of such transfer, and to furnish such laborers with a suitable dwelling place and water, and to haul fuel while they are em- ployed under this agreement. In case the Sugar Company furnishes a house for the laborers, I agree to pay for rent of said house fifty cents (50 $f) for each acre of mj^ beets worked by said laborers. I further agree that for all money advances made by the said company, to care for the growing crop under the terms of this agreement, I wiU give to the said company my promissorj^ note, bearing seven per cent annual interest, payable November 15, after date of note. It is understood that the said company will undertake to furnish the best laborers obtainable, but I will not hold the said company responsible for the efficiency of said laborers or failure to secure same. Dated , 191 . (Signed) Grower. Witness: The phraseology of any of these contracts might be varied, but they illustrate the type of agreements en- tered into in the production of sugar-beets. CHAPTER VIII PREPARATION OF SEED-BED AND PLANTING The seed-bed is the home of the young plant. If that home is favorable, the plant gets a good start and has a fair chance to make a satisfactory growth ; if it is un- favorable, the plant is doomed. No matter how good the seed or what provisions are made for caring for the crop later on in its life, a satisfactory yield cannot be obtained unless the plant has a favorable condition in which to begin its life and to grow during the period when it is tender. In outlining methods of obtaining a good seed-bed, it must be remembered that conditions differ widely and that no practice will fit all conditions. The object is to make the soil a suitable home for the young plant. The practice that will produce this result in any locality is the one to use. In discussing the question for all conditions, only general suggestions can be offered ; the details must be worked out locally. EFFECT OF PREVIOUS CROP The methods of preparing land for sugar-beets cannot be discussed independently of the previous crop. If a sod crop is followed by beets, every effort must be made to 103 104 The Sugar-Beet in America kill the sod plant and to promote the decay of roots and crowns. Considerable attention must also be given to stirring the land deeply in order that the beet root may have a mellow soil in which to grow. If potatoes or a root crop have been grown on the land, the soil will al- ready be loosened to considerable depth and there will be no coarse plant residues to care for. Under these con- ditions, the preparation of a seed-bed for beets is com- paratively simple. In planning a rotation in which sugar- beets are included, this question should be given due consideration, particularly in arranging the order in which the crops should follow each other. This is discussed more fully in Chapter VI. REASONS FOR PLOWING The most fundamental operation in the preparation of the seed-bed is plowing. One of the distinguishing features between the agriculture of the savage and that of civilized man is the difference in plowing : the one merely scratches the land sufficiently to get the seed planted ; the other stirs and pulverizes the entire surface layer of soil. In this process many desirable results are obtained : the structure, or tilth, of the soil is impro\-ed ; air is better able to penetrate to the roots; undesirable plants and weeds are killed ; manure, stubble, and other plant residues are covered and decay is thereby hastened ; and moisture is conserved. Every plant requires for its best growth that looseness of soil which permits a free passage of air and an easy penetration of roots. This is particularly true of sugar- Preparation of Seed-Bed and Planting - 105 beets. When left undisturbed for a number of years, the soil becomes compact and is not in the best condition for crop growth. It is necessarj^, therefore, to loosen it by the use of some tillage implement, preferably the plow. In cultivating the soil to improve tilth, attention must be given to the amount of moisture present. A soil plowed when too wet will become more compact than it was before plowing. Plowing should mean more than the mere turning over of the soil. (_If plowing is well done, every clod will be 'v shattered and every particle have its relation to every \ other particle changed through the shearing action that / should take place when the plowed slice is turned over. I As the soil falls into the furrow, it should be a granular \ mellow mass of loose particles. The kind of plow that ' will best produce this condition varies with each soil. Sand or loam may be made mellow with any kind of plow, but a heavy clay without organic matter can be given a good tilth only when every condition is favorable. I . Organic matter accumulates at the surface of any soil that is cropped. In the orchard, leaves fall ; in the grain field, stubble is left after harvest ; and in meadows that are to be followed by another crop, a sod must be turned under. These plant residues cannot decompose readily if left at the surface ; they need to be turned under and mixed with the soil in order to decay and give up their plant-foods as well as to assist in making available the mineral matter of the soil. Farm maniu'e is constantly being applied to the land, and must be covered and mixed with the soil if it is to do the most good. Practically all of this cover- ing must be done with some kind of plow, although the 106 The Sugar-Beet in America disk harrow finds occasional use where the land has been plowed recently. One of the most important reasons for cultivating the soil is to conserve moisture. Even in regions of abundant rainfall it is often necessary to save soil moisture, and in arid regions the very life of agriculture depends on con- serving the scant supply of water. If the soil is compact and hard, rain water will run off the surface rather than penetrate the soil where plants can use it. The soil must, therefore, be loosened in order that it may absorb moisture. The water that is in the soil moves from particle to particle, and if the surface particles are pressed tightly together the water will rise to the surface where it is lost by evapora- tion. This loss can be prevented by stirring the surface and forming a loose, dry mulch of earth which retards the escape of moisture. TIME OF PLOWING Many factors must be considered in determining the best time to plow, such as the amount of moisture in the soil, the rush of other work, the climatic conditions during the winter, the time of harvesting the preceding crop, and the time at which the land is to be seeded. As a rule, it pays to plow for sugar-beets in the fall rather than in the spring. This is probably more true for this crop than for any other, although fall-plowing is usually con- sidered good for practically all crops ; there are, however, a few conditions in which spring plowing seems to give better results. Fall plowing is desirable because it allows the turning Preparation of Seed-Bed and Planting 107 up and mellowing of deep soil which winter-freezing will make congenial to crops; it secures a more complete decomposition of organic matter; it breaks up a cloddy and compact condition; it allows more of the winter rainfall to be stored ; it allows time to establish capillary connection between the plowed portion and the subsoil; it makes possible the earlier use of sod land for the beet crop ; it exposes and kills many insects and fungous pests ; and by giving better conditions for decay it allows the best use to be made of manure applied in the fall. The mellowing frosts of winter bring about changes in the soil that would require a great amount of labor to accomplish. This is especially true on heavy land that is made friable only with great difficult}^ One decided advantage of fall plowing in regions having heavy winter and spring rains is that the beet crop can be planted much earlier with fall than with spring plow- ing. If the farmer has to wait in the spring till the land is well dried before plowing, the season is far advanced before seed can be planted. Harrowing should follow plowing, after which enough time should elapse for the soil to settle before seed is planted. By this time the surface soil is dry and the seeds have to be planted deep in order to obtain the moisture necessary for ger- mination. In many regions it is the custom to plow beet land shallow in the spring after fall plowing. This has the advantage of killing weeds that come up early in the spring, and it leaves a mulch on the surface. It has the disadvantage of drying out the surface; it also entails considerable extra expense. Farmers in many of the 108 The Sugar-Beet in America leading sugar-beet areas find that spring plowing can well be dispensed with, particularly on heavy soils. In many regions it has been found that heavy land planted to beets or potatoes the previous year may be put in good shape without plowing, by giving the surface a thorough treatment in the spring. This is done by " taking ^ a fine tooth harrow, riding it and running it as deeply as possible, following with a float which will form a fine mulch on top and prevent crusting. Then take a spring-tooth harrow and run it as deeply as possible the same way the rows of beets are to run at least three or four inches deep. Next follow immediately with a fine tooth harrow in order to keep the land worked down and retain the moisture and not allow clods to form. The same process should be repeated crosswise, running the spring tooth an inch or two deeper if possible. Go over it again with a roller or leveler to get the surface firm enough for planting." While this method seems to eliminate plowing, it does not in reality do so, since the digging of the potatoes or beets is practically equivalent to a fall plowing and the treatment is not recommended except for heavy land that has raised these crops. DEPTH OF PLOWING The proper depth of plowing has always been a topic of discussion among farmers. One will say that the deeper the plowing the better; another will affirm that shallow plowing is best. It may be that neither has » Austin, Mark, Utah Farmer, Vol. 12, No. 31, Mar. 3, 1917. Plate VIII. — Above, (Photo by J. A. Brock) culti-packer preparing land for sugar-beets in Colorado ; center, (Photo by J. A. Brock) prep- aration of land for beets with a tractor, Colorado ; below, (Photo by T. H. Summers) the spring-tooth harrow is an excellent implement to prepare land for sugar-beets. Preparation of Seed-Bed and Planting 109 made any careful investigations in which costs have been figured. All seem agreed that for beets deep plowing is desirable, since the expanding roots require a soil that may be moved readily; but just what deep plowing is seems to be entirely a matter of local judgment. In one place twelve inches would be called deep plowing; in another locality nothing less than eighteen or twenty inches would be so designated. Ordinarily where mechanical traction power is available, the land is plowed deeper than where horse power is de- pended on. In some sections an attempt is made to plow all beet land twenty to twenty-four inches deep. Other sugar-beet areas find half this depth ample. The nature of the soil and other local conditions are doubtless im- portant considerations in this connection. The length of time the land has been cultivated must also be taken into consideration. It would most likely be unwise to plow land twenty inches deep when it had previously been plowed only eight inches. The amount of raw soil thus turned up would probably render the land almost wholly unproductive the first year, particularly if the deeper soil were heavy and compact. The use of the subsoil plow was highly recommended for sugar-beets in the early days of the industry in America, but now there is little said of it. In some areas it doubt- less pays to subsoil, but usually subsoiling cannot be recom- mended as a regular practice in connection with plowing. In digging beets the land is in reality subsoiled; this is ordinarily all that is necessary. In some soils that have never produced beets, a subsoiling would probably be beneficial, but it certainly is not necessary to success in 110 The Sugar-Beet in America raising beets and it is an expense that should, therefore, be eliminated. Conditions in each locality must determine what depth land should be plowed, but for a great part of the sugar- beet area a thorough plowing to a depth of twelve to fifteen inches is ample. When experience demonstrates that deeper plowing will pay for the extra expense it en- tails, greater depth should be practiced, but the extra cost should always be considered. FINAL PREPARATION (Plates VIII, IX) Much depends on the final preparation of the land for planting. Good plowing counts for little if it is not fol- lowed by tillage methods that put the seed-bed in a con- dition that will favor a quick germination of the seed and a rapid growth of the young plant. This means that the top few inches must be fine and mellow and at the same time firm and moist. This preparation should be done early in order to make possible early seeding. If the land is too dry in the spring to respond well to tillage, it may be u-rigated, but this irrigation must be given early. Usually irrigation will not be required be- fore seeding, but when necessary it should be given before the seed-bed is finally prepared, since it enables the farmer to make a much finer, more moist, and better bed for the germinating seed. Definite directions cannot be given regarding the im- plement to use. The tool that does the best work is the one to employ. The nature of the soil will determine Plate IX. — .1 , ..ii\ ( lu.-t nm.-t he Ijroken l)eforo the land is ready for beets ; below, a good stand of beets just ready for thinning. Preparation of Seed-Bed and Planting 111 whether disk harrow, spring-tooth harrow, spike-tooth harrow, float, or roller should be used. Often a combina- tion of several of these implements is required to secure satisfactory results. It must be remembered that the young beet seedling is extremely tender, and too much care cannot be given to prepare the land for its initial growi:h. Thorough disking, harrowing, and floating are the successive steps usually followed. The float may often be followed to advantage by some implement to firm the soil just below the surface, for sugar-beet seed is not planted deep. A number of good implements are available for this firming. Finally, a light harrowing makes a thin surface mulch and kills the weeds that are newly germinated. The weed problem must be kept definitely in mind in this final preparation, because if all the weeds are not killed about the time the beet seed is planted, they will get ahead of the beets and cause much trouble. Weeds are most easily killed just when they are starting. The land cannot be harrowed after the beets are planted ; and by the time they are high enough to cultivate, the weeds may have a good start. Rolling the land is often practiced to make the surface smooth and to break clods. Compacting the surface soil with the roller increases capillary movement toward the surface, thereby hastening the loss of moisture. The fact that the soil seems more moist after a roller is used often misleads farmers into thinking they are actually saving water. Probably the farmer is, under certain conditions, justified in sacrificing part of the moisture in the soil in order to secure a better germination than is likely to follow 112 The Sugar-Beet in America compacting the soil around small seeds. If, the land were compact in its original unplowed condition, the loss of moisture would result without the benefits of placing the seed in close contact with a firm soil. THE SEED With no crop is greater care necessary to secure good seed than with beets. It is so highly important that the sugar companies have taken the matter in hand and furnish seed to all farmers contracting to raise beets for them. Beet seed to be good must have the proper breed- ing; its sugar-producing quality must be up to the standard by actual demonstration. This is a matter that cannot be guessed at by the seed grower; he must know just what the seed will do. The seed must be up to standard in power to germinate, since poor germination means a poor stand and this is a serious matter for the sugar-beet grower. The seed should have a bright ap- pearance ; if it is dark colored, it may have been wet and the germinating power thereby reduced. A number of treatments to improve germination ha\e been tried with varying success. Treatment with sulfuric acid increases germination, but the trouble and expense of this treatment will probably prevent its general use. Scarifying the seed with a special machine hastens the germination of hard seeds, but this is not widely practiced. For the present, the farmer's effort should be centered on securing good seed instead of trying to revive poor seed by special treatment. A fuller discussion of the seed question is given in Chapter XV. Preparation of Seed-Bed and Planting 113 TIME OF SEEDING The date of planting seed varies with the region and with the season. In the Mississippi Valley and the East, the time of planting is between April 1 and June 1. In Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, it is two or three weeks earlier. Adams ^ gives the time for plant- ing in California as follows : Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys January 15 to March 15 Southern California October 1 to April 1 Central Coast Counties February 1 to June 1 In most regions the season of planting is late March, April, and early May. Seeding time should not be de- termined by the calendar, but by soil and weather con- ditions. The soil should be warm and moist and the period of severe frosts should be past. Early seeding has many advantages and some draw- backs. If the seed is planted early and for any reason the stand is poor, there is still time to re-seed. There is also the advantage that the young plant can use the early spring moisture to germinate and get up before hot weather causes a crust to form. If seeding is done too early, there is danger of the seed remaining in the cold soil so long that it rots before there is sufficient heat to germinate. In some localities the time of planting is determined by seasonal winds which dry the land and cause it to crust or in other ways injure the newly planted seed or the seedling. Dates of planting must be chosen so that the seedlings will not be at a critical stage during the season when regular unfavorable winds occur. 1 Adams, R. L., Calif. Exp. Sta., Cir. No. 160. 1917. I 114 The Sugar-Beet in America METHOD OF PLANTING (Plate X ; Fig. 10) The distance between rows varies from eighteen to thirty inches; twenty inches is the ordinary distance. If land is poor or if water is scarce, the beets must be planted farther apart or they do not continue a vigorous Fig. 10. — Four-row beet seeder. Rear view. growth throughout the season. Under any conditions the rows must be far enough apart to permit horse-drawn cultivators to go between them. In each locality the distance is usually uniform in order to allow an inter- change of machinery. Tillage implements are made to cultivate a number of rows at a time ; consequently, the spacing should be regular. The amount of seed planted varies from about twelve J'l.AiE X. — A'-"-', i''ijurtesy Truman G. Palmer) plauting sugar- beets, C\>lorado ; the extending arms are used as markers ; center, (Courtesy Union Sugar Co.) two engines with connecting cables pull- ing machinery in beet fields, California : below, (Courtesy Facts About Sugar) cultivating and hoeing sugar-beets, Iowa. Preparation of Seed-Bed and Planting 115 to twenty pounds to the acre. More seed is required if the land is not in a condition to hasten germination. The size of seed also affects the amount to be used. It is poor economy to save unnecessarily on beet seed, since a good stand is so indispensable to a good yield. For the average soil that has been well prepared, about fifteen pounds of average seed to the acre gives excellent results. The depth of planting is very important. It is easy to plant the seed too deep and thereby to reduce its vitality. The seed of the sugar-beet has little food stored in it. If it is planted deeply, this reserve is used up before the plant is able to manufacture its own food. The depth of moisture necessary to germinate the seed must also be considered. Seed planted in dry soil will not germinate, and it is better to have a plant that is weak due to deep planting than to obtain no plant at all, because of plant- ing in dry soil. Usually seed is planted between three- fourths of an inch and one and a half inches deep. If the condition of the soil permits, shallow planting is to be preferred. This is particularly true on heavy land that is likely to crust. Many types of beet drills are on the market. No type is best for all kinds of soils. In some cases the seed is planted one seed in a place and scattered regularly along the row. In some sections a type of drill that drops the seed in hills to facilitate thinning is finding favor. THE STAND A good stand of beets is so important that every means should be used to secure it. If, for any reason, the first 116 The Sugar-Beet in America seeding does not produce a uniform stand, it is often desirable to re-seed. It may be that the crop will have to be planted several times. One of the chief causes of a poor stand is a crust which forms at the surface after the seed is planted and before it comes up. If the seeding is light, the single plants may have difficulty pushing through, whereas a heavier seeding would place several plants near each other and together they could break through the crust. IVIany kinds of mechanical devices are used to break the crust. The roller is often employed. A very efTecti\'c implement consists of special wheels running directly over the rows. These have spike points or knives which penetrate the crust suflBciently to enable the tender plants to come through without disturbing the soil enough to injure the seedling. CHAPTER IX CULTURAL METHODS The acre-yields of sugar-beets are lower in America than in the European countries, largely because cultural methods here are not so thorough. The higher price of hand labor, together with the availability of land, has made the American farmer less inclined to give to his farming opera- tions the painstaking care necessary for high yields. This condition made him slow to take up beet-raising in the first place, and it makes him remain a little behind the European farmer in the care he gives to the crop. In regions in which sugar-beets have been raised longest, farmers are learning that they are well repaid for the extra work they give to the beet crop. They are finding that for every dollar spent on better culture, they may obtain several dollars in return. The operations deserv- ing most attention in this connection are thinning and cultivation. The practices are suggested in Plate X, and in the test figures. THINNING (Plate XI) Preparation for thinning. The first requisite to good thinning Is an even stand of beets. If this can be secured from the first seeding, so 117 118 The Sugar-Beet in America much the better ; but if not, re-seeding should be resorted to. A satisfactory crop cannot be raised if only half the beets come up. In some soils no treatment is necessary from the time the seed is planted till the beets are ready to thin. In some sections, however, it is advisable to roll the land soon after the beets come up and before they are thinned. Some disagreement exists as to the value of this rolling, but many farmers believe it to be of de- cided benefit on some soils. The practice of beginning cultivation as soon as the beets are up enough to show the rows has many advantages. It helps to conserve the moisture ; it keeps in check weeds that come up so abundantly at this season of the \'ear ; it gives to the rapidly-growing 3'oung plants the supply of air needed by their roots ; and it facilitates thinning. Blocking and thinning. No operation in the entire process of beet-raising is more important than thinning. Losses resulting from poor thinning are not easily apparent ; for this reason the danger is greater. At the time the beets are thinned, the farmer is rushed with other work, and since this operation is very slow and tedious, the tendency is to hurry over it. If each farmer could perform his own work, sufficient care would probably be taken, but most thinning is done by contract labor or by children, and as a result it is usually far from perfect. When the work is contracted, at least part of the pay should be based on the acre-yield of the crop instead of entirely on the area thinned. When a flat rate for an acre is paid, it is diflScult to secure satisfactory work. When *«<-■ >^ :-K^ \l,i Plate XL — Alto^e, thinning sugar-})eets, Utah (Photo by U. S. Dept. of Agr.) ; below, cultivating young beets ; continual cultivation is necessary for the best growth of beets. Cultural Methods 119 children are employed, careful supervision is necessary, since they do not realize the difference in yield resulting from careful and slovenly work. Beets should be thinned about the time they have four leaves. Before this time, it is impossible to tell which will be the strong plants. Later, the shock to the plants that are left is so great that they do not easily recover. Much more damage is done by leaving beets too long be- fore thinning than by thinning them too early. When the farmer has a large acreage, he must begin a little too early and continue a little too long in order to thin most of the plants when they are the proper size. Planting on two or three dates is necessary with large acreages in order to make thhming at the proper time possible. The distance apart to leave plants depends on a number of conditions. If the land is rich, the beets may be closer together than if it is poor. If the season is short, they may also be left closer in order to hasten an early maturity. Under some conditions, the highest yield and sugar-con- tent are obtained where the beets have from 144 to 160 square inches of surface to the plant. With the rows twenty inches apart, the plants would be about eight inches apart in the rows. This would give 39,200 plants to the acre. If the beets weighed one pound each, a perfect stand would give a yield of 19.6 tons to the acre. In some places the beets are left as much as eighteen inches apart, but so great a distance usually results in a decreased yield. In a few places where the beets grow exceptionally large, this distance may be justifiable. When the beets are close together the yield may be higher, but the extra work of handling the smaller beets 120 The Sugar-Beet in America often makes the farmer satisfied with the lower yield. The whole question of distance of spacing is so much de- pendent on local conditions that the farmer is safer in following local practice than any general advice. It is probable that the distance is more often too great than too small, since in thinning more ground can be covered if the beets are far apart and the tendency is to stretch ten inches to twelve or fourteen. Under average con- ditions, from ten to twelve inches is about the correct distance. After deciding on the time to' thin and the distance be- tween beets in the row, the next thing is a sharp hoe with which to do the blocking. This is accomplished by cutthig out all plants in the row except bunches that are left as far apart as the beets are to grow. From these bunches all plants but one are removed. In blocking the beets, it is well to lay out a strip of land containing sixteen to twenty rows and proceed much as in plowing the land so as to leave a back furrow with soil hoed from the fur- row as seldom as possible. Later in cultivating the rows with the back furrow, the soil and clods are thrown on the young plants and may injure them. Expert blockers with the right kind of hoe can make the proper width with a single stroke. Nexi; comes the tedious process of thinning (Plate XI), in which all the plants except one are removed from the bunch. In every case the most vigorous plant in the bunch should be left. Experiments have shown an appreciable difference in yield where a comparison was made between leaving the weak and the strong plants. If two beets are left at a place, each interferes with the other, pro- Cultural Methods 121 diicing two under-sized and undesirable beets at harvest time. Losses from poor thinning. The United States Department of Agriculture/ as a result of three years' experiments carried on in Utah, showed the importance of having a good stand. The differences in treatment were hardly noticeable by a casual observation, but were easily seen when actual measurements were made. Although the beets were con- siderably larger where the stands were thin, the extra size did not nearly make up for the thin stand ; the correlation between stand and yield was remarkably close. Poor stands were almost entirely due to careless thinning, spacing, hoeing, and cultivation. Leaving the beets in pairs had a bad effect on the yield. Planting deeper than is customary resulted in more damping-off in the young beets and consequently in a poorer stand. The loss in stand before thinning was over 19 per cent, that during thinning over 21 per cent, and the loss be- tween thinning and harvest almost 7 per cent, or a total of 47.55 per cent loss in stand, so that the average showed only one beet to every 16.4 inches. Some farmers who were able to maintain a stand averaged a beet to each ten to twelve inches in the row. These farmers harvested a crop not only larger in proportion to the better stand, but the beets with a thicker stand averaged higher in sugar. When the stand at harvest was 76.8 per cent perfect, the yield was 30.5 tons to the acre ; when it was 1 Shaw, H. B., Dept. of Agr., Bui. No. 238. 1915. 122 The Sugar-Beet in America 60.3 per cent perfect, 17.2 tons; and when but 29.6 per cent perfect, 10.3 tons to the acre. In addition to the losses in stand due to poor cultural methods, there were losses caused by imperfect germination which might be attributed to the following causes : poor preparation of seed-bed, imperfect operation of seed drills, late frosts, damping-off disease, blowing of light sandy soils, flea-beetles, cutworms, and wireworms. Losses due to delayed thinning are shown from the following yields obtained in Germany : Time or Thinning Yield — Tons Loss AT $5 A Ton At proper time One week later Two weeks later Three weeks later 15.0 13.5 10.0 7.0 $ — $ 7.50 $25.00 $40.00 HOEING Two hoeings by hand are usually required ; three are sometimes necessary. This is the chief item of expense after thinning and topping. Much depends on hoeing at the proper time in order that weeds do not get started and take the nourishment and moisture that are needed by the young beet plant. It is likewise important that the hoeing be thorough. This is much more important for sugar-beets than for a crop like corn that grows rapidly and soon shades the weeds. In the beet field it is the weeds that do the shading. Hoeing is often contracted in con- nection with thinning. This is very satisfactory since it ..t, t^ Plate XII. — Above, (Courtosy Facts About Sugar) IkjcIiik suRar- beets, Mirhigan ; center, (Courtesy Union Sugar Co.) irrigating sugar- beets, California ; below, ditch used to sub-irrigate beets ; this method of irrigation is used rather extensively in parts of California and Utah. Cultural Methods 123 gives opportunity to require a re-thinning when the work was done carelessly the first time. CULTIVATING As previously stated, cultivation should begin as soon as the rows can be seen and should be continued till the FiQ. 11. — Four-row beet cultivator with pivot axle and frame leveling lever. leaves become so large that they are injured by the cul- tivator. Probably the most important single cultivation is that given immediately after the beets are thinned. If properly done, it enables the young plants to revive better from the shock they receive when their companion plants are removed and the soil is moved away from their roots. Under ordinary conditions the cultivations will 124 The Sugar-Beet in America be repeated about every ten days. This time may, how- ever, be modified somewhat by rains or by irrigation. WEEDING KNire d" 5. Fig. 12. — Cultivator attacliments to be used at different stages in the growth of the beet. Several good cultivators are on the market. These provide a number of attachments, varying from the "spider" to the weeding knife, to be used at difl'erent stages in the growth of the crop and for different con- Cultural Methods 125 ditions. Two-rowed and four-rowed cultivators are both employed. The larger one is used almost exclusively for the larger acreages. Plates XI and XII and Figs. 11 and 12 indicate some of the methods. Specific directions as to just when and how to cultivate are almost useless, since practices vary so much with con- ditions. The best method is the one that will most surely accomplish the ends sought : the aerating of the soil, the conservation of moisture, and the control of weeds. Each one of these would be enough to justify frequent cultivation ; combined they make it imperative. Few farmers cultivate too much; many cultivate too little. A crop may be raised with very few cultivations, but every time the soil is properly stirred the yield of beets is increased. Just before the leaves cover the ground, the final cultivation should be given and it should be thorough but not deep. CHAPTER X IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE The sugar-beet plant responds readily to a favorable moisture condition in the soil. It cannot be classed as either drought-resistant or a water lover; it requires an intermediate amount of moisture similar to that de- manded by such crops as potatoes and the grains. The amount of labor expended on a crop of beets is so great that every effort should be made to maintain the most favorable moisture-content in the soil in order that the yield of the crop may justify the expense necessary to raise it. The practical methods of affecting the soil moisture are by irrigation water where the rainfall is not suflScient, and by drainage on land that is too wet. IRRIGATION (Plates XII, XIII ; Figs. 13-22) Beets adapted to irrigation fanning. Most of the sugar-beets raised in America are produced with the aid of irrigation water. Michigan is the only important beet-producing state in the United States that is not in the irrigated region. The beet-sugar industry was started in the humid part of the country, but it made no great success till it was carried to irrigated lands. The 126 Irrigation and Drainage 127 yield of beets is greater under irrigation than where water is not supplied. This is probably because irrigation makes possible the maintaining of a more desirable moisture- Fio. 13. — Reservoir for irrigation water, and diversion dam. content in the soil than can be relied on from the rainfall alone. Sugar-beet culture is adapted to intensive farming on ac- count of the great amount of man-labor that must be spent on each acre in thinning and harvesting. This condition fits well into the small farms of the irrigated district. Sources of irrigation water. The most common and least expensive source of water for irrigation is found in running streams. A suitable dam is placed across the bed of the stream to turn water into the canal which carries it to the land to be served. The 128 The Sugar-Beet in America head of such a canal is sometimes many miles from the farm ; at other times the land to be irrigated is along the banks of the stream. When irrigation water is secm*ed directly from a river, only part of the water can be used, since the irrigation season occupies but a few months out of the year, whereas the stream flows continuously, often having its greatest flow when the water is not being utilized. In order to make more water available, storage reservoirs are built. These receive the water at times when it is not being used and hold it until the irrigating season. As more land is farmed and as water becomes less plentiful, increased provision for storage is made. The pumping of water for irrigation from wells and ponds is increasing rapidly. The depth from which it can be pumped economically for beets depends on the expense of fuel, or power, and a number of other factors. Many beets are raised with water pumped from a depth of fifty feet ; and in some cases a part of the water used for beets is pumped more than one hundred feet. Measurement of water. Irrigation water, as well as land and crops, should be measured. In the past, guessing at the amount of water used has been more common than making accurate meas- urements. This has led to endless disputes and trouble concerning water rights. In the future, those concerned with the use of water will need to be familiar with methods of making measurements and expressing quantities. This will be especially true on sugar-beet farms where land and water are usually high-priced. Irrigation and Drainage 129 The two principal devices for measuring flowing water are the weir and the current meter. With the former, a measuring gate of known size is placed in the stream and the height of water flowing over it determined. From standard tables the discharge is found. When the current meter is used, the velocity of the stream-flow is obtained, together with its cross-section ; from these the amount of water is calculated. Of the many methods of expressing quantities of water, the ones in most common use are the second-foot and the acre-foot. A second-foot represents one cubic foot of water flowing each second. An acre-foot is the amount of water required to cover an acre of land one foot deep, that is, 43,560 cubic feet. A second-foot flowing for twelve hours will flow almost exactly an acre-foot. If a weir is placed in the ditch, it is very easy to compute the depth of water applied at each irrigation. Preparing land for irrigation. Considerable care should be taken in preparing land for irrigation. This often calls for a great expenditure of money to make smooth a surface that is rough and to give a uniform slope to the land ; but since a single level- ing will serve for many years, the expenditure is usually justified. Too often farmers, not wishing to spend so much money during any one season, leave the land uneven year after year, and as a result each crop is diminished. It may be that the loss each year would not be sufficient to pay for grading the land, but many years would not be required to do so. Losses result from an uneven soaking of the land in 130 The Sugar-Beet in America which the beets on low places receive more water than they need before those on the higher land have received as much as they should have. Scalding of plants on the lower spots, due to their being covered with water, is not uncommon. Excessive slope to the land should be avoided; more than five feet fall in one hundred will result in considerable washing. Methods of irrigating beets. Although check and border irrigation is used in parts of California and in a number of other sections to a less ex- tent, most of the beets in the country are irrigated by the furrow method. In a few sections sub-irrigation is prac- ticed. The checks are usually rectangular in form and not larger than an acre in extent ; a half acre is better. The checks near the head of the ditch are filled first and the water is moved from one to the other in regular order. The levees are seeded with the remainder of the field, but the beets planted here have less moisture than the others. Care must be exercised in irrigating by this method not to scald or to drown the beets. In furrowing out the beet field for furrow irrigation, several implements are used. Each community has its preference for some special implement. The main thing is to be able to make a good, clean, smooth channel. With the proper implement five to ten acres can be pre- pared in a day by one man and team. The permanent field laterals should be arranged so as to allow the freest preparation and cultivation of the fields without interference. By making the field laterals conform to the contour of the land, the water may be Irrigation and Drainage 131 distributed evenly through the furrows. On light soil diflBculty is likely to be experienced with the banks' cutting, causing more water to run down one furrow than another. When this difficulty occurs, some form of permanent outlet may be provided to advantage. This insures fairly even streams. In many places small lath or galvanized iron tubes are put through the bank at the head of each row. These are long enough to protrude a little on both sides of the bank. Though these tubes are often helpful, they are not without objections. In a heavy soil devices of this kind usually are not required. To run water the entire length of a long field is a mis- take even where the slope of the land permits. On flat fields, cross ditches usually should be not more than two or three hundred feet apart ; even on sloping ground the distance should rarely exceed five hundred feet. Waste ditches at the bottom of the land should always be pro- vided, in order that use may be made of all the water that does not soak into the land. Allowing water to go to waste where it does no one good, but causes injury, cannot be condemned too strongly. When sub-irrigation is practiced, water is allowed to stand in deep ditches from which it soaks laterally till all the land is moistened. This method can be used only where a rather open surface soil covers a layer that prevents the water from percolating rapidly. Where these conditions prevail, sub-irrigation offers an ideal method of applying water. Water requirements of beets. (Plate XII) The amount of irrigation water required to produce a maximum crop of beets varies with the sunshine, wind, 132 The Sugar-Beet in America rainfall, type of soil, and a number of other factors. It is impossible, therefore, to say that any given amount of water should be applied. Widtsoe ^ and his associates working at the Utah Sta- tion found that on a gravelly loam from twenty to twenty- seven inches of water gave higher yields than either more or less. On a deep fertile soil there was an increase in yield with increased application of water up to fifty inches. There was a gain of nearly five tons to the acre when the amount of water was increased from five to ten inches, but when more than ten inches were given, the increase in tonnage was slight. One acre of land with thirty inches of water applied produced 20.28 tons, but when this amount of water was spread over six acres of land it gave a total yield of 82.68 tons. Investigations carried out in Colorado by Mead - and his co-workers, covering twenty fields irrigated in the usual way, showed that the average amount of water applied during the season was 15.6 inches. ^lost farmers irrigated from one to four times with about 5.8 inches to the application. The same investigations showed that for Montana and Arizona the irrigation season lasted from July 13 to August 17, during which time an average of 25.8 inches of water was applied. Roeding,^ from experiments in Colorado, concluded that a higher yield to the acre was produced from about 11.3 inches of water applied in two irrigations than from 1 Widtsoe, J. A., et al.,Utah Exp. Sta., Buls. Nos. 80, 116, 117, 118, 119, and 120. 2 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Off. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 158. » Roeding, F. W., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. No. 392. Irrigation and Drainage 133 larger quantities in three or four irrigations. Irrigating every row was found to be much superior to running the water down alternate rows. Keeping the soil constantly wet was also found to be detrimental to the crop. Beckett/ in California, ascertained the yield of beets to increase with the increase of water. This was, however, affected by the time of planting. The author ^ determined that when weekly irrigations were given, one inch each week gave a higher yield than when more was given. These results are shown in Fig. 50. It will be noted from the variation in the water require- ments of beets under different conditions that it is im- possible to give a definite duty of water for beets under all conditions. Time to apply water. No set rule can be given as to the time to irrigate beets, except to say that when the land becomes too dry for favorable growth, it is time to add water. This condition will come at different times in the life of the plant under different conditions. McClatchie,^ working in Arizona, found that if seeding was done during the cool part of the year, the crop needed no irrigation for a month or so after planting, but if grown during the time of warm weather of early fall, it needed frequent watering till the weather became cool. If the beets were planted in the warm spring weather, irrigation was necessary during the entire period of growth. Where 1 Beckett, S. H., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bui. No. 10. 2 Harris, F. S., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 156. » McClatchie, A. J., Ariz. Exp. Sta., Buls. Nos. 31 and 41. 134 The Sugar-Beet in America the land was so dry as to necessitate irrigating the seed- bed, it was judged better to hrigate before seeding than immediately after. Knight/ in Nevada, concluded that "fall-plowed land sometimes requires an application of water before seed- ing," but a poor stand generally results from an irrigation immediately after planting. Where spring watering is necessary, it should be done as early as possible, and when the land is sufficiently dry, should be deeply cultivated. He found that where beets received no irrigation until they failed to revive at night from the wilting of the day, an unsatisfactory crop resulted. Knorr,^ at Scottsbluff in Nebraska, secured the best results when beets were irrigated at such times as to keep the plants in good growing condition from the time of thinning until about three weeks before harvest. The irrigations should be in moderate amounts and the soil never so dry that the plants suffer for lack of moisture. He found it desirable to cultivate the beets to break the crust by irrigating as soon as the soil became dry enough. Sugar-beets receivdng three irrigations during the growing season gave a yield of 1.6 tons to the acre more if they also received an irrigation the previous fall, than those receiving water only in the gi'owing season. The author,^ in order to determine the critical periods in the life of the sugar-beet for water, divided the life of the plant into four stages of growth and added water in 1 Knight, C. S., Nev. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 75, and Ann. Rpt. for 1915. 2 Knorr, F., Neb. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 141. » Harris, F. S., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 156. Irrigation and Drainage 135 five-inch irrigations to these various stages both singly and in various combinations. The results are shown in Fig. 15, which gives the average yield of roots and tops for the various treatments. The lowest yield was ob- tained when the land was irrigated after the seed was planted and before it came up. The yield with this treat- ment was decidedly less than it was when no water was given. Comparing the various periods in which but one five- inch irrigation was given, it will be seen that the third period, when the beets averaged two inches in diameter, was the most favorable ; the last period, when the beets were nearly ripe, was the least favorable. The second period was decidedly more favorable than the first. It will be noted further that the yield of tops was greatest with the very late irrigation. This means that the farmer by looking at his beet field will doubtless be deceived into thinking that the very late irrigation is increasing his yield much more than it really is. Upon examining the plants receiving two, three, and four irrigations, the gi-eater value of irrigation water during the third stage is clearly evident. The highest yield was received where a total of fifteen inches was ap- plied. It will be remembered that in the weekly irri- gations a higher yield was obtained for 12.8 inches than for 32 inches. It seems, therefore, that the total require- ment of sugar-beets for irrigation water is not large, but that the period of application is important. The old ideas, that it is necessary to withhold water until the beets suffer before giving the first irrigation and that irrigation should be discontinued five or six weeks 136 The Sugar-Beet in America before harvest, have been proven to be false. If the plant suffers for water either early in the season or late, the yield of the crop will be reduced. The soil auger will be found valuable in determining the moisture condition of the subsoil, and will thereby assist the farmer in judging when to irrigate. Size of irrigation. The amount of water to apply in each Irrigation is a subject of constant discussion among irrigators, who seem unable to come to any definite agreement. This must FiQ. 14. — Effect of weekly irrigations on yield of beeta and tops. Utah. Irrigation and Drainage 137 vary with a number of factors, the most important of which are the depth and texture of the soil. A light irrigation of one to two inches would be ample for a shallow sandy soil, whereas five or six inches might well be given a deep loam or clay. It must be kept in mind that the beet is a deep-rooted plant and that suflBcient moisture should be added to moisten the land as deeply as the roots penetrate. Where the soil is suitable, a few rather heavy irrigations have given better results than many small ones. The reverse is true for potatoes. Relation of irrigation to size, shape, and quality of beets. (Figs. 14-21.) Many tests have been made to determine the effect of irrigation water on the nature of the beets. These tests Fio. 15. — Elfect of irrigation at difPercnt stages on yield of beets and tops. Utah. 138 The Sugar-Beet in America Percent Sucrose ^ Perctnt Purify Fig. 16, — Effect of weekly irrigations on percentage of sucrose and purity. Utah. have given rather conflictmg results. Observations by Schneidewind ^ and others in Germany in the period from 1896 to 1906 showed that, although the yields are smaller, root crops are richer in carbohydrates and protein in dry years than in wet ones ; hence the net influence of weather is not so great as it is ordinarily thought to be. High- bred, resistant strains showed less variation in dry and wet years than did common varieties. » Landw. Jahrb. 36 (1917), No. 4, pp. 474-581. Irrigation and Drainage 139 Widtsoe and Stewart ^ found that although there was only a slight increase in the percentage sucrose with the water applied up to thirty-five inches, the percentage of carbohydrates increased with increased quantities of water used. Starch and cellulose, therefore, increased with heavier applications. The application of fifty inches in every case decreased the sucrose-content. The purity was lowest with the smallest quantities of water and was highest with intermediate applications up to twenty i 1 /J -3 w\ K^ _^ ra -^^^ ^ -to ■15 -10 I /4- /Z- to ^ ^ ^ 1 1 1 1 III III 1 1 W 5 5 5 5 S /d? /en drain are : (1) the cheapness with which it can be constructed, and (2) the ease with which it can be cleaned. Some disadvantages are that it renders waste the land occupied and cuts the land area into small fields that are difficult to get at. The open ditches become filled with falling earth and weeds, and are a constant source of danger to farm animals. Some form of covered drain is usually preferable for ordinary purposes. With the covered drain, a trench is dug and some material that will allow water to pass through is placed in the bottom. This is covered later with earth. Some of the materials used for such drains are rocks, brush, lumber, clay tile, and cement tile. The last two are by far the most common. "Where clay tile can be secured, it is recommended under almost all con- ditions, especially for land high in alkali. Irrigation and Drainage 147 Installing the drainage system. The first step in draining land is to lay out the system. Some kind of instrument for getting levels must be used to determine the contours and to decide where to place the drain lines. A level is also necessary to find the proper depth for the trenches. After the system is laid out, the ditches are dug either by hand or by machinery. In early days they were practically always dug by hand, but modern machinery now does the work much more cheaply. Tile should probably not be placed nearer the surface than two feet or deeper than six or eight feet ex- cept in unusual cases. Usually five feet is a good depth. The bottom of the ditch should have a uniform grade ; otherwise, the flow of drainage water will be uneven and silt will be deposited in low places. In sections where springs of fresh water occur, there is a tendency for roots to clog the drains. They must then be placed deeper than would otherwise be necessary. Care should be taken to have the joints of the tile fit well together to avoid filling with dirt. The work of covering can usually be done with a team and scraper. The outlet should be screened to keep out small water-loving animals, and should be constructed so that it will not be clogged easily. If an extensive drainage system is to be laid out, an en- gineer should be consulted. CHAPTER XI HARVESTING On the returns of the harvest depend the profits of the year. It is not sufficient to raise a good crop; it must also be gathered and husbanded. The farmer's respon- sibihty does not cease till he has delivered the result of the harvest to the purchaser and secured his pay. It would be folly indeed to take great care in preparing a seed-bed, in planting, in cultivating, in irrigating, and in conducting the other operations involved in raising beets, and then be less vigilant in harvesting the crop. The harvest time is a very busy season and help is often scarce. For this reason, there is a constant temptation to rush the work and thereby to slight it. Giving way to this temptation means the giving away of part of the season's profit. TIME OF HARVEST , The proper time to harvest beets varies greatly with conditions. In parts of California and in other warm climates, digging may begin early in July and extend for two or three months. In most of the other sugar-beet areas, digging starts in September and continues till the time the land usually freezes hard. The time to begin in 148 Harvesting 149 any locality will be affected somewhat by the area in beets. If the acreage is large and the mill will have a long run, digging may begin before the beets are en- tirely ripe in order that the farmers may be able to get all the beets dug before they are frozen in the ground. Since it is impossible to predict the kind of autumn, mistakes are often made in the time to commence dig- ging. For example, in 1916 over some sugar-beet areas the land froze solid very early and thousands of acres of beets rotted in the ground. If this condition could have been predicted, digging would have been started earlier and pushed faster. In 1917 the previous year's record was fresh in the minds of all and probably hastened digging somewhat. As it happened, however, the fall remained open till late and all the beets were harvested before it was necessary. Beets should usually be harvested when they are mature. This is not an absolutely definite point, but the general condition of maturity can be told rather easily. It is indicated by the browning of the lower leaves and a yellowing of all the foliage. The leaves also lose their vigor and have a drooping appearance. Ripeness is also indicated by the sugar-content and purity, but it cannot be told by analysis alone, since the composition of the beets is variable under different conditions. A beet may be said to be ripe when the foliage has the appearance just described and when analysis shows a satisfactory sugar-content and purity. The sugar company contracting for beets reserves the right to say when they should be dug. This is necessary in order that the beets may be received regularly during 150 The Sugar-Beet in America the slicing season and also because the company's agri- culturists, aided by chemical analyses, are better able to judge the proper time to dig than the individual farmer, who might allow the date of digging to be influenced more by personal convenience than by the condition of the beets. It is easy for the farmer, desiring to close ofT his fall work as soon as possible, to make the mistake of digging too early. It is diflBcult for him to realize that it is during the last few weeks of growth that the greater part of the sugar is stored in the beet, and that the ton- nage is also materially increased at that time. During its early stages of growth the beet plant is sending out roots and leaves and most of its food is used in growiih. Only when growth is nearly complete is the plant in a position to do any large amount of storing. Under a number of conditions the beet plant may begin to ripen and store sugar, then later begin another period of growth and the sugar-content be reduced. These conditions are to be avoided. Every effort should be made to keep the plant growing up to the time of final ripening. A period of drought in the early fall may pro- mote ripening; and if followed by warm rains or by an irrigation, the plant may send out new leaf and root growth and use a part of the sugar that has been stored. It is, therefore, a mistake to let the beets become dry any great period before the time of digging. Some of the conditions bringing about this reduction in sugar are beyond the farmer's control, but he should be watchful to make favorable the conditions of which he is master. Plate XIV. — Above, two-blade beet lifter at work, Colorado (Cour- tesy Perlin and Orendorff) ; below, topping beets that have previously been thrown into piles, Colorado (Courtesy American Beet Sugar Co.). Harvesting 151 DIGGING Two processes may be included under digging : namely, "lifting" and "pulling." The lifting is done by means of some sort of implement especially made for the pur- pose. The ordinary plow can be used, but it is very Fig. 23. — Two-blade riding beet lifter. wasteful of power and it causes considerable damage to the beets. One type of lifter is made on the plan of a subsoil plow with a single point that is pulled along the beet row to break the beets loose from the soil. It also raises them slightly. This is the simplest kind of implement. It is cheap and effective, but has to be operated by hand, and the operator walks. A type of lifter that is probably in greater use con- 152 The Sugar-Beet in America sists of two points parallel to each other, one on each side of the row. Fig. 23, Plate XIV. As it moves along the row, the beets pass between the two points, being slightly raised but remaining standing in the soil. Some of these are operated by a man walking ; others are ar- ranged on a sort of cart and are controlled by a man who rides. Several companies manufacture implements of this type that give satisfaction. Probably no one type is best for all conditions. After the beets are lifted in this way, they are pulled by hand and thrown into piles for convenience in top- ping. Sometimes the piles are made without regard to any order of piling ; at other times the beets are placed in such a way that all the tops lie in one direction. With- out doubt this arrangement makes topping easier. If the beets are not taken from the ground immediately after lifting, there is a tendency for the soil to become compact again around the roots and hicrease the work of pulling. Two beets are knocked together when they are pulled to remove as much of the dirt as possible. The dirt when handled several times with the beets adds considerably to the work involved, and it does no good since it is taken off as tare when the beets are finally delivered to the sugar company. Unclean beets are a source of annoy- ance to all concerned in handling them. Sometimes the beets are pulled and topped in one operation, but this practice is not common. TOPPING (plates XIII, XIV, XV) Topping is one of the important operations, and unless properly done results in considerable loss. It is an ad- "J Mr ^ ^^■^A^^'^^ Hi gj^Bl^ i^niigmi mtmm^^M Plate XV. — Above, topping beets that have been laid in rows with the tops all one way, California (Courtesy Union Sugar Co.) ; renter, beet silo in field, showing, a common form of beet rack (Courtesy Tru- man G. Palmer) ; below, rack containing net to assist in unloading, California. (Courtesy Union Sugar Co.) Harvesting 153 vantage to both the farmer and the sugar company to have the beets properly topped. The cut should be made just at the sunline as shown in Plate XIII. This is in- dicated by the coloring in the part of the beet that pro- trudes above the surface of the ground. The crown is low in sugar, as shown in Fig. 6. It is also high in salts, which interfere greatly in the purifica- tion of the sugar. These salts must be removed before the sugar can be made to crystallize. The salts so troublesome to the sugar makers are some of the very ones that are desirable for plant-food in the soil ; it is to the interest of the farmer to have them retained on the land. The sugar company wants only the sugar, which is the part that comes from the air; the farmer needs the salts in order to maintain the fertility of his soil. Proper topping serves the interests of both farmer and factory. When the beets are piled in windrows with the leaves all one way, the toppers can go along the windrows on their knees and do the topping without much bending. When the person doing the topping stands, he must do considerable bending in picking up the beets. This is in part overcome by having a hook fastened to the knife near the point. The hook is driven into the beet, which is thereby picked up without the operator having to stoop so far. Some object to the use of the hook since the wound it makes in the beet doubtless results in a slight loss of sugar. Whether this loss is enough to make up for the advantage is not known. After the beets are topped, they are piled on a place that has been cleared of tops. They are now ready to be 154 The Sugar-Beet in America hauled. If hauling is delayed, the pile should be covered with tops to prevent evaporation of moisture, which amounts to considerable weight on a hot day. Care should be taken that tops are not mixed through the pile of beets, as they are very troublesome later on at the miU. MECHANICAL HARVESTER Many attempts have been made to secure machines for the digging and topping, but these machines have not been widely used in the past. It seems, however, that at present machines are available to do as good topping as can be performed by hand and more quickly and at much less expense. INIany of these are being manufactured and it is hoped that hand-topping may soon be relegated to the past. If these machines are entirely successful, the labor question in sugar-beet raising will be greatly simplified. There are two general types of harvesters : one that tops the beets and leaves the root in the ground to be lifted with another implement; after the tops have been raked into windrows, the ordinary lifter is used. An attachment that is fitted to the lifter has been devised and its use facilitates the lifting process. This attach- ment also removes most of the dirt that would otlierwisc attach to the root. The other type of harvester first lifts the beet and then tops it. Tliis type of machine is fitted with equip- ment that delivers the roots in piles at one side, or with an extension of the delivery carrier, the roots are elevated directly into a wagon that is driven alongside the har- Plate XVI. — Above, beet dump in common use in many sections, California; below, car dump with hydraulic jack, California. (Cour- tesy Truman G. Palmer.) Harvesting 155 vester. The tops are delivered, separate from the roots, and left in windrows or piles. This latter type of machine moves under its own power, using a light-weight, high-speed gasoline engine. The first type described is drawn by a team and requires about the same power to propel it as does a mowing ma- chine that is cutting alfalfa. HAULING (plates XV, XVl) Beets are taken to the factory or to the railroad load- ing stations in wagons which are usually fitted with special racks. The ordinary wagon box can be used, but much labor is saved by having a rack made for the pur- pose. The beets are tlirown from the field piles into the wagon by hand or with a beet fork. If no dumps are available, the beets must be thrown from the wagon into cars or into pile silos with a fork. Hand unloading in- volves considerable hand labor, but fortunately it has to be resorted to in a few places only. In most of the beet- producing sections, conveniences for lessening hand labor are at hand. A number of tj'pes of beet racks are used : some merely let dowTi the sides ; others provide for the entire rack to turn on an axis and dump out the beets. These racks are made to hold from two to seven tons and average about four tons. Nets are sometimes used to help in unload- ing. These are placed in the rack before the beets are loaded, and with their aid the entire load may be lifted off at once. Different companies have various methods of han- 156 The Sugar-Beet in America dling beets at the receiving stations and different arrange- ments for weighing. One method is carried out as fol- lows : When the farmer arrives at the dump with his load, the wagon and beets are weighed together, and he is given a ticket showing the weight. Several beets of average size are taken from the load as a sample from which to determine sugar-content and purity. He then drives to the dumping place and dumps his load into a hopper. From there the beets go into a revolving screen where most of the dirt is shaken off. It drops on a belt and is carried to a dirt hopper under which the farmer drives and gets his dirt back. This is taken to the scales and weighed with the wagon. From ten to fifty pounds of the beets that have passed over the screen are weighed, and after all dirt is removed, weighed again. From this, the percentage of dirt is determined and the net weight of beets calculated. The problem of ascertaining the proper percentage of tare is one on which there is constant friction unless both the farmers and the factory are willing to give as well as take. At best, the amount of tare is only an approxi- mation, and every method that can be used to simplify its determination will result in more agreeable relations between the farmer and the sugar company. The providing of hiadequate dumping facilities often leads to friction in regions where the industry is newly established ; but in the older regions dumps are being built, so that most farmers can be accommodated without having to haul great distances. A number of convenient types of dumps are being used. Harvesting 157 SILOING (plate XVIi) In many places where the land freezes, it is necessary to remove the beets from the ground several weeks before they can be sliced by the factories. This means that they must be stored during this time. In California and other warm sections, the beets cannot be dug many days before they are run through the mill or they will decay ; but under these conditions there is no danger of the beets being frozen in the ground, and they are not dug until they can be used. In storing beets, care must be taken to prevent heating, evaporation, and alternate freezing and thawing. This means that the piles must be so built that ventilation is possible without the evils resulting from open exposure. These conditions are met differ- ently under different conditions, depending on the length of time the beets are to be stored, the temperature, and the quantity of beets to be handled. A high temperature is the greatest enemy to stored beets. In Colorado, Idaho, and Utah, the beets that cannot be handled in the bins at the factories are stored in large flat-topped piles several feet deep. These are carefully watched, and if any begin to spoil the pile is opened where the heating begins. In some places beets are stored on the individual farms. This is usually done in covered ricks similar to those described in Chapter XV. In these piles, as in the larger ones, the main things to guard against are heating and freezing. Provision must always be made for ventilation. Heat is much more likely than cold to cause loss. CIL\PTER XII BY-PRODUCTS In some of the live-stock communities, sugar-beets are becoming one of the most important crops because of the large quantity of inexpensive stock feed produced as by-products of the beet-sugar industry. It is the opinion of some experienced beet-growers, especially dairy-men, that beets would be a profitable crop to raise in order to seciu-e the tops for stock feed, even if no profit were ob- tamed from the beets themselves. In addition to the tops, sufficient cheap feed in the form of pulp and molasses is annually available to fatten thousands of cattle and sheep. Sugar-beet regions are usually profitable live-stock sections. Each acre of sugar-beets yieldmg a good crop furnishes nearly as much feed in the form of by-products as is obtained from most ordinary forage plants. The best beet-growers are generally good stock-men and re- ceive considerable of their income from live-stock. SUGAR-BEET TOPS In topping the beets, there remains in the field from one-third to two-thirds as much weight as is hauled away. This consists of beet tops and crowns. The quantity varies considerably with the soil, climate, water received, 158 Plate XVIII. — Ahoic, type of hoot dump in use in Xcbrasku iCourtesy American Beet Sugar Co.) ; lidoir, supar factory with beet-pulp drier and alfalfa-meal mill at the right, Kansas. (Courtesy Garden City Sugar and Land Co.) By-Products 159 and maturity of the crop ; but under ordinary conditions about one-third of the total weight of the crop is left as tops. This would mean eight tons of tops for sixteen, tons of beets. The green weight varies much more than the dry weight. Between one and two tons of dry mat- ter to the acre in the beet tops can be depended on from an average yield of beets, or to put it more definitely, 10 to 15 per cent of the net weight of the roots. Much more has been done to utilize beet pulp than tops ; but the tops furnish a cheaper feed than the farmer can obtain from any other source. The reason for careless- ness in utilizing the tops is probably due to the fact that they are a by-product and their true value has been underestimated. When dried in the field, beet tops contain about the same amount of nutrients as an equal weight of alfalfa hay; their feeding value is about the same except that they are lower in nitrogen and con- tain a comparatively large amount of potash and organic acids, which cause animals to scour when they have un- limited access to the tops. Composition of the tops. The composition of tops is shown in Table V. The ash consists of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, sulfuric acid, silica, and phosphoric acid, which are valuable fertilizers and should not be taken from the land. The tops consist of two to three parts of leaves containing about 2.2 per cent ash, to one part of crowns containing 5.6 per cent ash. Because of the high ash- content of the tops, it is often advocated that they be plowed under just as they are topped in order not to 160 The Sugar-Beet in America 0 ~ n ^ o i^ 05 (1| .o ►- . n on a D3 CI < b: < o o a TJ b 0) O a; fc u 0 ^ ya < •4-a > a; o o iz; OJ 05 ■a H H Eh fe z (23 05 a C >* 1 05 1 o CO t (M -H^ O o '!f a 1 ■g^i o t- ro X 00 >* CO 1 O (N lO a> •Z-~ "S d X d d fc d ■^ ' oi 00 d b ^ CO^ •o »o (M r-^ O l-t O O ^ 1 ■<* t> Oi OS D *kt •-H 00 d X t>l T)H Tf 1 d (N I— 1 Q >— 1 lO '— 1 lO ^ »o ■a CO ■* O (N O CC C: lO -H Ti^ (M o e» pa _o 00 ^ d c^ d d d d lO —< ^o « m X t^ j Ti b ® o CO -H o q t^ t^ 1 O (M -o « cc S lo -^ d d CO d d ' 00 (N d C X ft. ja O CO 1 !> Tj; CO CO 1 o o o le 1 CO d ' Tji rH d d 1 TlH -H »o 1 O -^ X 00 -; W 00 I I^ Q r-* CO <— 1 CO (M C^J o 1 O '^ t- >— 1 ''f '# L- CO iM i.t o « z t>^ c^ d d CO t>^ '-^ d t^ c^i ^ < m t^ CD g w 00 CO Tt; ■* CO 00 t^ (M Ci ^ (N « H-l 1 CO (N d t^ -< Tt< ^ d o -^ t^ ( H H o CO ^ Tt^ lo t^ 05 1 CO l« X V4 c a o \6 '^ d"^ '^ d: d ' d d lO 0333 t^ «M (N f-H W 4J • • • o • ' e • • o • .^^ ' 03 v^-^///=|IIHIliE/i/=iii£i/'SJ/ Fio. 25. — Bcct-top silo below ground. over them. This aids in compacting the tops. In scraping the trench out, the ends are left sloping enough to allow the wagon to pass easily in and out. In esti- mating the size of the excavation, usually it is assumed that the yield of silage will be about one-half the weight of the roots and that a ton of the green tops will occupy thirty-eight cubic feet. In order that as small a proportion as possible of the tops shall spoil, six to eight inches of straw are spread By-Products 165 on the bottom and sides of the excavation in which the tops are to be siloed. To absorb a part of the moisture and to make the best use of the straw on the farm, a six- inch layer of tops is often alternated with a three-inch layer of straw as illustrated in Fig. 26, although the re- sults are entirely satisfactory when no straw is used. ec^rf/j //// (^rOL/nc^ //ne siusii/3;iH);i=iij=i Fig. 26. — Beet-top silo with alternating layers of tops and straw. From three to seven pounds of salt for each ton of silage is sometimes added while the silo is being filled. The value of this practice is questioned by some feeders. When all the tops are in the silo, a layer of straw is spread over the top and eight to ten inches of earth throwm over this to exclude the air as much as possible. In filling, it is essential that each layer be rather firmly packed both by the wagon delivering the tops and by a roller or by horses led over the tops near the edges. The drier the 166 The Sugar-Beet in America leaves when put into the silo, the more the packing that is needed. When layers of straw are alternated with layers of tops, greater care will need to be used in pack- ing to exclude the air more thoroughly. A cheaper but more wasteful manner of siloing, prac- ticed by some, consists in piling the tops in large heaps without the excavation and allowing the surface few inches to decay, thus forming a protective covering for the interior of the stack. Obviously, the larger the pile the smaller the proportion of tops that will decay. After a period of about four to six weeks, the silage fermentation has progressed far enough to correct the cathartic, or scouring, effect of the tops, and they are ready to be fed. This silage is handled and fed in much the same manner as corn silage; all kinds of live-stock readily eat it when they become used to it. Use of beet silage. A large part of the beet tops is fed to beef cattle, and it probably serves best when used for this purpose. Beef fed on tops command as high a price as any on the mar- ket. Cattle-men ordinarily figure that for each acre of beets raised there will be sufficient tops to feed one steer at least one hundred days, allowing about twenty-seven to thirty pounds of dry matter to the steer each day. When used as pasturage, not more than a month to the acre is counted on to each steer. Usually some hay, and often pulp and grain, are fed in addition to the silage. By feeding twenty to thirty pounds of the beet-top silage a day, the hay eaten will be about half what it is without the silage. By-Products 167 With dairy cattle the quantity of tops fed should be much smaller than with beef, because the former should have more concentrates and less bulky feed. Fed in moderate quantities, equaling about one-third of the total ration, the silage increases the yield of milk; but with unlimited access to the tops, cows do not maintain their milk flow. Each acre of beets should furnish from one hundred fifty to two hundred days' feed for an ordinary dairy animal. About the same quantity of siloed tops may be used as of corn silage. Sheep do well on beet tops, but care must be taken that they eat only moderate quantities at first. Because of the desirable flavor and color of their flesh, sheep fed on beet tops are in great demand. Pasturing sheep on the tops is perhaps the most common practice, but it is dangerous not only because of the scouring effect of large quantities of tops on the animals but also because sheep tend to pack the soil, and thereby to destroy its tilth, par- ticularly if the land is wet. Sheep are usually fattened on beet by-products during the winter, and it is more de- sirable that the tops be siloed than pastured or fed dry, since the silage is always warm and convenient to handle in winter. Satisfactory, rapid, and economical gains have been realized from feeding three to four pounds of beet-top silage a day together with a lessened quantity of hay or other supplementary feeds. If the land is not so wet that it causes the soil to pack, either sheep or hogs may be pastured on the remaining tops after the siloing or stacking has been done. Con- siderable feed is left in the form of undug beets and scattered tops that these animals relish. Since pork 168 The Sugar-Beet in America from hogs fed on beet tops is of a desirable quality, feed- ing tops to them is recommended. Experiments ^ show that hogs pastured on beet tops and receiving one-third normal grain rations did well. Horses should not be fed large quantities of tops. SUGAR-BEET PULP After the beet has been sliced into shreds and most of the sugar extracted, pulp remains as a by-product. A great many experiments in this country as well as in Europe have been conducted to determine the value of this pulp. The interest in it seems to have been due not so much to its value as to the difficulty of disposing of such a great quantity of material at the factories. Ap- proximately 85 per cent of the original weight of the roots is discarded as fresh pulp, but by the time the water has been well drained from it and it has gone tlirough the siloing process, only 25 to 35 per cent of the original weight of the roots remains. The tops can be dried easily into a rich hay in the more arid parts of the country, whereas it is rather expensive to dry pulp. The dried pulp is less than twice as valuable for feed as the cured tops. When time cannot be spared to silo the tops and when a suc- culent feed is desired during the winter, the pulp may be the more economical even though it is usually necessary to pay a small sum for it. Table V shows the relative value of tops and pulp. Only a small part of the pulp is fed just as it comes » Shaw, R. S., Mich. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 223. By-Products 169 from the mill. Most of it goes into huge lumber-lined earth] silos six to ten feet deep, where it ferments into the pulp that is ordinarily fed. An increasing number of factories is being equipped with drying plants into which the pulp goes after a part of the water is expressed by pressure. In a few minutes the pulp is reduced to a mois- ture-content of about 10 per cent, after which it is sacked for shipment, or is mixed with molasses before being sent to market. By drying pulp, the loss due to fermentation is avoided and a concentrated feed is made. About 5 to 6 per cent of the original weight of the beets is recovered in drying. Dried pulp is somewhat similar to corn or to cornmeal in composition and in feeding value. In this form it is worth about ten times as much as the fresh pulp and about eight times as much as the siloed pulp. Uses of beet pulp. It is often necessary to starve stock for a few days in order to induce them to eat siloed pulp for the first time ; but once they acquire the taste for it, all classes of live- stock eat it readily. Although siloing gives to pulp a dis- agreeable odor, it is a better feed after fermentation than before. The value of pulp lies not only in its succulent nature, as with corn silage, but it also has a desirable hygienic effect. Brood animals and dairy cattle are es- pecially benefited by the laxative properties of the pulp. It has a stimulating effect on the digestion of all animals and enables them to make the most of their feed. Wet pulp is almost an ideal feed in sections where alfalfa forms the roughage part of the ration. Where grain can be ob- 170 The Sugar-Beet in America tained at a moderate price, alfalfa, grain, and pulp put a fine finish on stock ; but thousands of animals are fat- tened without the grain, especially where it is high priced. By varying the amount of pulp in proportion to other feeds, it is possible to make excellent rations for fattening animals, producing growth and milk, preparing for maternity, and for merely wintering the animals cheaply without their losing weight. " The combination of feeds and the amount of each is altered according to the pur- pose. Likewise, the value of the pulp to the feeder is determined by the object of the feeding, the character and amount of supplementary feed, the condition of the animals to be fed, and the value of the finished product. Being close to the great stock ranges, the western beet- sugar companies are able to make good use of pulp. With rations made up largely of the siloed pulp and alfalfa hay, thousands of steers are fattened annually on these feeds. The stock fresh from the ranges are at first fed largely on alfalfa hay with only a comparatively small amount of pulp. This is increased gradually until the daily ration consists of about fifteen pounds of alfalfa and one hun- dred pounds of siloed pulp. When fed alone, pulp is a poorly balanced feed which will endanger the lives of the animals, and will not fatten stock that are in poor con- dition. Grain and some roughage must supplement it. The best feeders begin with alfalfa hay and a small amount of pulp, increasing the pulp until the full ration is given, then toward the close of the feeding period a small quantity of grain is added. Where grain can be fed economically, the amount used is gradually increased By-Produds 171 and the pulp decreased until the grain entirely supplants the pulp for a short period just before the steers are put on the market. In spite of the economy of feeding grain, thousands of steers are placed on the market without it. The Colorado Station/ in a one-hundred-day period, found that if the steers were in poor condition when the fattening period commenced, adding about half of an ordinary ration of corn to the pulp and alfalfa hay caused Fig. 27. — Pulp being piped from factory to silo. the steers to gain nearly half as much again as without the grain. With the same type of animals, the gain was about three-fourths greater when grain and pulp were fed than when only hay was used. The animals fed on pulp were also more thrifty than those not receiving it. For two-year-old fattening steers, nine pounds of wet pulp was equal to 2.8 pounds of alfalfa hay or to one pound of ground corn. In computing the amount of pulp neces- sary for steer fattening, stock-men consider one and one- half tons of pulp a month to be sufficient for each steer. From four to seven tons of wet pulp and one ton of alfalfa, > Carlyle, W. L., and Griffith, C. J., Colo. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 102. 172 The Sugar-Beet in America together with the supplementary feeds, if any is used, will finish one steer for the market. About forty-one pounds of beef is produced from a ton of pulp under average conditions. The daily amount fed is about G to 10 per cent of the weight of the animal. Figure 27 shows a method of transporting sugar-beet pulp. Other methods are illustrated in Plate XIX. For wintering steers, the amount of pulp fed is often greater and the roughage may be straw instead of hay. Cattle will come out of the winter in fair condition on pulp and oat straw ; but they are not so thrifty and do not make the growth they should without a little nitrogenous food such as alfalfa hay or grain. Dried pulp is gen- erally considered too expensive to feed to steers, although at some periods it has been found to be about equal to corn- meal for fattening them and is somewhat cheaper.^ At Michigan it was ascertained that dried pulp tended to produce growth rather than fat; hence, it is recom- mended that it be fed during the early part of the feed- ing period and dropped from the ration later. From three to five pounds of the dried pulp a day is a common amount, although some feeders allow as much as ten to fifteen pounds to the animal. Used in moderate quantities, pulp is desirable for dairy cattle. Milch cows need considerable nourishing feed, but they will not eat enough to bring best results when they receive only dry feed. The stimulating effect of a succulent feed such as corn silage is well recognized. The dry matter in wet beet pulp is equal to that in corn silage » Shaw, R. S., and Norton, H. W., Jr., Mich. Exp. Sta., Buls. Non. 220 and 247. Platl _\i ■_ .[''orr, cured pulp being hauled from the silo; center, pulp silo almost empty ; the pulp remaining: in the silo till the end of the season, due to evaporation and fermentation is much more concen- trated than when fresh ; below, (Courtesy National Sugar Manufacturing Co.) pulp silo and feeding yards joining a sugar factory, Colorado. By-Products 173 for milk production,^ so that by feeding enough more of the pulp to make up for the extra water it contains the same effect is obtained by the two feeds. If properly fed, no ill effects on the milk result, and there is a stimulating action which causes the cow to consume more dry roughage and to produce milk more economically. With no other succulent feed in the ration, the benefits of siloed pulp are very marked. Since the cow should not have too large a quantity of bulky feed, it is not advisable to feed more than twenty to forty pounds of pulp a day, although fifty to one hundred pounds would be eaten if placed before the cow in unlimited quantities. Dried pulp finds great favor with dairy-men, especially with those who are feeding for high milk pro- duction. The stimulating effect is obtained in the dry pulp without the bulk, although it is better to soften with a little water before feeding.^ Replacing forty-five pounds of corn silage with nine pounds of dried beet pulp and five pounds of mixed hay increased the milk yield 11 per cent. Experiments show dried pulp to have a value as a dairy feed equal to two-thirds that of wheat bran,^ and it frequently takes the place of bran, oil meal, and the like, in the dairy ration. There is some diversity of opinion as to the value of mixing the beet molasses with the dried pulp. In New Jersey the addition of the molasses had little influence when compared with the dried pulp without the molas- » Wing, H. H., and Anderson, L., Cornell Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 183. 2 Billings, G. A., New Jersey Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 189. 3 WoU, F. W., and Humphrey, G. C, Wis. Exp. Sta. Ann. Rpt., 1905, pp. 108-117. 174 The Sugar-Beet in America ses, either of them being about equal to hominy meal. Comparing three pounds of molasses beet pulp with two pounds of wheat bran, it was found that the pulp pro- duced 12 per cent more milk than the bran.^ In other experiments ^ these two feeds were determined to be about equal. Molasses pulp is usually considered to be more laxative than the pulp without the molasses. In addition to cattle, thousands of sheep are fattened on siloed beet pulp and alfalfa hay near the sugar fac- tories of the West. Pulp has proved to be an excellent feed both for fattening and breeding animals. The meat is of excellent quality and much sought for in the larger markets. As in the case of steers, it is advisable grad- ually to increase the pulp ration until the finishing-off period, when the pulp is substituted by a less bulky feed. The addition of four-tenths of a pound of grain a day to a full pulp and alfalfa-hay ration was found to reduce the amount of pulp and hay, respectively, by about five and about two times the weight of the grain. It was not considered advisable to feed more than four-tenths of a pound of grain to sheep on pulp and alfalfa, and whether it should be fed at all or not depends on the prices of the feed.' Colorado experiments * show that a ton of wet pulp has about the same feeding value as 200 pounds of corn for fattening lambs. Dried beet pulp has been found ^ to produce larger gains with growing lambs on 1 Wis. Exp. Sta. Ann. Rpt., 1905. « Hills, J. L., Ver. Exp. Sta. Ann. Rpt., 1904, p. 484. 3 Merrill, L. A., and Clark, R. W., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 90. * Griffin, H. H.. Colo. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 76. ^ Shaw, R. S., Mich. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 220. By-Products 175 clover hay and bran or oats than does cornmeal, although for fattening cornmeal was the better feed. Trials with sheep have failed to show that the dried-molasses beet pulp is any better for a feed than plain dried pulp. One hundred pounds of fresh pulp absorbs about six pounds of molasses; this will produce from fifteen to eighteen pounds of dried-molasses beet pulp. The usual amount of wet pulp to feed sheep is from seven to ten pounds a head each day, and of dried pulp about the same weight as the grain they would have received. It is usually ac- cepted by stock-men that eight sheep or twelve lambs should receive the same quantity of feed as one steer. Although wet fermented pulp is ordinarily considered too bulky and too laxative for horses, it has been con- cluded that when fed in limited quantities it is not harm- ful. Farm work horses eating as much as twenty pounds daily did well on this feed when combined with oats and alfalfa hay.^ When thus fed, the pulp displaced about one-sixth of its weight of oats. Perhaps more of the pulp is fed to horses in the dried form, and especially molasses-dried, than in any other form. In any form, pulp is not extensively used for horses, except for young growing animals and for brood mares when a rather laxa- tive feed is desired. During their growing period, swine make good use of pulp, as do also sows without pasture. When fed in moderate quantities, young pigs relish it and make good gains, although grass answers the same purpose by act- ing as a mechanical agent to stimulate digestion. Pulp 1 Clark, R. W., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 101. 176 The Sugar-Beet in America is so bulky that only a small part of the ration should be supplied in this form. Pulp and molasses sometimes take the place of part of the shorts or of similar feeds.^ To winter brood sows cheaply, pulp and a small quantity of grain have been used with good results. For hogs, the quantity of pulp recommended is between one and two pounds for each pound of grain fed in fattening. If dried pulp is used, it is usually softened with milk before being fed. WASTE SUGAR-BEETS AND ROOT-TIPS The feeding of roots left from the production of sugar- beet seed is growing in importance. These beets contain from 6 to 14 per cent of sugar and frequently yield from eight to ten tons to the acre. Since their woody fibrous nature prevents their being used for sugar-making, feed- ing seems to be the only way of obtaining a profit from them. The great amount of fibrous material makes them somewhat dangerous for stock, which are sometimes killed by accumulations of this material in the digestive tract. If fed in moderation and in connection with other feeds, it seems possible to utilize this rapidly increasing by- product. Formerly, onl}' a few acres of beet seed were grown in America, but in the future thousands of acres will be devoted to seed production. A product that merits more attention for feeding pur- poses than it is receiving is that which remains after the » Clark, R. W., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 101. Plate XX. — Ahorc, dairy cows fed largely on sugar-beet by-products, Kansas (Courtesy Garden City Sugar and Land Co.) ; center, feed yards near factory, I'iah ; below, beef cattle being fattened on sugar- beet by-products, California. (Courtesy Union Sugar Co.) By-Products . 177 beets are washed at the factory. Quantities of root tips, leaves, and stems are flushed into the sewers and go to waste. If the water in the flumes carrying the beets to the factory were made to run over a screen just below the device for elevating the beets to the washer, con- siderable valuable feed might be saved. Various feeding practices are shown in Plates XX and XXI. SUGAR-BEET MOLASSES In factories not equipped with the Steffen process of removing additional sugar from the molasses, there re- mains from 3 to 5 per cent of the original weight of the beet as a bitter molasses. Factories turning out molas- ses as a by-product vary the quantity according to whether the price of the sugar minus the cost of extracting is greater than the price for which the molasses can be sold. The ordinary amount that is sold as a by-product is about forty to sixty pounds for each ton of beets sliced. The purity of the juice, which in turn is modified by climatic, soil, and other conditions, such as the manner of topping, also modifies the quantity remaining after the sugar is made. Formerly, it was almost impossible to make a satisfactory disposition of the molasses, but today it is highly valued both as a stock feed and for manufactur- ing such products as alcohol, fusel oil, vinegar, and certain kinds of fertilizer. Reference to Table V shows molasses to contain about 60 per cent of digestible nutri- ents. A large part of this, 50 per cent of the total weight, consists of sugar that cannot be extracted except by the Steffen process because of the high percentage of salts, 178 The Sugar-Beet in America about 7.2 per cent being present. These salts, together with organic substances, give the molasses a disagree- able taste and a laxative action, which makes it unsuitable for human use and for animals when used in large quan- tities. When properly combined with other feeds and slowly introduced into the ration, it furnishes a desirable nutrient for fattening animals. For most stock, molas- ses is first diluted with water and then sprinkled on the roughage with which it is to be fed. In Europe, peat, which has no food value in itself, is sometimes used as roughage. Stock will eat large quantities of straw when sprinkled with molasses and do well on it. When pur- chased in combination with other feed, it is usually in the form of dried-molasses beet pulp. ^Molasses is a valu- able material to feed with alfalfa hay because its high carbohydrate content balances the high protein of the alfalfa. Alfalfa leaves and molasses are about equal to grain for feed and cost much less. To begin with, only about one- fourth of the full amount of molasses should be fed. This may be increased gradually to the full ration. It is a violent purgative when fed in excessive quantities or when introduced too rapidly into the ration ; but if properly fed, its tonic action allows the best use to be made of a large quantity of rough food that might not otherwise be utilized. It should not be fed to brood animals in quantities large enough to cause great activity of the bowels, as this is likely to cause abortion. For fattening purposes, it is worth six to eight times its weight of wet pulp. The use of molasses for fattening beef cattle is increas- By-Products 179 ing in the western states. Many factories must raise stock as a side line in order to make a satisfactory disposal of pulp and molasses. Some of the larger feeders chop alfalfa hay or straw and sprinkle molasses over it with satisfactory results. About twenty pounds of molasses to each one hundred pounds of straw is a common pro- portion. Molasses increases the appetites of stock, re- sulting in their eating more feed at a time; fattening is thereby hastened. The Great Western Sugar Company, in experiments on a large scale in which they used ordinary range cattle, found that for each one hundred pounds gain it required about 7500 pounds of pulp, 240 pounds of molasses, 760 pounds of alfalfa hay, and 90 pounds of grain. It is usually aimed to feed three to four pounds of molasses a day along with the other feeds, although some give larger quantities. A ration recommended for a hundred fifty day feeding period with steers in ordinary condition is one ton of alfalfa, 400 pounds of molasses, 500 pounds of grain, one-half acre of beet tops, and one-fourth acre of oat straw. Steers on this ration made a gain of about 1.7 pounds a head each day and were marketed in the best of condition. Without concentrates, it takes a little longer to get steers in good marketable condition ; the flesh is not so firm, neither will the stock stand shipping so well with- out a great shrinkage ; but practically the same total gain is obtained from feeding a ton of alfalfa, five to seven tons of pulp, and four-tenths of an acre — or about 500 pounds — of dry beet-top hay. With less pulp avail- able, molasses and grains should make up the deficiency 180 The Sugar-Beet in America according to the amount of nutrients lacking in the pulp. _ • Dairy cows are favorably influenced by small quanti- ties of molasses. Each cow can use to advantage from two and a half to three pounds a day. When other laxative feeds are not present in the ration, it is especially good as a tonic and results in an increased yield of milk. Sheep make good gains on molasses, fermented pulp, and alfalfa hay. In some sections, molasses is used to fatten old ewes and less valuable sheep, the only ad- ditional feed being the hay or straw with which it is mixed. Molasses beet pulp and dried beet pulp are about equal to corn and cause the same gains. It is not, however, extensively used in this way. In some parts of America, molasses has met with con- siderable favor for feeding horses. \Mien used in quan- tities not to exceed two quarts — 5.6 pounds — daily, it has been found possible to substitute it for grain pound for pound. Because of its laxative effect, most horse- men prefer not to feed more than one to one and one-half quarts a day. Horses at hard work, receiving this quan- tity of molasses mixed with twenty pounds of alfalfa or clover hay, and receiving six to seven pounds of rolled barley a day, kept in better condition than horses with a full grain ration. It is advisable to begin feeding horses with only one-fourth to one-half quart of molasses a day until they become used to it. Hogs have been fed successfully' as much as one pound of molasses a day while on pasture without causing di- gestive troubles. Feeding in larger quantities (2.4 pounds or more) for fattening quickly has sometimes proved Plate XXI. — Above, sheep Ijein;; fed molasses on straw, Colorado (Courtesy National Sugar Manufacturing Co.) ; center, tops of beets eaten by the army-worm in their rapid spread over the field; below, balloon used in catching grasshoppers. By-Prodvjcts 181 rather unsatisfactory.^ Shorts, beet pulp, and beet mo- lasses when combined produced nearly as large gains as the full ration of shorts alone. By feeding one hundred pounds of molasses, thirty-two pounds of shorts and one hundred fifty-three pounds of beet pulp were saved.- Over-feeding with molasses causes excessive scouring and often results in death to pigs. Molasses is not generally considered to be a good pig feed ; if it is used, only small quantities should be given, and this must be introduced gradually into the ration. WASTE LIME AND MINOR BY-PRODUCTS Considerable lime is used to purify the juice in the manufacture of beet-sugar. After the lime has combined with the impurities, it is of no more value to the manu- facturer. Some factories run this refuse lime into the sewer; others run the lime water into large reservoirs where the water is allowed to evaporate, leaving the lime as a residue. Lime to the extent of 2 to 6 per cent of the weight of the beets is required; hence, the quantity of waste product is large. No satisfactory commercial use has been found for it, although it has been used to some extent as a fertilizer. Its value for this purpose varies with the quantity of water in it, the quantity of valuable constituents it contains, and the nature of the soil on which it- is to be used. The following is an analysis of samples from a IVIichigan factory : 1 Clinton, L. A., Cornell Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 199. 1902. 2 Clark, R. W., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 101. 182 The Sugar-Beet in America Water 44.40 Insoluble matter 23.37 Iron and alumina (FeaOs, AI2O3) . . 4.05 Lime (CaO) 34.90 Magnesia (MgO) 1.16 Carbon dioxid (CO2) 26.00 Phosphoric acid (P2O5) 48 to 1.53 Potash (K2O) 07 to .11 Organic matter 9.06 to 10.76 The product from different factories varies consider- ably in composition. It will be seen from the analysis that the fertilizing value depends almost entirely on its lime-content, the other valuable plant-foods being present in almost negligible quantities. This makes the material of value to the farmer only in case his land is poor in lime. Most of the beet lands of the country are fairly rich in lime and the demand for this waste product is not so great as it would be in regions having acid soils. There is no doubt, however, that on clay or acid soils greater use should be made of the waste lime. Many of the less fri- able and unworkable soils would require much less work and would produce better crops if lime were applied. An ample supply of lime makes more available the phos- phorus, potassium, and other plant-foods in the soil. When possible it is flooded over the land with irrigation water, thereby saving hauling and distributing. A few conditions occur which make the use of the waste factory lime unpopular. Being wet and mucky, it is very difficult or impossible to spread it evenly over the ground. In districts infested with certain pests, the use of the lime, together with the other refuse that is usually found with it, endangers the greater spread of By-Products 183 these troubles. The disagreeable odor that accompanies most sugar-factory by-products makes them nauseating to handle. Its bulky nature makes its use uneconomical at great distances from the factory. In addition to lime, a small amount of potassium and ammonium fertilizer is made from by-products of the manufacturing process in factories equipped with the Steffen process. After all possible sugar is extracted from the molasses, there remains a slop containing compara- tively large quantities of inorganic salts and organic com- pounds that may be utilized for making fertilizer. The slop must be evaporated to dryness to obtain the fertilizer. This is profitable only when potassium brings a high price. Under normal conditions the slop can best be used on local farms with the irrigation water. Under more in- tensified farming, it may become profitable to evaporate and return it to the land from which it came ; but at present it seems improbable that this material can compete commercially with the cheaper sources of fertilizer. Besides the products mentioned, there are a number of others, such as filter cloth and rubber belting, that are sometimes made of use for various purposes by the local community. CHAPTER XIII PESTS AND DISEASES With the increase in sugar-beet production, it is only natural that there should also be an increase in the pests that attack the plant. The gradual introduction of the enemies of the crop into sections is continually making the sugar-beet more difficult to raise. Because the various troubles are likely to appear at almost any lo- cality, it is imperative that growers should be able to recognize them in order that they may be checked as completely as possible. Profitable sugar-beet production has practically ceased in certain sections because the seriousness of the pests was not recognized and control measures taken in time. It is not within the scope of this book to give a complete discussion of all the pests and diseases affecting sugar-beets. Those who wish more detailed information should consult the special publica- tions dealing with the various troubles. INSECT PESTS Extent of pest injury. There are at least one hundred and fifty species of in- sects known to feed on beets ; of these about forty are of 184 Pests and Diseases 185 economic importance.^ It is the leaves and not the mar- ketable part of the beet that usually suffer ; therefore, unless proper functioning of the leaves is prevented, the injury passes without notice. Ordinarily, injury is not great if proper methods are taken to prevent the incoming of pests ; but if no atten- tion is given to them and if farm practices are followed without regard to pest troubles, the damage is likely to be considerable. For example, the nematode when in- troduced into a region is usually unheeded, because of which it gradually infests the soil, making beet-growing impossible until suitable rotations are adopted. Insect difficulties vary greatly from year to year. One year grasshoppers or army-worms may devour everything in their way, but the next year they may be absent almost entirely. Whenever there is a serious outbreak of any pest or disease in a locality, the State Agricultural College should be called on for help and every agency should cooperate. The sugar factory agriculturist and the county agricul- tural agent will be able to give assistance with ordinary troubles. When a new pest or disease appears, experts from the State Experiment Station or the Department of Agriculture should be summoned. Preoentiw measures for controlling pests. A few general precautions known and utilized by all beet farmers would prevent a great part of the loss oc- casioned by insects. Weeds, especially those belonging to the same family as the sugar-beet, such as the dock, 1 Forbes, S. A., and Hart, C. A., III. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 60. 186 TJie Sugar-Beet in America lambsquarter, and cocklebur, are breeding plants of many of the most serious pests. Clean culture that would eliminate these weeds greatly lessens the injury due to insects. Rotation of crops is practiced by many of the beet-farmers, but a few maintain the one-crop system until the enemies of the beet become so numerous that the crop no longer can be grown. Much loss is occasioned by planting beets after grass or similar crops that harbor some of the worst beet enemies, such as the cutworms and wireworms. Fields are not ordinarily kept as clean of insect-harboring rubbish over winter as might be wished. In sections where cutworms give difficulty it should be known that plowing either in the fall or in the spring lessens injury from this insect. When attacks of insects become acute, sprays and insecticides save much injury. Two general classes of insecticides are available: (1) contact solutions for insects such as plant-lice and leaf- hoppers, which obtain their food by piercing the plant and by sucking its juice ; and (2) poisons applied in solu- tion to the leaves of the plant to kill such insects as cater- pillars, beetles, and grasshoppers, which feed on the out- side of the leaves. The most effective contact spray is made of a solution of tobacco. For biting or chewing insects, sprays containing a poison such as the arsenicals are employed, the insects being killed by eating a part of the plant covered by some of the poison. The latter type of spray should contain a very active poison which will not easily run off the leaves of the plant and be wasted, as frequently happens when not properly applied ; hence arsenate of lead is one of the best sprays. Insect troubles vary from section to section ; some of Pests and Diseases 187 the most serious in one locality are not known in others. Certain insects, though present in a locality, may do very little damage even when serious elsewhere. Such insects as the leaf-hopper are greatly affected by geography. In some places they have rendered successful beet-culture practically impossible, though in other sections the injury is but slight. Treatments must, therefore, be applied locally. No general description will suit all conditions. Blister-beetles (Meloidae). (Plate XXI.) These insects sometimes descend in swarms on field and garden crops, destroying the foliage and ruining the crops. No less than a dozen species of blister-beetles work on crops. The insect is a long, narrow beetle with a distinct head and "neck." In color it is black, gray, or mottled, with a black or yellow stripe running the length of the wings on most species. The grubs, or larvae, of the blister-beetle feed on grasshopper eggs, and when the grasshoppers are more injurious than the beetles, it may pay not to disturb the beetles. The beetles may be kept from the leaves by applying bordeaux mixture. When this spray is made up with paris green as a constituent, it may be beneficial. When the attack is sudden, the usual method of control is to drive the insects from the field by a number of men swinging branches over the crop. The beetles move ahead of such a disturbance and do not return quickly after once having been expelled. Army-worms. The beet army-worm {Caradrina [Laphygma] exigua Hbn.) occurs in disastrous abundance on beets at certain 188 The Sugar-Beet in America periods. Outbreaks of this pest in the beet fields of the western states have at times nearly ruined the crop. With the exhaustion of its usual food in years when it is worst, it migrates from field to field devouring everything in its course as shown in Plate XXI. The larvae which do the injury are naked, dull-striped worms resembling cutworms and closely related to them. Except when moving in armies, the worm is not noticed, because it usually remains concealed in the daytime, feeding mainly at night. When full grown, the worm is about one and one-half inches long, of a dark color except for a yellowish stripe down the back and one down each side. The second brood makes its appearance in the latter part of the summer; as a result, late plantings suffer most. Its normal food plants are certain weeds; hence clean culture will prevent a number of the pests from developing. Poisoning with paris green or arsenate of lead offers much relief when there are a great number of the insects. The poison should be applied as soon as injury is noticed. The common army^worm {Leucania unipuncta Haw). This species is similar to the above except that it has three yellow stripes instead of one down its back and it winters as a half-grown larva in the ground, emerging in the spring as a dull brownish moth. It more often at- tacks cereals and grasses, but also eats sugar-beets. This worm does its injury in early summer, whereas the beet army-worm is most troublesome in late summer. This insect troubles more crops than the beet army-worm and is more widely distributed. Ordinarily, it is held in check by its natural enemies, but when it becomes excessively PesU and Diseases 189 abundant, control methods are necessary. One method of control is by plowing three or four furrows with the vertical edge facing the direction from which the army is approaching and dragging a log down these furrows to make a loose dust mulch. If the dust is warm, many of the insects perish by suffocation when they fall into this dust, but it is better to drag the pole down the furrow often during the invasion in order to kill as many as pos- sible. If the attack is severe, it is often a good policy to spray the furrows with kerosene emulsion in case there is not suflBcient time to do the dragging. The best method of control consists in applying a heavy dose of lead ar- senate to the crop around the edge of the field. Poisoned bran mash is often effective in preventing a severe attack. By fall-plowing fields in which worms were numerous in late summer, many of the hibernating larvae are destroyed. The fall army-worm (Laphygma frugiperda S. and A.). This species is rather similar to the above insect, but its destructive period is usually later in the summer. In appearance it is very similar to the beet army-worm and is distinguished from it by the number of dots on its segments. It does not develop the army instinct so readily as the common army-worm and is not ordinarily so de- structive. It feeds on a wide variety of crops. Arsenical sprays are frequently successful in controlling this pest. Often on large fields, such as alfalfa stubble before the beet field is reached, many of the worms are crushed by running a heavy roller over the field. Plowing and disking, together with cultivation, kill many of the over- wintering forms. 190 The Sugar-Beet in America Sugar-beet webworm (Loxostege sp.). These insects were introduced into this country before 1869, when they were observed in Utah, having probably come to the Pacific coast from the Orient. It is an in- habitant of Western and Central Europe and Northern Asia. Its wild food plant is pigweed (Amaranthus) and injury is greater to beets when this weed is allowed to grow abundantly. The worms spin webs over the leaves of the beet and eat out the portions between the veins. The larva is an inch long when full grown, brownish in color, with a narrow dark stripe edged with white down the middle of the back, and a light stripe along each side. Small dots cover the surface of its body. The worms burrow into the ground in the fall and spend the winter in white silken cocoons which they spin around themselves. In the spring the moth comes out and lays eggs on the leaves of pigweed and alfalfa. A second gen- eration comes in July in some regions and a third in August. The last brood is likely to do most injury to sugar-beets. Control measures consist of poisoning and late fall plowing, which breaks up their winter cells in the soil. Arsenate of lead is sprayed on the beet leaves. Since the worms destroy the plants rapidly, the poison must be put on as soon as the injury is observed. Cutworms (Nochiidae). Every gardener is familiar with the work of this group of insects. The several species going under the name of cutworms are the larvae of night-flying moths. The worms are smooth and of a mottled brown color, the Pests and Diseases 191 species having a slightly different appearance. They work most vigorously in spring about the time the garden is coming up. They attack practically all crops, doing most damage by cutting off the young plants just as they are coming through the ground. When they are present in large numbers and take on the army habit, almost everything in their way is destroyed. They feed at night and hide during the day. The moths lay eggs in July and August in fields that have grown up to weeds. The eggs hatch early in the fall and the young worms feed a few weeks before hibernat- ing in the soil. In the spring they come out with a full- grown appetite ready to eat almost anything. If poisoned bran, clover, or alfalfa is spread over the field just before the young beets come up, the worms will devour sufficient of the bait to be killed before injury is done to the crop. Arsenate of lead is used for poison. In large fields thor- ough cultivation in the late summer and keeping the land free from weeds, together with deep fall plowing and early spring cultivation, help to control the pest. White grubs (Lachnosterna spp.). The larvae of several species of June bugs or May beetles pass under the name of white grubs. As high as 15 per cent of the fields of beets in some districts has been re- ported destroyed by this pest, although it is not usually considered to be serious. Its action is worse in crops following sod, since grass land is its natural breeding place. Its life history is similar to that of the wireworms dis- cussed below, about two years being required for the grub to complete its cycle. 192 The Sugar-Beet in America The presence of this pest is usually indicated by the dying of plants throughout the field. Examination of the soil near the plants shows the soft-bodied white worm curled up. It is from one inch to an inch and a quarter in length, and has a brown head and an enlarged abdomen. Nothing added to the soil is practical in killing the grub. Fall plowing, proper rotation of crops, and avoid- ing the use of infected manure are all helpful in control- ling the pest. Chickens and hogs are very fond of the grub and will help to eradicate it. Care in handling manure in which it develops may also help. Wireworms (Elateridae). The larvae of several species of "click beetles" or "snapping beetles" are known as wireworms on account of their tough and wiry appearance. These slender, cylindrical worms vary from one-half inch to one inch in length. They vary from a shiny yellow to a shiny yel- lowish brown color, with their segments showing plainly. They move about by means of three pairs of dark legs close to the front of the body. "The life history of the injurious subterranean species is in some respects similar to that of the white grubs, the beetles being among the earliest spring arrivals, occur- ring in April and May, and flying rapidly in the heat of the day. The eggs are generally deposited in moist places grown up with grassy vegetation, weeds, or corn, and the larvae upon hatching feed, like the white grubs, upon the roots, developing slowly and requiring about the same period for the completion of the life cycle — about two or three years. Like the white grubs, the wireworms trans- Pests and Diseases 193 form to pupae in autumn and the change to the beetle form takes place before winter, the beetles usually remain- ing in a quiescent state until their emergence the following spring." ^ Wireworms do not affect sugar-beets nearly so much as they do some other crops. They are always worse after sod, corn, beans, or potatoes. When once they get into the land, they are diflBcult to eradicate by ordinary treatments. Nothing put on the land will kill them with- out also injuring the soil. One of the best ways is to starve them out by summer fallowing or by growing crops on which they do not feed. The elimination of trash from the field also helps. Flea-beetles and leaf -beetles (Chrysomelidae) . Several small leaf-feeding beetles, known as flea-beetles and leaf-beetles, do considerable damage to sugar-beets. The most severe injury is to young beets when they have from two to eight leaves. Some of these insects cause in- jury both in the adult and larval stage. The beetles skeletonize the leaf by eating out the pulp between the veins. These insects are sometimes poisoned by the use of paris green, london purple, and paragrene applied dry mixed with flour and dusted on to the leaves. Arsenate of lead is an effective spray. Clean culture is also helpful. Grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are among the most common and the best known of crop pests. They eat almost all kinds of plants • Chittenden, F. H., U. S. Dept. of Agr„ Bur, of Ent., Bui. No. 43. 194 The Sugar-Beet in America and attack sugar-beets only incidentally. Grasshopper injury varies greatly from year to year, usually increasing gradually up to a climax year and then dropping off sud- denly to begin the gradual ascension again. At least a dozen species are known to attack sugar-beets. Grasshoppers are commonly kept within normal num- bers by natural enemies, among which are birds, fungous diseases, and other insects. Mechanical means of coping with them, such as that shown in Plate XXI, are also used. Plowing under the eggs before they have had time to hatch is probably the most effective means of controlling them when the breeding grounds can be handled in this way. Several types of catchers are also used with success. Arsenic-bran mash is the most economical and effective poison. Beet-root aphis {Pemphigus hetae Doane). Within the last few years the beet-root aphis has spread rapidly over the beet-growing sections of the United States. Attention was first called to it in 1896. It is similar in appearance to its relative, the woolly aphis of the apple. The insect lives on the small roots of the beet, sucking juice from it and thereby dwarfing the plant. It protects itself by means of its woolly covering and is consequently not injured by irrigation water. At inter- vals a generation of winged individuals appears; these fly to other fields, where they settle down and begin a new colony. In the fall, winged females fly to cotton- woods and lay eggs on the trunks. These hatch in the spring and migrate to leaves, where they pass one or more generations before going to the beet fields. In Colorado, Pests and Diseases 195 another species (Tychea hrencornis Hart.) has done con- siderable damage. This species also works on corn roots. No direct method of control is known for either of these insects. Sprays are impractical since the insects work under the ground. Prevention, the only known method of coping with the pest, can be practiced, however, in crop rotation and clean cultivation. Thorough tillage early in the spring is thought to help in controlling aphids. Sugar-beet nematode (Heterodera schachtii Schmidt). One of the pests that has done most damage to sugar- beets during the last few years is the nematode. This is not a true insect, but is an exceedingly fine, threadlike, colorless worm, so small that it is difficult to see with the naked eye. When these worms hatch from the egg, they enter the nearest rootlet and feed on the plant juices. This results in the formation of a dense mass of rootlets which cling to the beet when it is pulled up (Plate XXII). This has resulted in calling the trouble "bearded roots," "hairy roots," and other similar names. The first evidence of the pest is a change in the color of the foliage, which takes on a lighter tint when the beet is injured. The outer leaves gradually wilt and finally die. The inner ones are small and do not thrive. Often the plant dies and the infected land is left bare. Usually this condition appears as a spot in the field which gradu- ally enlarges. Since the pest is readily carried about in the soil, when it once becomes established in a district, it is likely to extend to all the fields unless its spread is checked. Rotation of crops seems to be the best method of 196 The Sugar-Beet in America combating the difficulty. Many farmers, who have for several years raised sugar-beets on the same land, are being forced by the nematode to practice rotations. Shaw ^ has proposed dividing the sugar-beet states of the country into the following four groups and has given crops to be included in rotations in each group : Group (1) California and Arizona. Group (2) Oregon and Washington. Group (3) Utah, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, and South Dakota. Group (4) Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New York, and West Virginia. Crops for the groups : Group (1) Cowpeas, soybeans, sweet clover, rj^e, the millets, tomatoes, asparagus, lettuce, cantaloupes, straw- berries, barley, 2 corn,^ Lima beans, ^ and wheat.* Group (2) Cowpeas, soybeans, sweet clover, rye, the millets, truck crops (such as lettuce and asparagus — but not celery), barley ,* and wheat.* Group (3) In addition to the crops mentioned in Group (2), cantaloupes, cucumbers, and potatoes. - Group (4) Clover, cowpeas, sweet clover, soybeans, rye, the millets, tobacco, flax, peppermint, cucumbers, strawberries, melons, lettuce, asparagus, some other truck crops, the grasses with the exception of tall oat-grass, barley,* corn,* Lima beans, potatoes, and wheat.* When only small areas are infested, the pest may be prevented from spreading by pulling and destroying with quicklime beets for several feet around the infested area. When there might be a possibility of carrying the pest 1 Shaw, H. B., U. S. Dcpf. of Afjr., Farmers' Bui. No. 772. * Occasionally slightly infested with beet nematode, but may be used in a rotation series. Plate XXII. — Above, beets injured with nematode in comparison with a normal beet of the same age ; below, spot in beet held affected by nema- tode. Pests and Diseases 197 on seed, heating that seed to a dry temperature of 145° F. will kill any nematode without injuring the seed. The beet leaf hopper {Eutettix tenella Baker). This is probably the most serious pest of the western sugar-beet. Plate XXIII. It causes injury through the disease curly-leaf, which it transmits. This disease, to- gether with all other similar leaf troubles, has gone under the general name of "curly top." For many years the cause of this important disease was not known, but the discovery that it is due to punctures made in the leaf by the beet leafhopper makes clear the source of the diflBculty. "Attention ^ was first called to the trouble in 1899 and 1900, w^hen it appeared throughout the entire western region from California to Nebraska. Another serious outbreak occurred in 1905. Over the large part of the area it has only appeared two or three times in twenty years. In smaller areas it has usually appeared in three- year attacks, cumulative in nature, after which it has almost totally disappeared for a time. In still other areas it has appeared the greater part of the time, and in these areas beet-raising has not been successful. "This insect is single-brooded, hibernates as an adult, flies to the beet field in late spring, and lays eggs in beet stems — a few at a time until mid-summer. The larvae mature in summer and the adults disappear in early fall. It is found on shadscale, greasewood, Russian thistle, and fine-leaved annual salt bushes. Swarms of these insects appear suddenly in beet fields previously unin- fested. - Much evidence points to the conclusion that these 1 BaU, E. D., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 155 (1917). 198 The Sugar-Beet in America swarms fly from their breeding grounds on wild plants for long distances over mountain chains and other barriers. Sometimes there will be only one flight into a partic- ular region ; if so, beets coming up later will not be infested. "Leaf hoppers taken from wild plants do not transmit the disease until they feed on diseased beets. Three hours on a beet rendered them pathogenic, but they could not transmit until after an incubation period of one or two days. It is probable that some wild plant carries the disease and leafhoppers coming from this plant are able to transmit it to the beets. "A large number of leafhoppers, early attack, hot weather, and clean cultivation are favorable to the curly- leaf development. The converse of these factors, together with frequent cultivation, early irrigation, and shade or weeds, are unfavorable. Seed growing is doubly hazard- ous in curly-leaf areas. "Loss from curly-leaf may be largely prevented by avoiding dangerous areas, by planting small acreages in a 'blight cycle,' by controlling the time of planting, by not thinning just as the leafhoppers appear, and by knowledge of conditions on breeding grounds. Para- sites doubtless assist somewhat in controlling the leaf- hopper, but to be at all effective should be introduced into the permanent breeding grounds." DISEASE INJURY The losses due to beet diseases have not been great in America, probably because beets have been grown here Pests and Diseases 199 only a few years and the diseases have required time for their spread. New beet areas have each year been opened up and these have been free from disease. The American beet-raiser has come to regard the crop as being free from disease and requiring no attention in this mat- ter. The time of complete freedom from disease, however, has passed. Already the fields in the older districts are infested ; the fight must be taken up in earnest. We may feel thankful for past immunity, but now precautions must be taken to keep in check the diseases that menace the industry. Many fungous and bacterial organisms live on the sugar-beet plant, but only a few are of great economic importance. There are also a number of troubles that seem to be physiological. Forms of rot on tubers in stor- age are shown in Plate XXIII. Leaf-spot {Cercospora beticola Sacc). This fungous disease is one of the best known and widely distributed of the sugar-beet. It is found in all American beet-growing districts. The amount of injury depends on the number of the fungous plants present and the period in the beet's life when the attack begins. Late plantings are as a rule less affected by the disease than early. It is more injurious to sugar-beets than to the red garden variety. It begins as tiny white spots scattered over the leaf, which later develop into small brown spots with a red- dish purple margin. There may be from ten spots to several hundred on each leaf. As the spots become older they turn ashen gray at the center and gradually increase in size until the entire leaf may be covered, when it be- 200 The Sugar-Beet in America comes black and crisp. The outer, or older, leaves are the ones first affected. Townsend,^ in summarizing methods of control, says : " (1) Leaf-spot may be controlled on a commercial scale and in an expensive manner by a carefully planned and thoroughly executed system of crop rotations or by deep fall plowing. The best results are obtained by combin- ing these two methods. " (2) A proper and uniform supply of soil moisture, spraying, and proper disposition of beet tops and stable manure are important aids in the control of the leaf-spot. "(3) The principal agencies in the distribution of the leaf-spot fungus are wind, water, insects, and man and other animals. "(4) Leaf-spot tends to reduce either the tonnage or the sugar content of the beet, or both, depending on the time, duration, and severity of the attack. "(5) Leaf-spot seriously injures the feeding value of beet tops." Bordeaux mixture is used as a spray. The fungi are killed when the beet tops are siloed. Heart-rot (Phoma betae Frank). This disease, which is one of the most serious of the sugar-beet in sections of Germany, Austria, and France, has recently been introduced into the United States where it will probably become rather serious in the next few years. It has already gained a strong foothold in several beet-growing sections. 1 Townsend, C. O., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. No. 618 (1914). Plate XXIII. — Aborc. beet affected with curly-leaf (Photo by E. D. Ball) ; below, tj^pes of rot attacking beets during storage. Pests and Diseases 201 Duggar ^ describes it as follows : " It begins to mani- fest itself as a rule in August by blackening and drying of the younger heart leaves, and later older leaves also succumb, so that before the period of harvesting all the leaves may be dead and merely the beet stub remain. In cases where the beets are grown for seed, the fungus may also be found upon the seed stalks and cases. It is thought that this is one means by which the fungus may pass over from one year to the next. From affected leaves, particularly along the course of the fibrovascular bundles, the browning and general discoloration of the tissues extend into the tissues of the root, and there rot sets in. If the disease begins early in the season great injury may be done. "Spraying experiments have not yet given complete satisfaction. Care should be taken to destroy such re- mains of the previous crop as is practical, and the treat- ment of seed with Bordeaux mixture is desirable where disease abounds." One company has adopted the practice of treating the seed where more than 25 per cent shows infection. The entire question of treating seed for this disease is at pres- ent somewhat unsettled. Scab (Oospora scabies Thaxt.). In some sections sugar-beets are affected by a scab similar in appearance to that on the potato and caused by the same organism. It usually covers the beet more com- pletely thun it does the potato. The disease begins as small irregularities on the surface of the beet in which a corky, or spongy, appearance is seen. These small patches 1 Duggar, B. M., "Fungous Diseases of Plants." (1909), p. 3. 202 The Sugar-Beet in America spread and unite till a great part of the surface of the beet may be covered. On potatoes the disease may be controlled by treating the tubers, but this treatment is not applicable to beets. Beets should not be planted on land known to be infected with scab, and particular care should be taken not to follow scabby potatoes with beets. Soft-rot (Bacterium teutlium Met.). This rot has done considerable damage in Nebraska and in a number of other states where beets are grown. " It ^ consists of a rotting away of the lower portion of the root, the crown and leaves remaining normal except in the most severe cases, when the outer leaves may fall. The rotted portion is honeycombed with cavities which are filled with viscous, colorless, sour-smelling fluid which exudes on pressure. The decayed tissue is usually yellowish gray. The rot seldom appears above the surface of the ground. Young beets are not susceptible. The disease is favored by damp surroundings, as poorly drained soil. In some cases, large damage is known to result, sometimes fully 90 per cent of the crop being affected. It is inadvisable, if the disease is noted, to grow beets in wet soil." The moisture condition of the soil seems to have great influence on soft-rot. Beet-rust (Urom^ces betae Kuhn). This rust, which has been known in Europe for a half century, is found in some American beet fields, particularly 1 Stevens, F. L., and Hall, J. G., "Diseases of Economio Plants." (1910), p. 209. Pests and Diseases 205 in California. It has the appearance of the true rusts. The leaves contain pustules of yellowish brown powder. Cold damp weather favors the development of the dis- ease, which may be controlled by a bordeaux mixture spray, should it become sufficiently serious to justify this measure. Affected leaves fed to stock may carry the disease through the manure to plants the following season. Rhizoctonia. The group of fungi called Rhizoctonia by De CandoUe seems to be responsible for injury to beets as well as to potatoes. The beet Rhizoctonia has gone under the name Rhizoctonia betae Kuhn, and has been popularly known as root-rot. This disease works principally in the seedling stage of the plant. At this time, on account of its girdling action, which is typical of Rhizoctonia, it shuts off the movement of food to the roots and the plant dies. No effective preventive measure for controlling this disease is known. General sanitary conditions — drain- ing the land and keeping the surface of the soil aerated and in a good sanitary condition — help in retarding its growth. One precaution in handling the trouble is to delay planting until the soil is warm enough to enable the seed to germinate rapidly and for the seedling to get a good start. Sugar-beet mosaic. This disease is increasing from year to year. In some places it affects a high percentage of the plants. It causes the leaves to turn a mottled yellow and to have a patched 204 The Sugar-Beet in America appearance. The shortened petiole resulting from it makes the plant resemble one having curly-top, although the two diseases are easy to distinguish. The roots of plants having the mosaic disease are likely to be dwarfed and are often hairy. Damping-off. The damping-off of seedlings near the surface of the ground when they first come up results in considerable loss in some districts. This may be caused by a number of organisms, among which are Rhizoctonia, Phoma, and Pythium. The conditions which favor damping-off are heat, abundant moisture, and a weakened condition of the seedlings. The elimination of any of these condi- tions greatly reduces the difficulty from this cause. Plants on heavy clay soils are more subject to the disease than those raised on lighter soils. Improving the tilth of these soils also reduces the likelihood of injury from damping- CHAPTER XIV FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF BEETS Success in the beet-sugar industry depends on the maintenance of high quality in the beets. The industry was made possible only by improving the quality of the crop ; in the first years of beet-sugar making, profits were realized only in the more favorable seasons. Since the quality of beets has been so much improved, the industry has gained a foothold that places the raising of sugar- beets as one of the important phases of agriculture in many sections. As the success of the industry is so closely related to the quality of beets, everybody con- nected with their raising or the manufacture of sugar from them is interested in conditions that affect quality. WHAT ARE GOOD BEETS In choosing desirable types of beets, several definite ideas should be kept in mind. Chief attention must be given to high sugar-content combined with high yield. These two characters are somewhat antagonistic, yet neither can be neglected. The end sought is the highest acre-yield of sugar. At the same time, it is desirable to have beets of a size and shape that can be harvested and handled at the lowest possible labor cost to the farmer as well as beets from which the manufacturer can extract 205 206 The Sugar-Beet in America the sugar efficiently. This calls for beets of a high- yielding strain, high in sugar and purity, and having a desirable size and shape. The qualities of good beets are summarized by New- lands 1 as follows (cf . Plate XXIV) : " 1. They have a regular pear-shaped form and smooth skin. Long, tapering carrot-like roots are considered inferior to pear-shaped Silesian beets. "2. They do not tlirow out forks, or fingers or toes. "3. They have white and firm flesh, delicate and uni- form structure, and clean sugary flavor. Thick-skinned roots are frequently spongy, and always more watery than beets distinguished by a uniform firm and close texture. "4. They weigh, on an average, one and one-half to two and one-half pounds apiece. Neither very large nor very small roots are profitable to the sugar manufacturer. As a rule, beets weighing more than three and one-half pounds are watery and poor in sugar; and very small roots, weighing less than three-fourths of a pound, are either unripe or too woody, and in either case yield com- paratively little sugar. As the soil and season have a great influence on the composition of the crop, it is quite possible, in a favorable season, and with proper culti- vation, to produce beets weighing over four pounds, which, nevertheless, yield a good percentage of sugar. Speaking generally, good beet roots in average seasons seldom ex- ceed two and one-half pounds in weight. "5. Good beets show no tendency to become necky, 1 Newlands, J. A. R. and B. E. R., " Sugar, a Handbook for Planters and Refiners," p. 395. Plate XXIV. — Above, well-shaped beets ; center, beets of poor shape ; surh beets grow on water-logged land and also result from great quan- tities of coarse mamire in the soil ; below, three types of beets ; b has a more desirable shape than a or c. Factors Affecting Quality of Beets 207 and their tops are always smaller than those of inferior beets. Cornwinder has shown that beets with large leaves are generally richer than those with smaller leaves, and he always prefers the former for seed. " 6. Good beet roots are considerably denser than water, and rapidly sink to the bottom of a vessel filled with water. The specific gravity of the roots affords a pretty good test of their quality, for the greater their specific gravity the richer they wall be found in sugar as a rule. A still better test than the gravity of the root is the specific weight of the expressed juice. The juice of good roots has usually a density varying between 1.06 and 1.07. When very rich in sugar the gravity of the juice rises above 1.07, even reaching 1.078 in English-grown roots, indicating over 14 per cent of crystallizable sugar. Juice poor in sugar always has a density below 1.06. "7. In a well-cultivated soil, the roots grow entirely in the ground, and throw up leaves of moderate size. This tendency to bury itself in the soil is characteristic of good sugar beets, but it may be greatly frustrated in thin stony soil and in stiff clay resting on impervious subsoil." Sugar-beets raised under irrigation do not conform entirely to the above standards, since there is a tendency for them to grow larger than when irrigation water is not applied ; good beets are often much larger than New- lands' figures indicate. It must be remembered, how- ever, that very large beets are usually lower in sugar than the smaller ones. A definite correlation between size and sugar-content has been observed when other con- ditions are the same. 208 The Sugar-Beet in America CONDITIONS PRODUCING GOOD BEETS Climate is one of the most important agencies affect- ing the quality of beets. Wiley/ after several years of Table VI. — Table of General Averages of Agricultural AND Analytical Data for the Five Years, 1900-1904 Stations where Irrigation Was not Used Station Estimated Yield per Acre Sugar in THE Beet PuRITT COEPFI- CIENT Average Temperattjbb June to August May to October Tons Per Cent °F. •F. Lexington, Ky. . . Washington, D. C. Blacksburg, Va.« Madison, Wis. . . 8.4 15.7 13.3 18.2 9.0 9.1 12.9 13.0 71.2 71.3 77.7 81.4 75.2 74.2 69.9 69.3 69.6 68.9 64.4 63.3 Lafayette, Ind.' . . Ithaca, N. Y. . . . 7.5 13.3 13.2 13.2 83.2 79.0 72.4 67.7 67.4 62.1 Ames, Iowa ^ . . . 14.2 13.8 79.6 73.0 66.6 Agricultural College, Mich.3 .... 13.4 14.2 83.6 68.0 62.3 Geneva, N. Y. . . 16.1 14.6 85.1 69.3 64.0 Sfaiiojis where Irrigation Was Practiced Logan, Utah * Pomona, Cal.< Fort Collins, Colo.^ 18.9 8.0 20.4 13.2 81.2 69.5 14.2 82.5 70.5 14.7 83.9 65.1 62.4 68.9 59.4 1 Wiley, H. W., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bvr. of Chem. Bui. No. 96. 2 Data for 3 years. ' Data for 4 years. * Data for 2 years. ^ 1904 ; data for March to September. Factors Affecting Quality of Beets 209 experimentation, has pointed out how the weather, par- ticularly the temperature, affects the percentage of sugar in beets. In this connection, he shows that a high sugar- content usually indicates a high purity also. Tables VI and VII summarize the results of five years' experiments with sugar-beets raised under widely dif- ferent climatic conditions in the United States. The author points out the fact that temperature, or, in other Table VII. — General Averages op Meteorological Data (May to October) for the Five Years, 1900-1904 Stations where Irrigation Was not Used Station Lexington, Ky Washington, D. C. . . . Blacksburg, Va Madison, Wis Lafayette, Ind Ithaca, N. Y Ames, Iowa Agricultural College, Mich. Geneva, N. Y Tempera- Precipita- Clear ture tion Days "F. Inches 69.6 14.9 90 68.8 21.5 83 64.4 21.9 57 63.3 21.1 56 67.4 20.8 71 62.1 18.8 48 66.6 25.0 107 62.3 19.8 63 64.0 20.0 — SlTNBHINB Per Cent 71.6 62.9 53.7 64.7 60.4 64.2 59.6 Stations where Irrigation Was Practiced Logan, Utah ' . . Pomona, Gal.^ Fort Collins, Colo. 62.4 5.90 126 68.9 3.65 124 59.4 11.00 80 78.7 73.8 63.8 1 Three years' data. * Two years' data ; 1904 data for March to September. 210 The Sugar-Beet in America words, latitude, is the most potent element of environ- ment in the production of beets rich in sugar. It has already been indicated in Chapter V that the soil does not have so great an effect as some other factors in modifying the percentage of sugar in the beet. It does, however, have some effect and it has a decided in- fluence on the size and shape of beets as well as on the purity of the juice. Headden ^ found that an excess of nitrates in the soil has a decidedly detrimental effect on the quality of beets. He ^ showed earlier that the amount of ash in the beet is increased by the presence of alkali. Voorhees ^ has pointed out that the kind of fertilizer and the time it is applied influence the sugar-beet. This has been discussed more fully in Chapter VI. It has often been observed that beets high in sugar have a lower percentage of ash than have poor beets. Soil moisture during the growing season is one of the most important factors influencing the quality of beets. This has been discussed in Chapter X on irrigation and drainage. There is a great difference in the quality of individual beets raised under the same conditions. This results from the ordinary variation foimd among all plants and animals. Part of this variation is due to heredity and is trans- missible, but part of it cannot be transmitted to its progeny. There is, of course, considerable difference in the quality of beets of different strains, the same as there is a variation in the amount of milk given by different 1 Headden, W. P., Colo. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 183 (1912). 2 Headden, W. P., Colo. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 46 (1898). » Voorhees, E. B., " Fertilizers," p. 344. Factors Affecting Quality of Beets 211 breeds of cows. The relation of breeding to quality is discussed rather fully in the next chapter. The storage of beets may have considerable effect on their quality, although if they are stored properly the quality is not affected materially. A normal amount of respiration goes on in all beets ; hence there is a gradual loss of sugar. This may be slight if the temperature is near the freezing point; but it increases rapidly as the temperature rises. Claassen ^ says that the rate of res- piration does not seem to be affected by the percentage of sugar in the beets, but that it is much more rapid in unripe than in ripe beets. Breaking the beets into pieces and also any other mechanical injury tend to hasten respiration. Freezing does not seem to injure the quality of beets, particularly if they are allowed to thaw slowly. Re- peated freezing and thawing, however, has a detrimental effect, especially if the beets are allowed to become warm between the freezings. Headden ^ found that though simple freezing does not change the sugar-content of the beet, the distribution of the sugar is affected if only part of the beet is frozen. Sugar moves from the frozen to the unfrozen part. Drying increases the percentage of sugar in the beet, but the total amount is not increased; in fact there is a loss of sugar when the beets are allowed to lose moisture. The purity is also reduced by drying. It is also more difficult to extract sugar from wilted beets. The factory, as well as the farmer, loses when beets are allowed to wUt. ^ Claassen, H., "Beet Sugar Manufacture," p. 8. » Headden, W. P., Colo. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 46. 212 The Sugar-Beet in America When beets have to be stored before they can be sliced, the pile should be given as smooth a surface as possible in order to reduce the relative amount of surface exposed, and thereby reduce evaporation. It is neither necessary nor desirable to cover beets piled in this way when the piles are large. CHAPTER XV PRODUCTION OF SUGAR-BEET SEED In obtaining sugar from the beet there are three dis- tinct enterprises : the production of seed, the raising of beets, and the manufacturing of sugar from the beets. In America, only the last two have been given special attention ; America has depended on Europe for seed. The time has now arrived to forge the third link in the chain necessary to make the American beet-sugar in- dustry secure. The uncertainty of a foreign supply of seed during war times, endangering an enterprise having a hundred million dollars invested, has demonstrated that all three phases of the industry must be developed at home. IMPORTANCE OF GOOD SEED To say that good seed is desirable is simply to re-state one of the commonplaces of all sound agricultural teach- ing. In the case of sugar-beets, however, this doctrine has a special significance. All the reasons for good seed with any crop apply to beets; in addition the entire success of the industry depends on having seed that will produce beets of a standard quality. With wheat, if the quality of seed Is poor, the worst that can happen is that the yield of the resulting crop may be reduced by a few 213 214 The Sugar-Beet in America bushels. All the crop that is produced will serve the purpose for which it is raised. With beets, on the other hand, unless sufficient sugar is present to permit extrac- tion at a profit, the crop is practically valueless for sugar- making. The farmer and the sugar manufacturer are both in- terested in seed, for unless the factory can be made to pay, the business will have to be discontinued and the farmer will not have a market for his crop. The interests of the sugar factory have been so great that it has taken charge of the seed situation and has assumed the responsi- bility of furnishing seed to farmers contracting to raise beets. The factory could better afford to give the farmers free seed that would produce good beets than to allow them to plant inferior seed, for the cost of seed is negli- gible in comparison to other costs. If two grades of seed were obtainable, one that would produce beets having 14 per cent sugar and the other beets with 16 per cent with equal yield, it would pay the sugar company to take the better seed if it sold for a dollar a pound and the poorer seed could be secured for nothing. This shows how absolutely necessary it is to have nothing but the best seed. HIGH GERMINATION From the farmer's point of view, seed that is high in germinating power is essential. The yield of beets to the acre is directly dependent on the rate of germination of the seed. With some other crops, such as wheat, if the stand is poor, this condition can be overcome in part by the plants stooling and producing many heads from a Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 215 single seed. More than a hundred heads of wheat have been reported to come from a single seed. In this way the plant tends to use all the food and moisture that is available in the soil even with a comparatively thin stand. Beets have no such power to make up for a thin stand. The roots may be somewhat larger where they are not crowded; but if many of the seeds fail to germinate, it is impossible to secure a satisfactory yield. If there are blank spaces in the beet rows, the yield will be reduced by just that much. For this reason it is important to make careful germination tests of every lot of seed that is offered for sale. Particularly is this true of seed that is stained and dark in color, indicating that it has been wet. SOURCES OF SEED Until the last few years, practically all of the sugar- beet seed used in America was imported from Europe. This was not because it could not be raised in America, but because foreign seed could be obtained at a low price and it was much less trouble to secure it in this way than to produce it at home. The sugar companies arranged for the seed ; they were in the business of making sugar and not of producing seed ; hence they took the line of least resistance and purchased the seed where it could be obtained easiest. For this reason, a home seed industry was never developed. This method of procuring seed was satisfactory as long as everything went well, but it had its decided disadvantage. The seed requirements of the United States for the next few years probably will reach nearly 15,000,000 216 The Sugar-Beet in America pounds a year. For a number of years, in the neighbor- hood of 10,000,000 pounds of seed have been used annually. Prior to 1911, practically all this seed came from Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and France. Since that time the home production has grown, and since 1914, when the European war made it impossible to depend on the old supply, the industry has developed very rapidly in America. Palmer ^ states that 90 per cent of all the beet seed used in the world is produced in Germany and Russia ; 69 per cent is from German-grown seed ; and 78 per cent of all the beet-sugar produced outside of Russia and Germany is from German-grown seed. The amount of seed produced in the United States in 1916 and 1917 is given by the Department of Agriculture ^ as follows : Table VIII. Sugar-Beet Seed Produced in the United States Beets Grown fob Seed Statss 1916 1917 (Preliminary) Area Production of Seed Area Production of Seed California, Idaho, Utah . Colorado, Kansas, Mon- tana, Nebraska . Michigan and Oliio . . Acres 2,178 2,725 365 Pounds 1,628,000 3,455,000 128,000 Acres 2,523 1,978 78 Pounds 2,458,000 3,030,000 .'iS.OOO Total 5,268 5,211,000 4,,579 5,546,000 1 Palmer, T. G., "Sugar Beet Seed" (1918), p. 101. » Monthly Crop Report, December, 1917, p. 128. Production of Sugar- Beet Seed 217 These figures show that between a third and a half of the seed required was produced in the country during 1916 and 1917. Considerable of the remainder came from Russia through Siberia. Since the reserves of seed stored in the country have gradually decreased, it will be necessary to rely entirely on the home supply until seed can be obtained from Europe. DISADVANTAGES OF IMPORTING SEED The importation of seed is attended by many disad- vantages. In the first place, the entire beet-sugar in- dustry is threatened in times of war, when, for any reason, it would be impossible to import seed. This condition cannot fail to detract to a great extent from the stability of the industry. Perhaps the most important disad- vantage of imported seed is that the breeding has been done for conditions unlike those in which the beets are to be raised. Since the climate and soils of Europe are different from those of the beet-growing sections of the United States, there is doubtless a great loss in yield and sugar-content due to the foreign seed not being entirely suited to local conditions. When the source of supply is not near at hand, there is likely to be difficulty in ad- justing any little business differences, which at times may become annoying. In times of scarcitj^ of good seed, there is also a likelihood that the best will be held in Europe for home-planting and inferior seed sent to America. Tests made at Schuyler, Nebraska, as early as 1893, gave better yields of beets with higher sugar-content 218 The Sugar-Beet in America from domestic than from imported seed. The same result has been obtained in many other places since that time. At the Utah Experiment Station/ tests were made to compare imported seed with that produced on the Station farm. The results given for imported seed represent the average of seed received from a number of foreign seed companies. In all cases, it was represented to be superior seed. The home-grown seed is from strains raised at the Experiment Station for ten years : Table IX. — Comparison of Beets Raised from Imported AND FROM Utah Experiment Station Seed Utah Seed Imported Seed Ybab Per Cent Sugar in Beets Yield Beets Tons per Acre Per Cent Sugar in Beets Yield Beets Tons per Acre 1912 . . . 1913 . . . 1914 . . . 18.97 16.40 16.25 22.68 21.28 25.06 18.25 15.58 15.45 25.15 26.08 29.03 The table shows that although the beets from home- grown seed were higher in sugar-content in each of the years than the beets from imported seed, the yield was somewhat higher for the imported seed. Germination tests were conducted to compare the im- ported and the home-grown seed with the following result expressed in number of sprouts to 100 seed-balls : Im- ported seed — a, 53 ; b, 79 ; and c, 124 ; the average of six samples of home-grown seed was 126. Since each 1 Harris, F. S., Utah Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 136 (1915). Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 219 seed-ball contains a number of germs, there are often more sprouts than seed-balls. It will be noted that of the three samples of foreign seed, not one was equial to the home-grown seed in germinatmg power. The climate of the irrigated section of the West seems well adapted to the production of sugar-beet seed. The use of irrigation to control the soil moisture and the warm dry weather during the season when seed is growing make an almost ideal combination. In the sixteen years since the Utah Experiment Station began raising sugar-beet seed, there has not been a single failure. TYPES OF BEETS America has produced no distinct varieties or types of sugar-beets. An examination of almost any commercial field reveals a great diversity in shape and manner of growth. Some roots are long and of small diameter; others are short and turnip-like. The tops vary from erect plants with big leaves to plants with small leaves spreading out near the ground. These conditions show a great admixture of strains. All of the sugar-beets belong to the same botanical species. Beta vulgaris. The differences have arisen from selection of special characters and have given rise to variation in shape, color, and size of beet, amount and manner of growth in foliage, as well as in sugar-content and yield. Selections were always made to improve the beet, and these selections resulted in considerable variation in appearance. Trade names have been given to the various types. Among the most common are : Vilmorin, 220 The Sugar-Beet in America Kleinwanzlebener, Excelsior, Imperial, Simon-Legrand, Florimond, Bultean-Desprez Richest, Schrieber, Heine, Brabant Demesnial, Electoral Elite, Imperator. The two first-named varieties are most widely known in this country. If America is to establish a permanent sugar-beet-seed industry, one of the first steps will be the production of strains of beets suited to the needs of the country. With- out doubt, some of the better European strains will fur- nish the basis for selection. In any event the work should be seriously undertaken and continued as long as necessary. This will require many years of careful work, but the re- turns probably will justify all the work that is done. SINGLE-GERM SEED The fact that the seed-ball contains several germs, each of which may produce a beet plant, makes the work of thinning laborious. Even though the seeds are scat- tered at intervals in the row, the young plants are found in such clusters that the extra plants can be removed successfully only by hand. This means that the number of acres of beets a farmer can raise is usually limited by the amount of help he can secure at thinning time. It also means that the expense of thinning is high. These conditions led the United States Department of Agriculture, in the early days of the beet-sugar industry, to conduct rather extensive experiments on the breeding of strains of beets producing seed-balls that contained but one germ. Though some progress was made, the results were not altogether satisfactory and the work was T-J Plate XX\'. — /Ifeoic, pedigreed su^ar-heets, Utah Experiment Sta- tion ; center, silos for storing mother beets over winter ; beloiv, steckliuge being taken from the silo to the field for planting. Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 221 abandoned. Whether or not the single-germ beet seed is practical, only the future can demonstrate. There can be no doubt, however, about the desirability of having seed of this kind. BREEDING (PLATE XXV) There are two distinct phases to the sugar-beet-seed business: (1) the breeding of desirable strains, and (2) the commercial production of seed. This is true to an extent in every branch of plant and animal production. The man who is engaged in that phase of dairying which deals with commercial milk production may be entirely dependent on some breeder of dairy stock for his cows ; likewise, the man who is breeding some new and desirable type of plant may not be interested in the general seed trade. The ordinary individual farmer probably will never take an important part in breeding sugar-beets; he may, however, engage in the commercial production of sugar-beet seed, using as his start "mother seed" that has been produced by a professional breeder. Chemical test of mothers. The breeding of sugar-beets is not so simple as that of most other crops, the quality of which can usually be determined by examination. With beets, the important factor, the sugar-content, can be determined only after making a chemical analysis. Some selection of beets has been made by specific gravity as determined in a brine solution. This method, while it indicates to a certain extent the amount of sugar, is so inexact that it 222 The Sugar-Beet in America finds very little use. In the standard method of selection the chemical analysis is used. The beet to be tested is cleaned and the sample to be analyzed is obtained by boring a hole diagonally through the beet near the thickest point in such a way that the various zones of high and low sugar will be represented. A given weight of the pulp obtained from the boring is placed in a dish and the sugar extracted by any one of a number of methods. The solution containing the sugar is then placed in a tube which is inserted in a polariscope by aid of which the percentage is read directly. The process is not difficult, but it requires skill in laboratory manipulation and is not adapted to use by the average farmer. Removing the core does not interfere with the growth of the beet if it is stored properly. Steps in selection. It is not safe to save all beets that are high in sugar without making further tests to see which ones transmit this quality. The individual beet may be high in sugar because of its environment and may not be of a high- producing strain. For this reason, several years of selec- tion are required before one can be siu*e of quality of seed that will be produced. It is not the mother beet with high sugar-content that is desired, but the mother whose progeny will be high in sugar. In testing strains, it is a good plan to have for comparison standard seed for growing in different parts of the test field. The procedure usually carried out is somewhat as follows : The first year a great many beets of desirable size and shape are analyzed for sugar. The better in- Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 223 dividual beets are siloed ; the second year these are planted separately and the resulting beets analyzed. From this analysis it is possible to determine which of the original beets with a high sugar-content are able to transmit to their progeny this necessary quality. The poor strains are discarded and the good ones siloed, to be used the fourth year in producing the " mother seed." The mother seed is planted the fifth year and the beets obtained from it produce the commercial seed the sixth year. The part of the work requiring skill and patience is the obtaining of dependable mother seed. In planting beets from which the commercial seed is produced, the roots are left considerably closer together in the rows than when regular beets are to be raised. About eight pounds of seed are used to the acre and the plants are not thinned in the ordinary way. Sometimes the plants are thinned to three or four inches apart in the row and sometimes they are left unthinned. This method is used in order to save labor in handling the beets. Less storage space is required for the small beets than for those of full size. Being small does not seem to reduce materially the amount of seed produced. These small beets are called "stecklinge." Beets that are large are sometimes split lengthwise into two or three pieces, each of which will grow if part of the live buds in the crown are retained. COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF SEED Siloing. One of the most important operations in connection with seed production is the storing over winter, or siloing, 224 The Sugar-Beet in America of the beets that are to be used the next year in raising seed. At the Utah Station several methods of siloing have been tested; a number of these have given good satisfaction. The important precautions to be kept in mind are that the beets must not be allowed to dry, to freeze, or to heat. SuflBcient ventilation must be pro- vided to allow the carbon dioxid produced by normal respiration to escape and at the same time not enough to dry the beets. Sufficient covering must be given to prevent freezing, but not enough to cause heating. Beets stored in moist sand kept better than by any other method used, although this method is not practical except for the comparatively few mother beets that have been individually analyzed and are more likely to decay on account of the wound caused when the core is removed for analysis. For the great number of beets used in producing com- mercial seed, perhaps the best way is to silo them in the field. This is done by piling the beets on top of the ground or in a shallow trench in ricks four or five feet wide, and then covering them with soil. Only a light covering is given at first and more is added as the weather becomes cooler. In very cold weather manure on top of the silo is helpful. Ventilators should be placed in the ricks every few feet to allow carbon dioxid to escape and fresh air to enter. Less ventilation is necessary if the remainder of the silo is left open a few weeks after the beets are placed in it. If a long rick is made, the beets should be divided every twelve or fifteen feet in order that if decay begins at any point it will not destroy all the beets in the silo. Before Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 225 placing the beets in the silo it is a good plan to remove the tops, leaving enough of the crown and tops to permit growth to begin the next spring. If mother beets are allowed to wilt before they are planted, the yield of seed is greatly reduced. Likewise, if they are not put into the silos fresh, the keeping quality is not so good. Beets to be siloed should usually be left in the fields as long as possible before digging, keeping in mind the injury that may result from frost. The methods of siloing vary considerably with the in- tensity of the winter cold. In some climates beets live over winter in the field and will produce seed without being dug and siloed. This is not the case, however, in most of the best seed-producing sections. The tempera- ture of the beets in the silo should be taken at intervals during the winter to serve as a guide to the amount of covering needed. Planting mother heets. The stecklinge can be planted considerably earlier In the spring than the best seed, since the old beets are not as sensitive to frost as are seedlings. It is probably need- less to say that the land should have been plowed deeply. Experiments with a number of methods of planting and distances between plants have been made and the follow- ing method adopted as a result : The land is marked each way about thirty inches apart and a beet dropped at each crossing of the marks. The best distance apart will, of course, depend on conditions. A long spade is pushed into the ground and the beet put in behind or in front of the spade when it is moved for- Q 226 The Sugar-Beet in America ward. It is important to plant the beets well below the surface of the soil. The crown should be covered with a small quantity of soil to protect the budding top. The rows being the same distance apart each way, the culti- vator can be run in two directions and much hand labor thereby saved. In many cases no attempt is made to provide for two-way cultivation ; the beets are merely planted every twenty to thirty inches apart in rows that are about three feet apart. Sometimes a furrow is made with a plow or deep cultivator and the beets planted in it. The South Dakota Station ^ reports using a machine for transplanting beets in 1916. It was an adapted planter similar to those used in transplanting tobacco ; it was also used in transplanting alfalfa roots. "This is a two-wheeled machine with one shovel to open the furrows, two boxes to hold the beets and three seats, one for the driver and two for the beet droppers. Wings draw the dirt around the beets as they are dropped. A pair of rollers to firm the dirt around the beets would make a great improvement. About two or two and a half acres a day was the rate achieved in the trials." It seems probable that some machine will be devised to reduce the great amount of hand labor required in planting mother beets. Care of seed crop during growth. When seed is raised under irrigation, it seems advisable to apply water very soon after the beets are planted in » Shephard, J. H., South Dakota Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 173. (1917), p. 615. Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 227 order that the soil may be firmed around the roots and also to insm-e an early starting of growth. Two or three additional irrigations are usually ample to mature the seed crop. The soil should have sufficient moisture while the seed is forming. Early cultivation is desirable to keep weeds in check as they are much more easily killed at this time. After the seed-stalks become too large, it is difficult to get through the field with a cultivator ; un- less weeds have been kept in check up to this time, they may prove troublesome and may need to be removed by hand. In any case, late hoeing may be desirable. Harvesting and threshing. (Plate XXVI.) Since the seed does not ripen evenly, it is necessary to go over the field and cut some of the plants before all are ripe. This is not practical when seed is raised on a large scale. The ripening period may extend over a number of weeks. The cutting is done with a sickle and the seed- stalks piled in the field to dry before threshing. It usually pays to go over the field after harvest with a brush and dustpan to glean seed that has fallen to the ground in cutting. Threshing can be performed with an ordinary grain thresher with the speed retarded, special screens, and certain adjustments. Special threshers may also be procured. From fifteen to twenty tons of seed can be threshed in a day. After the seed is threshed, some dirt and stems always remain. These are best removed by running the seed over a revolving canvas, which allows the seed to roll off and at the same time carries the stems away. The dirt and chaff are removed with a fanning mill before the seed 228 The Sugar-Beet in America is run over the canvas. The seed-cleaning machines may be purchased, or one may be made at home for about $100. A good machine will clean about a ton of seed in a day. By-products. After the seed crop is harvested, the beets and part of the stems and leaves still remain in the field. The beets contain considerable sugar, although much less than at first. They have, however, acquired a woody texture that renders them much less palatable to stock than the fresh beets. A number of cases have been reported of animals dying as a result of accumulated balls of this fibrous material in the digestive tract when fed too many of these beets. They have been used in many other cases without any apparent ill effects. The method of utiliz- ing these beets most economically is not known, but it is probable that the cheapest way is to have stock pasture on these old roots directly in the field similar to hogging- off corn. They can be used safely and economically in this way to supplement other feeds. Yields and profits. The amount of seed produced varies greatly under dif- ferent conditions. If all the plants give a normal yield, the amount of seed that would be expected theoretically would be several times the yield actually realized in practice. One of the chief causes for this is that a large number of the plants never send up seed-stalks, but throughout the summer merely develop a dense growth of leaves. Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 229 At the Utah Station tests running for nine years gave the following yield of seed from the individual plants ; Table X. Average Weight of Seed Produced by Mother Beets Ybab Number Mothers Tested Average Weight op Seed per Beet (grams)* 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 309 66 178 200 395 348 470 135 53 368.9 356.5 714.6 722.6 405.0 282.3 374.3 393.4 263.7 Average . . . 431.2 An acre of land contains about 7000 mother beets. If each one produced as much as the average reported above, nearly 7000 pounds of seed to the acre might be expected. This, however, is not approached in practice. The yield is usually between 1000 and 2000 pounds to the acre. A yield greater than 2000 pounds is exceptional. The average yield of seed for the United States for 1916 and 1917 was about 1100 pounds to the acre. The fields of commercial seed raised by the Utah Ex- periment Station at Logan have given the following yields during the years 1912 to 1917 inclusive : 1 There are 453 grams in one pound. 230 The Sugar-Beet in America Table XI. — Yield to the Acre of Sugar-Beet Seed, Logan, Utah Year Pounds of Beet Seed to the Acre 1912 1,190 1913 1,354 1914 1,571 1915 1916 1917 1,868 1,558 1,223 Average 1,461 At a price of fifteen cents a pound for the seed, the re- turn for an acre is $219.15. The cost of producing this seed varies so much with conditions that definite figures are almost useless, but the following figures for cost are suggestive : Table XII. — Estimated Cost of Raising One Acre of Sugar-Beet Seed Rent of land (value S250 an acre) .... $ 20.00 Plowing and preparing land 5.00 Hauling stecklinge from silo and planting . 15.00 Cultivating and irrigating 6.00 Hoeing 2.00 Cutting seed 5.00 Threshing and cleaning 15.00 Cost of mother seed and stecklinge .... 40.00 Total $108.00 A comparison of these figures for cost with the price obtained for seed shows that a good profit may be made. This profit, taken with the fact that domestic seed is better than the imported, surely justifies the establishment of a sugar-beet-seed industry in America. CHAPTER XVI COST OF PRODUCING BEETS No phase of the beet-sugar industry is more elusive than the cost of producing beets. The costs involved in slicing the beets, extracting the sugar, evaporating the juice, and handling the sugar can be determined with considerable accuracy ; under normal conditions, these manufacturing processes are fairly constant in their cost. The cost of raising beets, on the other hand, is exceed- ingly variable from field to field and from year to year. Cost determinations are usually made on the basis of an acre of beets; but a much more useful figure would be the cost of a ton of beets, or even better, the beet-cost entering into a hundred pounds of sugar. The costs reported thus far have been worked out largely from the standpoint of the dollar basis. They have been arrived at without making a detailed study of the hours of man and horse labor that enter into the production of the crop or without including in every case definite information with reference to other items of cost that form a part of the account. NEED FOR LOW COST The permanency of the beet-sugar industry in any country depends on the ability of farmers to produce 23] 232 The Sugar-Beet in America beets at a low cost. In unusual times and when sugar is scarce and high priced, it may be manufactured at a profit even if the beets are not raised in an efficient manner and if the cost of production is high; but if conditions throughout the world become balanced, beet^sugar- will not be able to _compete with cane-sugar , even though the former may enjoy a limited j)rotection. The life of the industry depends on the efficiency of the beet farmer, who should seek in every way to reduce costs rather than to increase them. The process of extracting sugar from beets has reached a high state of perfection. The farmer should try to make his methods equally perfect. The constant friction between the farmer and the sugar company regarding the price of beets causes the farmer to make his costs seem as high as possible, whereas the manufacturer wants them to be low. This leads to con- siderable discrepancy in estimates of costs and makes it more difficult to determine actual costs. The profit- sharing plans for paying for beets, which are being dis- cussed more each year, will necessitate definite cost figures being obtained, not only for the making of sugar, but also for the raising of beets. Farmer and manufacturer alike should be interested in keeping the cost of both phases of the industry as low as possible in order that each may obtain the greatest profit. Practically the entire world's supply of sugar under normal conditions comes from countries such as Cuba, Java, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, and Russia, where labor is much cheaper than in the United States. If we are to produce sugar in competition, it is essential that our labor be made as efficient as possible by the use of Cost of ProdiLcing Beets 233 machinery and the application of scientific methods to the farm. It will also be necessary to raise sugar-beets in the parts of the country best adapted to their growth. It is on the farm that this greater ejBSciency must be sought, since the price paid for the beets is the chief item of expense involved in the cost of beet-sugar. DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING COSTS It is often asserted that beet producers are receiving abnormal profits for their crops ; and about equally often the beet-growers contend that there is no profit in raising beets, or that if all costs were considered the crop is ordinarily produced at a loss. Data to prove either con- tention can be gathered from both large and small farms. In some communities only a very few farmers can pro- duce beets at a profit when the average for a number of years is taken. Naturally, in such places, beets become unpopular and conclusive results can be given to show that beets are unprofitable; in a more favored locality, the opposite can be shown as readily. It is highly desirable to find unbiased results that will show the true condition for the sugar-beet producers of the country as a whole, for each locality, and for each individual farm. At present such data have not been determined satisfactorily. Much valuable material has been compiled to show the costs, but since many factors are unfortunately left out of most of these compilations, they do not represent the true cost. Results in this re- gard, as reported from experiments on a small scale, generally show high yields and a high labor cost, indicat- 234 The Sugar-Beet in America ^ ing that more care has been taken than could be reasonably expected in ordinary farm practice. Often such costs as land rent and depreciation of machinery are omitted entirely. Estimates from farmers are usually unsatis- factory because very few keep accurate accounts of the various small items. Reports from farmers, in order to be reliable, must be taken systematically and carefully, and the number of farmers interviewed must be large if error is to be reduced to a minimum. Except for general study, it is imperative that all con- ditions be given in order that a true interpretation can be made, since cost of labor, nature of soil, efficiency in work, thoroughness of method, and numerous other factors vary so much that general estimates are of little value. Many of the figures available are for only one season, and it is well known that costs and yields vary greatly with the year. COST OF GROWING IN VARIOUS SECTIONS When averages of a large number of growers are taken, the cost of producing beets is nearly equal to the price received for them, all factors being considered. A slight profit would be expected if the true averages were available, because in general the farmers of the older beet-growing sections consider the crop worth while. The profitable- ness of a crop is usually indicated by the readiness with which the farmers grow it ; and farmers are usually glad to raise beets. The Federal Trade Commission in 1917 made a "Re- port on the Beet Sugar Industry in the United States." Cost of Producing Beets 235 This study covered practically every beet-producing section in the United States. Estimated costs were ob- tained from many farmers in each district. These are summarized by states in Fig. 28. Since the data were carefully collected and compiled, they may be considered Fig. 28. — Diagram of costs involved in producing sugar-beets in various states. (Compiled from Report of the Federal Trade Commis- sion, May 24, 1917.) to be approximately correct for the districts and for the costs during that year (1913) at least. The figure shows the cost, including the following items : soil preparation, hand labor, planting and cultivating, lifting and hauling, fertilizing, seed, and irrigation ; but it omits the rental value of the land and depreciation of machinery, ditches, fences, and the like. The item of land rent is important in considering cost of production, for it is ordinarily from one-sixth to one-fourth of the value of the crop. That the 236 The Sugar-Beet in America value of the farms studied in this survey were above the ordinary beet land is seen from the fact that the yields reported average in the neighborhood of one-third higher than the yields for states as reported from other sources.^ In addition to the rental cost, there should be added from 3 to 10 per cent of the costs mentioned for taxes, depreciation on machinery, and other incidentals. Then about 6 or 7 per cent of the cost as given should be added to account for crop failures or acreages not harvested, if the true cost is to be found. Keeping this in mind when studying the gross returns from the crop and the yield to the acre represented in columns two and three of the chart, it will be seen that beets on the better class of land in most of the states yield a profit under normal conditions. It is evident, however, that the true net returns are not so great as one is sometimes led to believe from incom- plete costs. The cost data are not complete enough to draw satisfactory conclusions, because we do not know whether the land represented in the high-producing states — Utah, Idaho, California, and Colorado — was on the 200- to 300-dollar-an-acre land that rents for fifteen to twenty dollars an acre each year, or whether the low- producing states represented the 100- to 200-dollar-an- acre land drawing a rent of six to ten dollars an acre. But it appears that the profit to the acre from the crop increases rather strikingly as the yield increases above a minimum point. The larger yields in the West permit more care to be given economically to the crop as the yield increases; or rather, the high wages and other 1 U. S. De-pt. uj Agri. Yearbook (1913), p. 447. Cost of Producing Beets 237 costs in the West can be paid because the yields are high enough to cover them, and still leave a profit. The results are interesting in that they show the re- lation of yield to the various factors of production in the different localities, although it should be remembered that climatic and soil factors are much more important in determining the profitableness of beets than is labor. The cultural practices, except special operations such as irrigation, are thought, on an average, not to differ so widely in the different states as do wages. It will be noticed that the costs of hand labor and lifting and hauling the beets vary somewhat according to yield and that the greatest variations are in the cost of lifting and hauling. Since the cost of harvesting is known to constitute from one-fifth to one-third of the total cost of growing beets, this is to be expected. This increases somewhat with the yield. RELATION OF NUMBER OF ACRES RAISED TO COST AND PROFIT By arranging the data from the above survey in Table XIII, according to the number of acres of beets grown, it is found that the acreage of beets has but little influence on the cost of production, farms with only a few acres of beets producing them as economically as those with over a hundred acres. Farm surveys in general show that the larger farms up to a certain point are the more efficient ; this is thought to hold good with beet farms as well as others. A survey in Utah indicated that the proportion of the land devoted to beets increased as the profitable- 238 Tlie Sugar-Beet in America O J. H S oD S O o U O K Eh O z K OH S ^ H PJ < H <) K < li. on pq O I? tc M M « O •< < Oh H w to Z H B3 w » « O M <1 w h rri O -4 n s o « P Q ^ pi] < li. fii U< o ? H H n W O 1^ CO W 1 o s H o HH u « 1— 1 P b h- 1 n X o z M o CIh CO n ■< H >3 Woo K P< ID o O i oorHt^Tfioo-^ooooiooos coTfTjHi>c^_cc-^TijiOTijoq(N (N'-ht-(00'-hOO(M050CO rHMT}<^,-llM.-HOit^00(NCO OiOC00005(NOp;C5(NO0qr>; r-Jcooc^ico-Io-^tcoooooc^ .-i'-H(N(MrO'00. iMiO'-i'-H(M(MfO't'^t^'-' q3 Cost of Producing Beets 239 ness of the farm decreased, but the acres of beets grown increased as the profitableness of the farm increases. Therefore, the only conclusion that may be drawn from these data is that both good and poor farmers grow large and small acreages of beets. It is regretted that the rental value of the land was not taken in the survey, because this, it is thought, would modify considerably the results on this point, as the size of the farms varied considerably in the different districts and the rental value would have varied in the same way. Moorhouse ^ and his associates in the Office of Farm Management, United States Department of Agriculture, have obtained some interesting figures on the relation of acreage and yield to costs. The results are given in Tables XIV and XV. These figures show that in each of the areas under in- vestigation the yield to the acre exerted a very important influence on the cost of producing a ton of beets. Table XIV. — Relation of Acreage and Yield per Acre TO Cost per Acre and per Ton. Utah and Idaho 10 Tons or Less 11 TO 15 Tons 16 Tons and Over 1i Per Acre Per Ton Per Acre Per Ton Per Acre Per Ton 10 acres or less 11 to 20 acres 21 acres and over 12 •14 8 .S62.59 59.04 60.20 S8.65 6.69 6.22 17 24 18 $72.47 66.87 64.70 $5.5.3 5.01 4.85 29 32 19 .$75.70 71.81 70.19 S4.12 3.93 4.02 1 Correspondence with the author. Also see U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bui. No. 693 for additional figures. 240 The Sugar-Beet in America Table XV. — Relation of Acreage and Yield per Acre TO Cost per Acre and per Ton. Colorado 10 Tons oh Less 11 TO 15 Tons 16 Tons and Over "o 1 Per Per "o g Per Per "o p Per Per O a Acre Ton 6 d Acre Ton ^ fl Acre Ton ZfS Zfe iZfc. 10 acres or less 12 $72.31 S7.72 23 $71.90 $5.64 24 $83.22 .$4.87 11 to 20 acres . 10 62.38 7.92 46 66.77 4.99 40 78.25 4.42 21 to 40 acres 21 57.35 6..30 80 65.78 4.99 56 75.09 4.21 41 acres and over 1 49.85 4.92 33 63.86 4.68 21 75.82 4.43 The relation between size of farm, area of beets planted, and labor income on 276 Utah farms is shown in Table XVI. The table shows that the labor income of farmers raising sugar-beets is higher than that of farmers not raising them. This is probably due as much to secondary profits, discussed in Chapter XII, as to direct returns from beets. On the average the yield was slightly higher on the medium-sized farms than on the very large or the very small ones. COST BASED ON TIME Because the prices paid for labor vary so much in dif- ferent regions, it is impossible to give money costs that apply to all conditions. The length of time required in performing the various operations should be approxi- mately the same. This offers a means of securing definite figures which may be computed for each region by using the price of man and horse labor that prevails. Cost of Producing Beets 241 E-i ■ < 2 02 < . !^ H < (J <=i < w m s a « o « H (M p ?;« o . i^ ►5 n ^ a m Eh «t5 p H o p o O n aasivy 1 BJOHQ Haawa^ a o o o 1^ 02 o z a o. K £ t^ O Siaag aiai^ SHoy exaag DNI9IVy SWHV J % S198g . POBI z % ■ H <; 2 o z •— < « 0 _ n < a ^ ^ •o lo •* 00 i> »-; >o CO T-i lo O LO lO LO IC ■^ 05 to Tti lo ro CO rt* CO CO o 00 GO iM CO O O CO O CO -o CO ^^ 1— I "M CO lo ^ r^ '"I to ^ rfH CO w" TjH Tt oi c^i •I> CO !>• (M 00 CO Ti^' r>J CO CO 00 00 CO CO lO CO 1-H X ■* CO rH rJH t->. GO -^ CO O 0-1 C> TjH GO C5 CO C5 >0 00 --H 05 iq 05 CO 1-5 00 CO >o t^ to 1— I GO rH oi h^ d d ci CO O t^ CO Tjl to i-H CO 31 iM O 00 --< •* ■* CO c^ 00 O .-I o o CO CO C5 t^ O -^ ■* CO CI 1-1 (^5 O O O O CO to to r^ -r)< j<3 '<^" •^' d to d ■* CO TtH O — I O ■* GO 00 00 O CO to 1> T^ o 00 o ■* rt CO CV| CO r-H t>. ■'f CO O •^ CO to O to rH CO •^' 00 d d to O CI I> 1> to CO rH ^ 0-1 00 o to ■* IM CO (N to 1—1 05 CO 05 C-l !>. CO T-H to O CO I> (N Tt< CO ^H X -^ o ^ C sfe to o 1-5 242 The Sugar-Beet in America Peck/ in Minnesota, has made a rather careful study of the cost of producing beets in that state, which unfortu- nately does not represent an important beet-producing Figs. 29, 30. Table XVII, taken from his work. area. gives the total man hours to produce an acre of beets as 155.4 and the horse hours as 110.7. The time spent on the various operations is also shown : Table XVII. — Labor Requirements for Producing Suqar- Beets * Total Acres Hours peb Acre Man Horse Manuring Plowing Disking Harrowing Planking Seeding Cultivating Bunching and thinning Hoeing Pulling and topping . . Lifting Hauling 833.9 1426.0 1134.0 1451.4 559.5 1458.4 1447.4 462.1 1458.4 1458.4 9.9 4.4 2.3 1.1 .9 1.3 11.1 44.2 21.0 37.8 3.5 17.9 21.7 13.1 8.2 2.9 2.1 2.6 17.2 6.7 36.2 Total 155.4 110.7 » Peck, F. W., "The Cost of Producing Sugar Beets," Minn. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 154 (1916). 2 Not contract labor. On an average the land was disked 2.4 times ; harrowed, 2.3 times ; cultivated, 5.2 times ; and hoed, 1.4 times. Cost of Producing Beets 243 Mendelson ^ reports as follows results of a hearing before the United States Food Administration at Fort Morgan, Colorado, in 1918, on the work required in raising sugar-beets : Fig. 29. — Man labor on sugar-beets. (F. W. Peck.) "Spreading manure. Two men, four horses, and spreader will spread 20 beet boxes of manure on two acres in one day. '^Crowning alfalfa (once in 4 years). One man and five horses will crow^n three and one-half acres per day. ^^ Harrowing the crowning twice (once in 4 years). One man and three horses will harrow twenty acres per day. "Floating the crowning (once in 4 years). One man and four horses will float 15 acres per day. 1 Mendelson, H., " A Day's Work," Sugar^ Vol. 20, p. 140 (April, 1918). 244 The Sugar-Beet in America "Plowing. One man and five horses will plow two acres per day. "Harrowing. One man and three horses will harrow sixteen acres per day. " Floating. One man and fom* horses will float 10 acres per day. FiQ. 30. — Distribution of cost of sugar-beot production. (F. W. Perk.) "Flaniing. One man and two horses will plant nine acres per day. "Rolling. One man and two horses will roll 1-1 acres per day. "Cultivating. One man and two horses will cultivate eight acres per day. "Furrowing. One man and two horses will furrow 15 acres per day. "Irrigating. One man in twenty-four hours will irri- gate eight acres. Cost of Producing Beets 245 " Plowing out. One man and four horses will plow out 2\ acres per day. "Hauling. One man and four horses will haul twelve tons per day. "According to this schedule, the number of man and horse hours required per acre of beets for work done every year is as follows : Hours peb Aceb Men Horses Spreading manure Plowing Harrowing three times . . . Floating two times Planting Rolling Cultivating four times . . . Furrowing Irrigating 2| times Plowing out HauUng (12 tons) 10.0 5.0 1.9 2.0 1.1 0.7 5.0 0.7 7.5 4.4 10.0 20.0 25.0 5.7 8.0 2.2! 1.4 10.0 1.4 17.6 40.0 Total 48.3 131.3 "In addition to this in the above schedule, it is calcu- lated that alfalfa is broken every fourth year, and that, therefore, one-fourth of the time required to break an acre of alfalfa should be charged against every year's beet crop. "The total work required to break an acre of alfalfa, according to this schedule, is as follows : 246 The Sugar-Beet in America Men Hours Horse Hours Crovming Harrowing twice Floating once 2.9 1.0 0.7 14.5 3.0 2.8 Total 4.6 20.3 "One-fourth of this is, 1.2 men hours and 5.1 horse hours. This added to the regular work gives 49.5 men hours and 136.3 horse hours. "This means that on a 25-acre patch of beets you will have to spend 1207.5 hours of work, or 120.75 working days of 10 hours, during a growing season for this work, and your horses will have performed 3410 hours, or 341 days of 10 hours each, or if you have 6 horses, each horse has averaged 57 days' work during the growing season on 25 acres of beets." L. A. Moorhouse ^ found the following for man and horse labor in producing one acre of beets : Table XVIII. — Information Pertaining to Practice and Cost of Production of Sugar-Beets. (1914-1915) Item No. of operators reporting No. of acres grown . . Yield to the acre . . . Hours of man labor . Hours of horse labor . . Provo Dis- trict, Utah 58 833 14.9 tons 130.8 117.1 Garland Dis- trict, Utah 79 1461 14.8 tons 133.3 98.5 Idaho Falls District, Idaho 36 735 13.6 tons 119.4 79.3 1 Correspondence with the author. Cost of Producing Beets 247 Commenting on this, Moorhouse says : " Labor was by far the most important item in this study. The total labor cost under the rates that prevailed in 1914-1915 varied from $35.25 an acre to $40.18. These sums con- stituted from 54.4 to 58.3 per cent of the total cost of production." Although the different figures given above do not agree entirely, they are all suggestive and will be of assistance to any one who wishes to compute costs for his own neigh- borhood. The beet farmers and sugar companies of Utah and Idaho agreed on the following schedule for contract hand labor for each acre during 1918: Thinning, $8; first hoeing, $3 ; second hoeing, $2, — or $26 for all hand labor based on a twelve-ton crop with one dollar extra for each additional ton and seventy-five cents less for each ton decrease in yield. EXAMPLES OF ACRE-COST Blakey ^ has made rather extensive investigations of the cost of producing sugar based on reports of farmers, actual field tests, and work of the experiment stations. His findings are summed up in Table XIX. In the table he does not include the cost of land, rent, taxes, and the like, which would probably be between $15 and $20, making the total cost about $75. The figures are fairly accurate for the dates represented, but they are doubt- less too low for war-time prices of labor and materials. 1 Blakey, R. G., "The United States Beet-Sugar Industry and the Tariff" (1912), pp. 113-140 and pp. 267-273. 248 The Sugar-Beet in America Table XIX. — Costs of Growing Beets, Actual and Esti- mated (Blakey) Labor costs Plowing and preparation for same Harrowing, leveling, etc. . . . Seeding Cultivating Irrigating Spraying Thinning Hoeing . Topping Pulling . Hauling , Siloing . Other costs Seed Dump Blacksmithing and repairs . . . Miscellaneous expenses Implement depreciation (estimated) Interest, crop investment (esti- mated) Subtotals Water rates Management and supervision (esti- mated) Totals 1 . . . . Rent on land, taxes, etc. 1905-1906 Actual Crops 3-YEAR Aver- age (Colo- rado) Estimated Normal Aver- age AFTER This Experience ' Does not include rent, interest on money invested in land, or taxes. However, this expenditure would produce more than the present normal yield for the country. Cost of Producing Beets 249 In many districts farmers maintain that the cost of producing an acre of beets is over $100. This is prob- ably much more than the farmer ordinarily spends, and includes every expenditure that would be made in pro- ducing a maximum crop. The farmer does not of course commonly go to this amount of trouble and expense ; he is usually satisfied to do a moderate amount of work and to secure an acre-yield somewhere near the average. No accurate figures have been compiled for the cost of producing a ton of beets or for producing the beets neces- sary to make one hundred pounds of sugar. This phase of the cost of beet production deserves more attention on the part of students of beet-sugar economics. CHAPTER XVII BEET RAISING AND COMMUNITY WELFARE In considering the value of the beet-sugar industry to the community, the indirect benefits of raising beets, as well as the direct value of the crop, should be considered. Those who have made a careful study of the subject are agreed that the introduction of sugar-beets into the agriculture of a region results in good in many ways. In the European countries where beet raising has seen its greatest development, agriculture has a stability not found in the newer countries where sugar-beets have not been introduced. Palmer^ says: "For fifteen years I have made a per- sonal study of the sugar industry in the United States, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and some portions of the tropics. In the above named countries of Europe, I have met or studied the writings of their leading agricul- turists, economists, and other thinking men, and without exception they state that the culture of sugar-beets raises the standard of their agricultural methods as does no other crop, rids their fields of noxious growi:h, puts ^ Palmer, Truman G., Journal of the National Institvie of Social Sciences, July, 1916. 250 Beet Raising and Community Welfare 251 their soil in better condition, increases by 25 to 80 per cent the acreage yield of all other crops grown in rota- tion, and annually saves them from sending several hun- dred million dollars to the tropics to purchase a neces- sary food commodity. In no beet country visited was there found a disposition to regret its establishment or the money it cost to establish it. Germany alone spent over $351,000,000 in export bounties in order to encourage the industry." STABILITY TO AGRICULTURE Wherever the beet-sugar industry is permanently es- tablished, agriculture reaches a greater stability than it had previously. The fact that the farmer has a sure market for his crop at a price known in advance enables him to judge more accurately the value of the land. Ex- perience shows the approximate yield of beets he ma}' expect ; and since he knows the costs of producing the crop and the returns he is likely to receive from it, he is able to calculate rather accurately how much he can af- ford to pay for beet land of known quality. This re- duces the rapid fluctuation in the price of land that is often met in regions where profits are less certain. In areas where crops have no regular cash market, it is difficult to obtain stability to the agriculture. Many fruit-producing sections boom during years of good market, and land prices become greatly inflated. This condition may be followed by a series of years when no market can be secured or when the crop is a failure due to frost or some other unfavorable condition. The result is that 252 The Sugar-Beet in America many farmers fail and have to sell the farm at a loss and seek employment elsewhere. Farming under these up- and-down conditions is not satisfactory. The introduc- tion of beet raising into the farming system tends to over- come this variation. Fruit raising may yield higher profits during favorable years, but the uncertainty of its returns is not attractive to the conservative farmer and, therefore, not conducive to permanent agriculture. PROMOTES GOOD FARMING The raising of sugar-beets is not consistent with poor farming. Rye may be raised on land that is merely scratched ; it needs but little attention in addition to the work of planting and harvesting. Sugar-beets, on the other hand, cannot be raised without careful attention being given to every operation, from plowing to the de- livery of the crop at the factory. The expense of pro- ducing the crop is so great that the farmer cannot afford to neglect any phase of the work; carelessness in thin- ning may reduce the returns by several times the amount of the cost of thinning. The farmer cannot afford to allow weeds to grow, since these pests reduce the yield not only by using moisture and plant-food needed by the crop, but they cause a decrease in sugar formation by shading the beet leaves. In a cheaper crop, the cost of keeping weeds inider complete control might not justify the expense; but in beet fields weeds cause greater in- jury than the expense of removing them. Thus, in every phase of sugar-beet farming, thoroughness is de- manded. This is certain to reflect in the raisinir of other i Beet Raising and Community Welfare 253 crops and to cause a general improvement in the agricul- ture of the section. INCREASES CROP YIELDS Statistics ^ show an increase in the yield of crops in every country where the raising of sugar-beets has been introduced. This is not due to any plant-food added to the soil by the beet plant, for it adds none, but is the re- sult of the good tillage methods necessary to successful beet-culture. The fleshy tap-root of the beet penetrates deeply into the soil, which it loosens and allows to be- come thoroughly aerated. Any tendency to the formation of a "plow sole" is overcome, and there is a thorough mixing of the soil and the upper subsoil. Beets require deep plowing in preparation for the crop ; they are given constant cultivation during the growing period ; and at harvest time the land is stirred deeply in removing the beets. This cultivation is paid for by the beet crop, but it also improves the condition of the soil for the crop that follows to such a marked degree that the yield is decidedly increased. Pure sugar takes no fertility from the land ; conse- quently, if all of the by-products of the beet-sugar indus- try are returned to the land, its fertility can be maintained readily. With most other crops, the marketable part contains large quantities of the mineral plant-foods. Of * A great many figures on this subject have been compiled by Truman G. Palmer and published in his pamphlet entitled "Sugar at a Glanoe',' — U. S. Senate Document No. 890, 62d Congress (1912). 254 The Sugar-Beet in America course, it is not practical to return all by-products to the land, but with care the greater part may be conserved. The increased yield in crops brought about by beet raising is due in part to the better farming methods dis- cussed in the previous section. In order to realize the full value of sugar-beets in in- creasing crop yields, it is necessary to have well-planned rotations supplemented by an economical use of farm manure or other fertilizing materials. The high yields of European countries would not be possible without scien- tific rotations and the extensive use of manures. EDUCATIONAL VALUE The beet-sugar industry is based on technical skill. The breeding of strains of beets high in sugar calls for special training in the principles of breeding. Many chemists are needed to analyze the mother beets and special skill is required in the field work. In the making of sugar from beets, engineers, chemists, and other technically trained men are required. This means that any com- munity having a beet-sugar factory must have trained men to carry on the industry. This necessity so promotes education that sugar-beet production has a direct educa- tional value to any community. Farmers take up better business methods, being en- couraged to keep records by cost of labor, cash product, contract crop, and contract labor, also because of its being one of two or three general crops that can pay on high- priced land. Beet Raising and Community Welfare 255 EMPLOYMENT FOR CHILDREN In raising sugar-beets, considerable hand labor is re- quired. Much of this work can be done well by children ; in fact, children often can thin beets better and more rapidly than their parents. They can be used to ad- vantage also in weeding and in topping. This means that in regions where sugar-beets are raised, children who go to school during the winter can earn good wages in vacation times. In many irrigated districts of the West, where most of the sugar-beets of America are produced, persons live in towns and not on their farms. These towns provide many children who have no regular employment in the summer. These small communities lack the industries found in the large cities. Many of the inhabitants do not have land of their own ; as a result, their children are idle when not in school. If the farms of the region produce only hay and grain, no work is available for children ; but when sugar-beets are added, these young persons find healthful and paying employment instead of spending the summer on the streets. In this, as in other work for children, care must be taken to avoid the evils of child labor. WINTER EMPLOYMENT In all the farming communities work is more pressing in the summer than in the winter. In order to have suf- ficient help to care for crops during the busy season, there is an excess at other times. This means that or- dinarily some of the hands are idle and that winter wages are low. 256 The Sugar-Beet in America If there is a sugar factory in the community, it uses a great number of men in the winter and the congestion is relieved. Those who would otherwise be idle are given employment and the entire winter wage scale for the com- munity is advanced. CENTRALIZED POPULATION Sugar-beet raising calls for intensive farming. A given area of land producing beets will give employment to several times as many men as the same area devoted to hay or grain. With sugar-beets as an important crop, the farmer does not require so large an acreage in order to make a living as would be necessary with many other crops. This means that sugar-beet farming promotes a denser population. This has many advantages. It makes possible better educational facilities and more desirable social opportunities, thereby reducing to a minimum some of the chief disadvantages of farm life. INCREASES OTHER BUSINESS The raising of sugar-beets and the manufacture of sugar from them bring increased business to many other industries not directlj^ connected with the farmer or the sugar factory. Thus, every community in which the beet-sugar industry is established has the pulse of its en- tire business quickened thereby. Railroads receive much traflSc in transporting beets, lime, sugar, machinery, and the many other commodities that are incidental to sugar- making. Bank clearings are increased by the money paid for beets and supplies and that received for sugar. Beet Raising and Community Welfare 257 The live-stock business is advanced by the cheap feeds resulting as by-products of beet raising and sugar-making. Several secondary manufacturing industries also grow out of the use of sugar-house products. All business is en- hanced by the presence of a sugar factory. NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE Perhaps the most important contribution of the beet- sugar industry to community welfare comes in the greater degree of national independence that it insures. In modern days, sugar has come to be a food necessity. Its high food value, its palatability, and the ease with which it fits into the human ration make it almost indispensable. The European war taught us much concerning the hard- ship that may result from a shortage of sugar. Any nation that finds itself dependent on some other nation for so important a commodity as sugar cannot boast that it is really independent. In time of war when an old supply is likely to be shut off, the nation that does not produce its own sugar may find itself seriously handi- capped. The beet-sugar industry owes its origin to just such a condition. Later international troubles have shown that preparation for an emergency of this kind must be made in times of peace ; it is too late after fighting has begun. It now seems evident that, aside from other consider- ations, the American beet-sugar industry should be en- larged as a matter of national preparedness. The Amer- ican people cannot afford to place themselves at the mercy of a possible enemy by not having at home a source of sugar sufficient to meet their needs in times of war. CHAPTER XVIII SUGAR-MAKING The processes involved in the manufacture of beet- sugar have undergone a great change in a little more than a hundred years since the industry was first established. At first it was difficult to secure a good product and only a small percentage of the sugar in the beet could be re- covered as refined sugar. Improvement in manufactur- ing processes has gone hand in hand with the breeding of a higher grade of beets in making possible the extension of the beet-sugar industry. The making of beet-sugar involves a number of rather complex problems in physics, chemistry, and engineering; and since it is beyond the scope of this book to go thoroughly into these technical questions, only a brief description of the process of sugar- making will be given. The following well-defined stages are involved in the process : (1) storing and cleaning of beets, (2) extraction of juice, (3) purification of juice, (4) formation of grain, (5) partial drying, (6) final drying, and (7) packing the sugar. STORING THE BEETS After the beets are received by the sugar company, it is often necessary to store them for some time before they 258 Sugar-Making are sliced. If this is done at the factory, bins are usually avail- able. These are so arranged that the beets can be worked with the least amount of handling. Where cars are not available for immediate trans- portation, the beets must be stored in the districts where they are raised. This is usually done in large piles near the weighing station and dump. The loss during storage is due to res- piration, which is greatly increased as the temperature rises. This means that in sections where the temperature is high at harvest time, the beets must be sliced within a few days after they are dug. In sections where 260 The Sugar-Beet in America the temperature is cool at the time of harvest and where severe cold is not experienced, large uncovered heaps are to be preferred to all other methods of storage, since little expense is involved and the loss of sugar is slight. Beets are not injured by temperatures slightly below freezing when they thaw out slow^ly ; consequently, only those lying on the very outside of the heap will be injured by frost. A light frost will result in no injury whatever. Care must be taken to see that these heaps do not begin to heat. If heating begins, the pile must be opened and the decaying beets removed. Beets stored at the factory are placed in V-shaped bins, the bottom of which is a flume covered with removable boards. By taking out these boards one at a time, the beets drop into a swift stream of water and are carried to the factory. WASHING AND WEIGHING The first step in preparing the beets for the factory is to remove rocks, sand, weeds, and other foreign material that might interfere with slicing. This foreign material is removed by a set of special devices shown in Fig. 31, after which the beets are carried up to the washer. The mechanical washer consists of a tank in which arms keep up an agitation in such a way that all dirt not removed while the beets were being carried by the stream of water into the factory is washed off. The beets after being thoroughly cleaned are elevated to a scale which weighs and records automatically. They are now ready to be sliced. Plate XXVII. — Ahme, \-iew of top of diffusion battery; hclow, car- bonation and sulfur tanks where the warm raw juice is purified. (Cour- tesy Truman G. Palmer.) Sugar-Making 261 SLICING AND EXTRACTION The chief object sought in slicing is to obtain as large a surface as possible and at the same time to leave the pieces of beet in such a condition that they will not pack into a mass through which water will not pass readily. Many kinds of slicing knives are used, but all cut the beets into long thin strips called "cossettes." These are so thin that the sugar contained in the cells of the root can readily diffuse out into the water with which the cos- settes are treated in the diffusion batteries. The cor- rugated slicing knives revolve rapidly and are able to handle large quantities of beets. The cossettes pass from the knives to the cells of the diffusion battery, shown in Plate XXVII. These are large iron containers, cylindrical in shape, and terminating in truncated cones having covers ; they are arranged in a circle or in a straight line. The series usually contains from ten to fourteen of these tanks. Each is so con- nected at the bottom by means of a pipe with the top of the next in the series that a continual flow of warm water passes through the cossettes as long as they remain in the battery. The batteries are so arranged that the container which has had its charge for the longest time receives the fresh water, which removes the last bit of sugar that can be extracted. The pulp from which the sugar has been removed is dumped out and the tank is again filled with fresh slices. This tank then becomes the last in the series and receives the water laden with juice after it has passed through all the other cells of the bat- tery. 262 The Sugar-Beet in America The pulp is carried off in a stream of water to a silo, where it is held till it is dried or hauled away to be fed to stock. Plate XIX. Methods of handling the pulp are discussed in detail in Chapter XII. The juice, con- taining the sugar, on coming from the batteries is dark in color, and, in addition to the sugar, contains many impuri- ties which must be removed before the sugar can be made to crystallize out. Up to this point, the method of mak- ing beet-sugar differs completely from that used for cane- sugar; beet juice is obtained by diffusion, whereas the cane juice is removed by crushing. PURIFICATION OF THE JUICE After the juice is measured, it passes to the carbonation tanks (Plate XXVII) where purification begins. Here it is treated with 3 to 4 per cent of caustic lime in the form of thick milk. After thorough agitation, the excess lime is precipitated with carbon dioxid from the lime kiln. The addition of lime is considered the most important opera- tion in the sugar mill, and unless properly done the final product is affected both in color and amount. The effect of lime on the juice is both chemical and mechanical. The lime unites chemically with a number of substances that later interfere with the manufacturing process, and it causes many of the solids held in suspension to settle to the bottom, leaving a clear liquid of light amber color. When the proper condition in the juice is obtained, it is passed through filter presses, shown in Plate XXVIII, to remove the precipitated lime and other solid matter. These solid materials are retained in the frame of the Wm - ""-^ fY| Plate XXVIII. — Above, filter presses made of iron frames co.vered with cloth through which juice filters as a clear liquid; below, vacuum pans where the juice is concentrated and the grains formed. (Courtesy Truman G. Palmer.) Sugar-Making 263 presses. As soon as the frame is full, the lime cake is washed by passing water through it till the sugar-content of the cake has been suflficiently reduced. The press is then opened and the cake removed and disposed of in the manner discussed in Chapter XII. A second filtration is usually practiced in order to remove any solids that may have gone through the first time. Later, the juice is 'Ugain treated with a little lime and with carbon dioxid to reduce further the impurities, after which it receives the third filtering. In most sugar houses, the juice is treated with sulfur fumes before it is concentrated, although sometimes con- centration precedes this process. The object of treating with sulfur is to reduce the alkalinity caused by the lime, and to remove additional impurities. The sulfur also has a bleaching action, removing color from the liquid that might be carried on to the sugar. The sulfur fumes are obtained by passing air over burning sulfur which yields sulfurous acid. After being sulfured, the juice is passed through special filter presses after which it is ready for evaporation. EVAPORATION During the processes of purification the juice contains a large quantity of water which was used to extract the sugar in the diffusion battery. This must be evaporated before the sugar will crystallize. The first beet factories did this evaporating in open pans and as a result did not secure a good quality of sugar. The heat required to evaporate water rapidly at ordinary atmospheric pres- sure is so high that sugar is likely to be charred. For this 2&i Tlie Sugar-Beet in America reason, evaporation is carried on under reduced pres- sure which lowers the boiling point of the liquid. After the juice is reduced from about 82 per cent of water to about 40 per cent, it is again treated with sulfur and filtered in a manner similar to that used for the "thin juice," This is the final process of purifying the beet juice, which is then ready for graining. In refining cane-sugar, there is no treatment with sulfur ; impurities are removed with bone black. This is the chief difference in the method of making sugar from cane and from beets in the United States. In Europe, where raw beet-sugar is produced by many factories, this prod- uct also is refined by the aid of bone black. In early days blood was used extensively in sugar refining, but this practice has now been discontinued entirely. GRAINING The vacuum-pan serves not only for evaporating the sirup but also for crystallizing the sugar. This pan is a large cast-iron tank in which the air pressure can be kept low to reduce the danger of browning the sugar by high heat. If the juice has been purified properly, there is no trouble about producing good sugar in this pan; but if impurities remain, it is difficult to obtain good crystal- lization. This mkture of crystals and sirup is called " massecuite." It is run through a centrifugal machine, like that shown in Plate XXIX, revolving at a rate of 1200 revolutions a minute. The sirup is thrown out through fine perforations in the wall of the machine, and the crystals of sugar remain, dropping out through the bottom Sugar-Making 265 when enough sirup is thrown off to permit crumbling. From the centrifugal machine the sugar is sent to the driers, where any excess moisture is removed by a current of warm air. The sugar is then ready to be sacked and sent to the market. The sirup thrown from the centrifugal machines goes to the second vacuum-pan, where it is further concen- trated ; a second yield of sugar smaller than the first is taken from it in the centrifugal machine. The molasses is sometimes carried to tanks, where it is used in a manner discussed in Chapter XII. If the factory is equipped with the Steffen process, a third yield of sugar is secured. This yield is small and represents only that part which would remain as molasses or be partly saved, if the ordinary processes are used instead of the Steffen. THE STEFFEN PROCESS Regarding this process Rolph ^ has the following to say : " In some of the beet factories the sugar left in the final molasses is extracted by what is known as the Steffen process. The final low-purity molasses is diluted with water and cooled to a very low temperature, after which finely powdered lime is constantly added to the solution at a uniform and slow rate. The sugar combines with the lime and a saccharage of lime is formed which is insoluble in the liquid. The suspended matter, or saccharate, is then separated and washed in filter presses. "The cake from these filter presses, which is the sac- 1 Rolph, G. M., "Something about Sugar" (1917), pp. 115- 116. 266 The Sugar-Beet in America charate of lime, is mixed with sweet water to a consist- ency of cream and takes the place of milk of lime in the carbonation process. When the StefiPen process is em- ployed, about ninety per cent of the sugar originally in the beet is extracted. The loss of sugar that does take place is accounted for in the exhausted cossettes or pulp, in the pulp water which surrounds them when they are dumped from the diffusion cells, in the cake and wash waters from the carbonation presses, and in the waste and wash waters from the Steffen process. As the water used in washing the saccharate press cake is rich in fer- tilizing qualities, it is used for i'-rigating the lands ad- joining the factory. "The 6,511,274 tons of beets harvested in the United States during the season of 1915 contained an average of 16.49 per cent of sucrose, of which 14.21 per cent found its way into the sacks as white sugar. The difference, 2.28 per cent, represented the loss in working up the beets. As only a few factories, however, were using Steffen process, a considerable amount of sugar was left in the waste molasses. For the same period, the beets produced in California contained 17.82 per cent of sugar, of which 15.64 per cent found its way into the sacks, showing a loss of only 2.18 per cent. This may be accounted for by the fact that probably more of the California factories were equipped with the Steffen process than the average for the United States, and that the purity of the juices of California beets was higher than the average for the United States. "A factory equipped with the Steffen process and run- ning on beets containing 17.82 per cent sugar, with a Plate XXIX. — Above, centrifugal machines where the molasses is thrown out of the sugar: bd<>u\ sugar warehouse, Garden City, Kansas. (Courtesy Truman G. Palmer.) Sugar-Making 267 purity of 82, should lose not over 1.9 per cent of the sugar in the beet. The same factory without the Steffen pro- cess would probably lose 5.04 per cent of the sugar." It would, however, have a considerable quantity of molasses. CHAPTER XIX SUGAR-CANE No discussion of the sugar-beet would be complete without mention being made of its great rival, sugar- cane. The beet furnishes a comparatively new source of sugar, whereas cane has been a commercial source of sugar for centuries. If sugar-cane could be raised in temperate climates in as great profusion as it grows in the tropics, sugar would probably never be obtained com- mercially from the sugar-beet, since the yield of cane is much greater than that of beets, and the expense of han- dling the crop is very much less. Sugar-cane, however, is confined to hot countries ; this means that sugar made from it has to be transported great distances in order to reach the big markets, which are found in the centers of population. This gives beet- sugar a much better chance to compete. No one can predict exactly the relative production of cane- and beet- sugar in the future. It seems probable that both crops will continue to be raised, each one supplying the market that it can reach most easily. The sugar-cane plant belongs to the grass family, and is usually classed in the genus Saccharum, although it was formerly known as Arundo saccharifera. Many varieties 268 Sugar-Cane 269 of cane are grown. These differ greatly in their various properties, and they have the following colors: green, yellow, red, brown, black, white, purple, and mixed. Some varieties may be attractive to the grower, while the manufacturer may prefer others. This is not unlike the conditions with varieties of other crops. The producer seeks yield and resistance ; the manufacturer desires quality and ease in handling. No one variety is best suited to all conditions; a choice must be made on the basis of local needs. The roots are fibrous and lateral and do not penetrate deeply. The root-stalk is an elongation of the stem, which is made up of numerous nodes and internodes varying in length from four to ten inches. The epidermis is polished and in some varieties is very thick. Leaves are alternate ; they are large at the base and gradually taper to the point, being about three feet long and in some varieties bearing pricks. The older leaves drop off as the plant grows, leaving only those near the tip actively functioning. A bud, called the eye, is borne under the base of each leaf at the node. These contain the germ from which new plants are produced. Each bud is capable of pro- ducing a complete plant which may tiller and produce many stalks. The seed is produced in panicles of silken spikes and is often infertile, but propagation is carried on vegetatively by planting stalks or pieces of stalks. Around each bud are found numerous little dots which produce roots wJien the bud is planted. In some climates cane bears flowers when twelve or thirteen months old ; in other climates a longer period is required. Flowering takes place before the cane is entirely ripe. 270 The Sugar-Beet in America In Hawaii, eighteen months are required for it to ripen ; it tassels about a month before it is ready to cut. In Louisiana and Texas, the crop is harvested in nine or ten months after planting ; in Cuba, it is cut in twelve months whether it is ripe or not. In the Philippines, it is har- vested in about fourteen months, being planted in No- vember and December and harvested a year from the next January and February. ADAPTATION Sugar-cane is strictly a hot-climate plant. In order to flourish, it must have abundant sunshine, plenty of moisture, and a fertile soil. It is usually confined to the tropics, included between twenty-two degrees north lati- tude and twenty-two degrees south latitude, although in a few places it reaches beyond these boundaries, having been grown as far north as thirty-two degrees in Spain and as far south as thirty-seven degrees in New Zealand. The most favorable growing conditions are found with an average annual temperature of about 75 F. and seven to nine months of growing season with warm days and nights. It flourishes in the Hawaiian Islands, Cuba, IMexico, Central America, islands of the East and West Indies, Australia, China, India, along the shores of the China Sea and Indian Ocean, and in parts of Africa and South America. In the low altitudes of temperate zones it grows, but is only fairly successful. The water requirement of the crop is exceedingly large and can only be met by an extremely heavy rainfall or ■■,Vi ,flS^-i Plate XXX. — .l/»", , iilimtiim su<:ar-cane; below, unloading cane with a derrick, Cuba. (.Courtesy N. Kopcloff.) Sugar-Cane 271 by irrigation. The distributioii of moisture is highly important, most of it being required during the period of rapid growth, A comparatively dry season during ripen- ing and harvest is desirable ; and in the growing season, periods of clear skies and hot sunshine should alternate with the rainy periods. SOILS AND MANURING Because the cane plant is a vigorous feeder, it needs a fertile soil for its best growth. When so heavy a crop must be supported from the zone that is penetrated by the shallow roots of the cane, considerable available plant- food is required. If this is not present in the soil, it must be added as fertilizer if the highest yield is realized. No particular kind of soil is required ; any good agricultural land that can be well aerated and that has suflScient plant-food will raise sugar-cane. Limestone soils are to be preferred for this as well as for many other crops. The saline condition often found along the coa.st causes trouble with cane, although high yields are sometimes obtained in the presence of some salt. A soil high in vegetable mold is likely to produce a vegetative growth at the expense of sugar formation. In some cane-prf)ducing sections, fertilizer is added twice for one crop, the first about planting time and the second after growth is well under way. In Hawaii, about $25 an acre are spent each year for fertilizers. Where irrigation is practiced, the land is laid out with furrows about five feet apart and eighteen inches deep, running on a contour with the land to prevent washing. 272 The Sugar-Beet in America In these furrows the cane is planted, and they also serve as carriers for the irrigation water later. Water is ap- plied soon after planting and at intervals of about a week throughout the growing period. CULTURAL METHODS The cane stalk is so cut in joints that there will be at least one bud on every joint; these are dropped in the furrow end to end, as shown in Plate XXX, with a slight lapping to insure a good stand. The upper part of the stalk, not suited for anj-thing else, is usually planted. They are covered with one inch to an inch and a half of soil, and carefully watered in order to promote an early sprouting. Cultivation is also begun and continued as long as the plants permit. In some parts of the tropics, practically no care is given the cane after it is planted ; it is allowed to yield from year to year whatever nature will produce unaided. In some sections, fresh plantings are made for every crop, but a more common practice is to allow " ratooning, " or a growing up from the roots. When this is done, a furrow is plowed along the row after cutting to help in aerating the soil, and a fresh growi:h begins at once. When but one year of growth from the roots is practiced, it is called a "short ratoon"; when the growi;h is con- tinued two or three j^ears or longer, it is called a "long ratoon." In Hawaii it used to be the practice to plant every crop, but now ratooning two or three crops is more common. In Cuba the crop is ratooned for long periods, sometimes twenty years or more. Plate XXXI. — .W".i. n vi'_Mrnu< L'mwth (if sugar-cane. Argentina; below, sugar-cane in Luuisiaua. (C'ourtesy N. Kopelofif.) Sugar-Cane 273 In Hawaii and other parts of the tropics, planting is done from March to September, the cane beginning to ripen a year from the next December. The period of harvest extends from January to the latter part of July or August. It is, therefore, necessary to have double the amount of land that is to be harvested each year, since practically two years are consumed in the planting, grow- ing, and harvesting of a crop . . The growth of a vigorous crop of sugar-cane resembles that of a jungle, Plate XXXI. After the stalks become heavy with sugar, they sag into all shapes. Stalks that are twenty-four feet long may become so prostrate that they seem to be only ten or twelve feet high. Some varieties retain their upright growth much better than others. HAKVESTINQ The cane Is cut near the ground with heavy knives and at the same time the top is cut off and the stalk cut into convenient lengths. In many sections, before cutting is begun, the field is set on fire in order to rid the plants of leaves ; in other places the leaves are stripped off. The cane is taken to the mills either on railroads or wagons similar to those shown in Plate XXXII or carried by water through flumes. Where railroads are used, paths are cut through the fields about 150 feet apart, and rails laid through these. In loading the cane on the cars, a strap is bound around as large a load as a man wishes to carry, and the load is placed on his back and is carried up an inclined plank to the car. Since fire kills the buds, the plants that are to be used for seed are not burned. 274 The Sugar-Beet in America In Hawaii a yield of twenty to eighty-five tons of cane to the acre is secured. This contains from two and a half to twelve tons of sugar, with an average of about five tons. EXTRACTION OF SUGAR The sugar is removed from beets by dissolving it from the cells with water in the diffusion battery ; it is removed from cane by crushing the stalks and squeezing out the juice between heavy rollers. The cane on the car in which it comes from the field is weighed and samples are taken for analysis. It is then ready for the mill. It passes along conveyers to the crusher, which consists of two large corrugated rollers which break the stalks and squeeze out part of the juice. The cane mat is then passed on through the mill, where it passes between several sets of rollers which squeeze out all possible juice. The bagasse, or woody part of the cane, which has been squeezed dry, is conveyed to the engine house to be used as fuel. The juice, after being screened to remove the coarser solids held in suspension, goes to the purification tanks, then to the multiple evaporators, and finally to the crystallizing vacuum-pan, where it is usually made into raw sugar. Most of the raw sugar is taken to large re- fineries in the coast cities, where it is made into the re- fined sugar of commerce. The processes of making cane- and beet-sugar are very similar except in one or two stages. These processes are discussed in greater detail in the chapter on sugar-making. Pi-^TE XXXII. — .Itv... l.^:.^ _::.r; :._:...:.__ .^j:ar-cane; ^■ 0^ c^_ ic ^_ io_ lo^ i> of oo" cT -H lo ■*" Qo" lo" co" to I--'" lo" C0T(HC0C005t^'-H(MTtOOTtHC0 0)l:-- Ttio2-*ioTt (M^rtiOCMI-^CO'O'^Cl'-iTtHOO'Xt^t^r-iCDXias'^t^'MiOO'-iCOC-) COTfXOiOi-i'-iOOOX(XiC»i-iO«5COO■-lrt C0_ 10 O)^ lO^ M ic (M__ O GO "O^ C0_ ■>* OT C« r-H O lO O M t~- O O •-i_^ (M O^ 0_ y-i^ CO CO o' o' -H co' co' co" o" CO "o" co" oT Tf to" t>r oo' lo" CO tjh" -jf TiT tc o' of co' •*' t-T o" 00(MOiO'Ot^T}t^l:^t--.r>.C0t^X00 t^^(NiOOOt^>00050t^-*-^OH00^051>0.-iCOiOiO(M01-*COfO ■*Ot>.COXC<50COCOO'-iCOOt^COOCO'-iOCDC005Tt<(©05iroiOCO CO OiO CO "O t>-__'-i Tf O CO 01 O 05 CO CO CO CsiOiOCOCOCO'-iiOCOCOOCO S 5 co' 00 o' CO* rH ic Tj<' lO of t^' co' i-H CO* ._ T^ C0_ (>•__ 0_ C0_ !--__ CO_^ CO CO CO_ O lO^ oi_ C0__ CO_ O), co_ x_ w o_ .-H of t>.* lO lo" O* l>* co" Ti<* T-T l>." •^" of TjH* ac -^ of 00* lO* oo' cd" tI^* lo" O* ■^" Os" .-<* GO* .05i-ii-iC0-*i'*C0i0i00iC0OO100OC0C0OI^C0OlOO|rtTtiX ■«iJt>.OOC»OOOrt(MTtiTt*>OCOt> o)05Tf<050iioo500'^cDcooaicnrH05coon^cocor>.'^02'-HOcoco iOOf0 01iOiO'-'01i-(C003-*OOC005»-iO)COCOTjHr-(0)OOCOOOt-^ 00 lO t>. -^ lO N. lO Ol O lO^CO COOOlCOOO'OOOOOOr-dOiOCCt^'-i of •^* co" c3f iC co" -"l^" co" CO* O* o' O -t^* r^* M^' "-H LO co" ■^' rlH* o" O* 00* co" lO r-f TjH* X* «0'»o.-Ht>rHcox'OX-^cocoocot^'^rHoiiocoxa2i> coxxcot^coo305co'+ioicooxoxxioX'*ico>-ix®xi--coaj 0_rt CO CO_CO X Ol T-H X_^CO ^CO'+iuOiO-*_^OOiXcOX'*cD00500IX of x' lo CD* r-" 05 ^" x' o* t-~' »' TtT of x" of os* o" o" of lo" ■^* lo" .-<* o" r>-* '-T i>* co" fe S CO 0-* O5C01OCOCO CO-* OICO OC005002 CO ^Tfl Tt< 05 ■* X rH COrt 05 t3 m "'."'. "'^ ''^. °i "^^ "1 "* ^, "^^ t^, '^^ ^. ^1 1^. ^^ '~l ^, ^. '^l ''I "^l ®. ^, ^. oi 1 '^^ h" r^ r^ rH rt" rH of of of of of rt" of of cf of Co" of Co" Co" CO* CO* Co" CO* co" co" ■*" ■*" llllllllllllljlllllllllllll coi>cco20>-ioico-:f'Ocot^xc50"-ioico'*iocoi^xc»o-Hoico xxxxoo50io3ffli03~ c;oc)OOOOoooooo--H.-.-Hi-< XXXXXXXXXXXXXX0505C5CiC:C;0:~. OCiC:50;Cv05 286 The Sugar-Beet in America use seems only reasonable, since it supplies a wholesome and nourishing food, which is relished by all classes of people. USE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES The annual per capita consumption of sugar in the United States and the leading countries of Europe is shown in Fig. 33. It varies from 89.59 pounds for each individual in the United Kingdom to 8.94 pounds in Italy. According to their use of sugar, the countries come in the following order : United Kingdom, Denmark, United States, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Spain, and Italy, — the people of the British Isles using ten times as much as the Italians. Figures compiled by Palmer ^ show the following percentage increase per capita in sugar consumption during the twenty-six-year period from 1889 to 1915 in the countries mentioned: Germany, 323 ; Netherlands, 198 ; Russia, 188 ; Austria- Hungary, 187; Switzerland, 150; Denmark, 144; Bel- gium, 102 ; United States, 71 ; France, 54 ; Spain, 46 ; United Kingdom, 22; and Italy, 16. He also compiled Table XXII, which shows the total consumption of sugar in the United States and several European countries. This table shows that in less than thirty years the use of sugar has increased several hundred per cent in most countries. France is the only one in which it has not more than doubled in that time. * Palmer, Truman H., "Concerning Sugar" (1916). ' World's Use and Supply of Sugar 287 288 The Sugar-Beet in America 41) CUBA SUGAR PRODUCTION EACH DOT REPRESENTS 6.150 TONS (500.000 ARROBAO STATUTt MlLtS PORTO RICO SUGAR CANE ACREAGE tACM DOT BEWIESENTS SM ACBCS STATi^TC MILC» ^ a ^ HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SUGAR CANE ACREAGE CACH DOT REPRESENTS 500 ACRES 3TATUIt MILtS O

■«»< o t^ t^ "3 ^ i-O O O ■* CO O -- CO CO CO' s -** o' im" CO cs co" \n ITS b-" co" t^" UO O O " of oi' co" co" 'i<' x" lO* (in -sj Tt< lis X -H CO X X X CO O Tf i CO .-H ,-( rt rt 01 ^ -H .-C 2 e O lO C X i-O X — "3 o •* t^ T^ CO X o ■* o ** 1 1 1 1 o o Tf lO iC CO o la f^ 1 1 1 1 tCco" LO 05 05 CO O o K 05 r- o) CO X o ^ « — C5 -^ »0 ~~~~ O D c ■* lO -"t CO OJ -< 05 O 05 X CO ■2 8 o CO CO -H O t^ -^ -^ X as t^ CO C0_ t>-_^ -^^ CD "O '^ — 05 05 ^ ^ < |s 1? ic" -J* co" ^-" co" b-" C" co" — " --" 05' t^ t- 05 X t^ X t^ CO CO ■^ X — 05 n S X O X CO t- o C-. Tf lO CO -T o f, ,!< rt ^ C -^ CO O 05 0 CO X lO •* iJ ,—1 ^^ r-H -H 05 05 CO CO k g O X CO O 05 05 CD b- 0 CO ^ K ^5? o CO •<* o ^^ Oi 1 05 ■^ •* Tj< O 05 0 X CO la u •< ^V Ol^ Tf 05 t^ -- H 0H o o o o o o t^ 05 t^ 05 t^ 05 2 2 2 5 5 t^ 05 t^ 05 t^ a> CO -^ CO -H CO -H 1 1 1 1 1 CO -H CD -- CD 03 ITS CO CO t>. t^ X X O) 0 0 0 <5 X X X X X X X X X 0 0 1— t ^H T-H 1-H 1-H Appendix C 321 lO •* O lO i-H U5 X - X IN CO tT CO lO iC t^ 05 CO f IN O) t^ O lO lO CO CO N CO -H rf lo' N ^ 1 1 X "O O lO X CO t- (-» C3 Tp CO tt o X o 1 O C-J rt CO '*< to r>. t> X oi .-H ^ ^ CO lO ^ rt ,^ rt rt -i O lO t^ -^ O -^ t^ X lO '^ t> CO o r^ N O rH X iM '.O CO N X l> CO O O CO •-< N Tf 1 iC CO CO O O ^ X •^ O O CO CO ■-I 03 t^ ■^ ^ rH (N lO OJ (N CO C^ O C CD CO to 05 ■«!»< (N C0 O C l> CO 1 lO r^ t^ CD 05 O — 1 lO l> CO lO CD N O IN ■* I lO CO !0 05 C<1 ■<*< IN CO rt CO CO -^ CO ■^ ■'f ■<1< L-5 lO iC O lO lO CD CD O CO IN CO O O o o o o o o o o o o o o ■* O t^ O "t CO •* O O IN O O O N (N O -^ O ^ -^ X -^f lO Tf X IN CO O O X 02 -H O N Tf Tj< IN CO CO Tt< CO CO --I IN X 05 t^ CO rt t^ c» (N 1-1 1-1 T— ( i-H T-H »-H 1— ( t^ rJH Tf< IC IN o o o o o •^ CO X o o o o r~ CO o 05 CO O O O O (N t^ t> 02 o o o o IN t>. X i-H rt CO X CO O t^ X L.0 CO t^ lO 05 o O X lO X t^ t^ O t^ ■* IN IN CO e t^ lO X Ci CD ■* lO lO Oi ^ CO o co CO CO N CO CO 04 CO CO CO CO CO rt IN r^ O O O — 1 (N ^ N X CO l> o lo o lO c^ lo o CO ■^ CO -H C5 CO CO X --IH ^ iC iC '^ O N CD' CI . 184 . 218 . 240 . . 242 . 312 CO CO lO X c-j CO Tj^ to CO —1 M CO •* lO t^ X C5 — 1 -H 1 1 1 1 1 CO t^ X C5 o 1 1 1 1 1 1 -< N CO 'S' lO CO 1 o o o o o O O O O —1 Oi d o a oi Oi Oi Oi ^ Oi (J> Oi Oi '^ y^j O'i 05 3 a ih S3 a a a 3 a h5 322 Appendix C t'^ & w e o o n z a »-» < o ^> H p n U o a p u K K ■< O o < 5 « o fee •* X o -^ CO 01 rH 00 • X CO CO IN 04 O > o 0 0 asojons jB^oi ^1 85.71 88.01 87.77 84.62 86.95 86.93 87.66 84.30 80.05 81.65 84.43 84.25 s'jaaq JO ^qSiaii JO aaB'jusoJacj il 15.84 16.15 15.64 15.62 O ^ 05 -^ CO O •^ 05 CO CO -^ N 13.40 13.84 15.07 14.98 6, 0 3 a < ^naiD^aoo ri 82.09 84.13 82.65 82.70 85.16 85.79 84.84 84.22 84.84 86.39 87.14 87.74 asojons JO aaB^aaojaj 11 X lO M CO ■* CO 00 ■* 00 00 t>; X- o o CO in ■^ q lO CO id id d id 16.74 16.95 17.86 17.78 a O D noj lad aaiJd aSsjaAy O O O X « CO 00 q t»- CD id id X CO X X IN q 00 q t^ d o id CD CO X CO t>^ d id Tj; pa^iJOM i 1,321,716 1,462,805 1.249,111 1,082,000 1,749,875 1,933,591 1,888,860 1,706,300 286,446 331,478 339,859 264,400 aJ3« jad pjaiX a8BjaAV 0Q~ CO t^ r-i en c^ -^ 00 d d d 10.84 10.25 11.0 12.6 lO 00 t>. LO t>; t>^ 05 d pe^eaAj^q Bajy «9 161,909 141,097 122,737 104,000 161,476 188,568 171,222 135,400 37,745 42,135 35,068 25,300 (pangaj jCganjo) aavi\; avbag 209,325 236,322 195,343 169,004 234,303 252,147 273,780 220,799 38,376 45,874 51,226 39,613 NOIVdWVQ JO Si 53 IN X t^ t^ 05 O C5 O -H N ■<*< CO 05 0 0 05 O CO O X t>- X o t>. 9alHOX0Vj[ JO HaawQ^j .^ rt r- O lO ■«»<■* CO 1^ .-( r-l r-l t^ iC •<1< "^ a: .coiO'^ ••r^oic-* 0050505 OO5O5O50&paO50&C)05 o S Appendix C 323 t^ooMt^ «Oi«^o ooc^-^ lOMMoo oe■*«^5■^^lC^o COiC-^X i-iOC^05 5OC0O5»^_ OJXOI> O-^iiMt^XOO iri cj (N ci •. X ob X O 05 C<1 ^ t^ t^ X X O iM T}< (M ■3D X X X CO O O CO C^ — -"S^ X X X X X X t- r-H 0> CO -" OS t>. O C2 CO CO CO c^ X -"^ X o o c-1 05 «o cj CO -h' ^ -H lO -- iM O t^ lO Oi d d CO co' (N t^ O (N M X t^ O ci c^ CO eo' O CO -- lO CO O 'ti CC X W CO 05 M X CO CO ':t< CO (N M --' CO •^ Tj< CO CO Tf c^ rl ^ i-l i-H t^ Oi X o —_ q CO X id id co" id i-i 1-1 T-i y-l X o 05 X X -< a> C) CO Tj< CO t>. CO X CD CO CO CD id CO id i-H i-H 1-1 .-H rl rH .-1 8.04 6.14 5.91 5.23 X CO 01 •* -H X OJ o t>; CO ud id Tt CO -H 05 q t>; q t-; t^ id Tf Tl< lr~ SC !>■ t>- CO ^ q q t^ CD id id oi (N t--. irt oi c<» o CO -- q T)H q X iq b- CO lO lO lO lO iC ^U5(NO •^Ot^O "Mt^TtiO -H^OO iOCOCOOC>)t~-.CO iMOt-O CJOl'MO INCOOO Tft^cOO Tft^OlOcOI^CO r-h-o-H qcO'*!^-^ iqc^c^co qoxio looc^iiors^coco '-^t>^ wt>roi-^ cdxoj-^ cocdid^oT ioo50odoi-*'c. t-coxx Tfq--qt>.Tj- co co t^ q^ co_ x_ w" 05 W —<"' ■^ riT lO b," O* X CO •^" CO o" X X Tt lO •-<" CO o" o co" X05(NO iM(NC^-H XcDiO-"*' —lOl^.iO cOCD-^XXOt^- .-1-^ .-1,^ COCOO-^iOiOTf b-.'-ib-.O t^Tj^^jio Mt~-.Tl<0» |-^M05-<^ t^t^O-^'-iCO ■^TfOiCO COC0t>.'N cDt^-^—" dcOXO OiAfMiOOiOO (NCOOICD t^Mt)<'>* cDOJ^OcD X-<}. -^oox coNr-cqeooios ^^ ^^^ t>XXt>l>COiO C0O5XX OirtOcO C. t^XOSXXXO -^lujioio iCTjtTfco a • 02 Mt,cDiO^ ^^h'COUST)' ..t^.tOiOTf-'b.cDiO'^TJt-cOiO'^CON-- "SosOJOJO O0»0»0J0l'S050i0101 20*OS0505*^OS050>0050sCi S O D O & 324 Appendix C M 05 ■< o P. d M K r^ O >^ 05 M Z o Z n O <1 U ft >^ ^ o u r. D o OS B3 •< CJ o < yj h b O o fr m s f^ K -^Q Q Z fa •«! O P OQ O .-1 46 1 O M l« Iffl q q Tj5 CO o o lO t^ cd d 1.0 C (N CO id id O O iC lO o o -< irt c. -^ X OJ LO LO Ld d d t>: i> t>^ o lO 1 1 O LO q q §2 CO Tl< O iC t~ q O LO O LO LO O LO t^ — X ■>i iC LO id d d t-^ t^ o lO Ld EKI S 5 1 lO o X ^ id o lO lO O X to iffl CO lo lO c f-H (N d d O O LO lO o c o CO o •«; i>; t^ d d t^ t>." t^' t>; o O 1 o o q 05 lO lO CO cd q q LO O LO O O lO t^ o C.1 o -^ o id d d N^ t>^ t^ LO Ld o a BS a a 0 Oh t5 o o o id id o o O 01 id Tj< o o -* to O LO d d LO lO O O lO iC O q ^_ q t>- i> d d i> t^ r^' t-^ lO o o o o r" o id id lO lO CO Ol lO o o> -"t cd -^ lO o q q id id lO O LO O O LO X — CO -"^ LO N; lO d d i> t>.' t>^ LO X Ld O g O 1 iC o d id o o t^ q id id lO o id 30 O LO o a lO O LO lO o o X ■* -H lO X X d t> x" XXX o X 30 ^ ^ 1 X t^ id id o o id id lO lO C *< -H LO X d d t-' X cc 3C lO CO d Pi J3 s 5 1 o o X CO CO o l^ X ci cd X . q q ■ X ci id t~ CO O — 1 lO 02 LO CO q q oj q t^ q Tf '^ lO lO lO iC lo id o 1 '^ CO CO (N CO CO lO 01 t>. q (N (N O CO ed IN CO CO J<1 CO lO lO lO 05 <-; q oi IN cd cd Tjl id id id vO cd Q 5 |8 •-S 1-5 e<5 . . 1-^ -> 05 03 d 05 -"So n •-5 '-5 CO 05 " b J^' ." ^ • ® a 3 1-5 1 a :3 >-> Appendix C 325 O O i« lO i« lO 05 Ol Ol t>; t^ t^ CO O CO CO CD ^ o q CO o o o lO in in ^ in in t>. t>; t-; cd cd CD cd CD CD in cd m in m in o o --1 CD CO q q q t>: t^: t>; t-' t-' t>^ m q 1 O irt O O lO o c; o? lO o t>; ^_ CO CO lO CD CD CD O lO id o o in o , , q q (N in cd cd cd cd o o cd in o in o o o t^ rt< lO CO CD T}i cd t-" b-' t>^ l> t-' m cd O C lO lO lO lO lO lO CO CO CO CO t^ l^ CD t>^ t> t>^ o iq o o o in in in t^ T— t I— < CO CO CO d t>; t>.' i^ t^ t>i in CO o in in in o o q ci 0] (N e<; c-] t-^ 00 00 X' GO 00 in 00 O lO O O iC o iq CO -^_ CO CO t-; t>.' CO co' CD t>^ CO O CD o o in o , , q q 00 ^ 1 cd cd CO t-^ o q cd in o in o o o CO O M (M (N O l^ 00_X' 00 X 00 in q O O lO lO lO "O t- t^ O lO iC lO t^' t~,' t>; tJ t>; t^ O o o o in in m C3 CO CO in in in cd N^ t>; t-^ t^ t- in q in in in in o o q -^ i; Tf •*_ •<*; t-' x' GO 00 00 00 m X lO O lO lO O iC CD o e; lO 00 t^ t^ CO CO t^ CO in CO in in o in o o t^ t^ o (N in in cd cd t>^ t-^ t^' t>^ m CD o in o in in in q rt_ -^ CO CO 1-H t>; x' 00 00 00 00 o in lO iC o o o o t- t>. rH CO CD_ CO t>^ 1> I> t>^ b-' t^ in in in in in in in q CO CO q q q cd t>^ t>^ t^ t>i t>." in q in in in in o o q q q q q in CO 00 00 cd 00 00 in in 00 lO o in lO o lo r- ^_ CO CO CO o; t^ t^' CO CO t^ CO in CO cd SS2^ 1 1 cd cd t> t>: cd in o in o o o CO q in in in CO i> 00 00 00 00 00 in CO O O lO to »o m CO CO t— CD CD CD CO CO 00 00 CO* 00 o 00 00 o o o o o o O ■* ■* o o o 00 00 00 oi oj 05 ai o o o o m m •^_ a> ci a^^ cc cc O Cl Oi o^ o o o oi O lO O O lO o X -H ■* Ol CD O CO CO t>-' t^ 00 00 o o o in o , , Oi 03 ^ ^ b-.' 1> 00 00 o o in o in in in q q q X 00 q Oi C5 05 Ol Oi Oi O O OJ O t^ C^ lO (N ^ ■^ c^ o CO ic CO CO CO CO CO cd ic in CO CO 0> IM CO CD t^ N CO q q Tf (N in id id in cd cd cd q cd M O O O I-- t-- t^ cd cd cd 00 o 01 1^ •>t c^ O 00 00 l>. CD p CO ■^ ■*" lo lo ifi 05 00 in Tt* q 00 Tt Tji id id id id q CO W O O O (N M q q q q q cd t^ cd cd cd id CO OJ id CO O lO X lO t~ CD lO C^ 00 t>; 00 id id lO id lO ■^ id iM CO C75 01 N t- q q ^_ q q t^ •^ ■»!< id id id id id c^ 05 m O l> lO CO q q q 00 M id T)5 rjJ id •^ Tji 05 X i^ m o o CO q 00 ci q i?q q cd cd Tj! id id id X CO CO M (N S^ > 3 1-5 1917 January . . February March . , April . . . May . . . June . . . 3 1 d c« 1-5 July . . . August . . September . October . . November . December . 6 Q k 3 326 Appendix C « 05 go o <^ ►*" o b. o o w « Eh « o z t^l » ® -g 0 X 0 3 1 ^^- 3 CO t^ 0 052 Cl c^ ■* 10 K^ 0 ^ Tl<" t-^ OS OS lO 1; ec -i l-O b- lO 0: 03 ^ ~ OS ^ 0 Tf Tj< Tl< 30 1 1 "* 1 Q ■g 1-; 06 M CO -H oi -w 11^1 > ^ ^ 1-1 CO »-l ,-1 1-( 1-1 ^^ < H H •a -H -1 00 >a X C5 CO t- CO CO 0 t^ 00 os-| X -H 05 lO ■5"5 ■*■<»• i-o !M X «-g g (M t^ 0 1 1 ^- 1 l> h 00" X 00 <35 ^ rt CO X ^ 05 CT> q 1 1 t^ i CIS — rt ^ 1-1 — ■a "^ 0 ( a" 3 00 c^ irt 01 ift 0 X >.o c^ iH oJ • • • a . . . ►H -H cq CO MH i-H ,-1 .-1 3 -H (N CO ■"I' ^ ^ (N CO Tf ^ ^ ^ ,-1 ^ g .2 0 ^ e^ p 1 1 1 1 § 0 -- (N CO 2 0 -- M CO H tH 1-H ^H f-H g ^ rt ^ ^ g OS 0 OS 0 6 '^ Oi a Oi *& OS 01 OS OS 3 ^ ^ '^ _. rt rt ^ ^ Q Appendix C 327 O o 9 3 Ph^ £ * s © CO « (M ^ t^ CO (N ® ■* CO M C<« IN IN (N IN IN „fe ;;;^2 2;:;: O ^H O Oi ■-1 ri 1-c O CC CO CO CO lO lO >o iC «0 O CO lO IN ^ CO IN IN IN (N C^ ,-( O 1-1 rt r» x_ "0 O" Cl O OT IN lO IN CC O CO O O ■>*i ® 05 uo X IN co_ o t>.'o> odod 1-1 O X o lO «0 IN 1— UO l> CO 00 X i-Tos Tji' O 05 O CD^ X 05 i-T t-h' i-T c^" V a ^ O X IN C) rt X ^ ^ 1-1 1-1 rt 02 •^ X CO Tt( c^ o o o ■ CO CO X o 05 O O ._ CO_^ oT lO ;0 ^ (NO ■* lO «0 CO -^ •■*< lO lO »0 lO IN i-i CO CO 1-1 i-o 1-1 1-1 X lO 0> IN 1-1 O O" t>.' CO' 5D S ■* o CO o -■* O TiH,-icoe^ X-^iCi-i ■S'^ (NCOCOlO ^ C^ CO CO •= rt ,-1 rt 1-1 1-1 i-l T-1 r-l O CO O O O CO -< CO X Tt< 05 lO o O d ■^ t--_^ O X r>r ei tC o co" oi' ^ rt o 05 CO -^ I> iO 05 l> CO 1-1 1-1 1^ -^ e^ O 05 o t^ ^ O I> lO^ »o^ d o '^'' 'H ui oS tN. lO O X !>•_ IC O 00 e. ^ CO 1-1 1-1 C^ CO z m O •2 o o CO o o> S CO oi rt o to s c^i cq (N e Oi d ^ IN CO ■* P 05 05 O O rt IN CO It 7 7 7 7 O -H M CO ^Oi Oi Ci o> -^^ ^ „ ^ 328 Appendix C T3 0 i^9 iM o eo ^ 00 •* (N J> 0 0 0 »0 H *J C oo o X X t^ 00 t* Ci l> CO lO X t-. O 1^ 0-^ o cs e^ IN IN e-< T-i -f CO '-< ^ t- 2£ = S .-; o .-; »o -"i; t>; 0 00 l>-_ lO 0 t^ H fl MS u. CO ^ "^ CO ^ CO ■^ CO 1-h' rji Tj! ro >■ ^ CO t^ -^ X t- ^ iC 0^ X X C^ N >"_ 8 o O X lO t>. t^ o C -^ t^ lO CO -H -.-■•a X_ T-H X_^ X_^ iO_ 05_ CO CO 0 0 CO CO II ■^ x" to" X* ic co" lo" t^ ■* X CO 05 •«»< ^ t^ Oi IN O Ol lO CO lO CO CO r^ IN •< O P 1^ CO CO X_ IN t>-_ rH !>._ rt' i-T IN i-i c-f «" ■* t-» 10 -^ 05 CO rf '^'' -.* ^f tn ci 2 IS "3 CO g ■?. £ 1 ■* CD 05 t^ 52 eq ^ d ^* C; o o; cs o iq 05 00 •* t>; •^ q Q SS 1 fi o -^ IN •^ CO x' t^ CO t>^ t-^ I-^ is. > CO ^ ^ ^ ,H ,-( ,-< a: < H H ^3 -*< X O 'H ^ Tt X 05 CO 0 c^ 0 « S lO X X O lO -"T X CO ^ CO IN CO II 5 lo CO ^ o c^ o 1-H iC co_^ -<_ ^^ -^^ ^ x" t^" cT oT o" as" i-T co" r-' 0" 1-H 00 •^ CO CO O ■<*< »0 CO CO IN ■* 10 ■* •* 3 CO 0 X_ t>._ 05_ t>'_^ o •3 t^ rt lO CO O X 0 0 IN CO lO CO 8 ■* o t^ t^ T*< o) ^ 0 ■* 05 t>. lO "• o O -"t (>■__ 0_ CO x_ u Tji 0> X X 05 CO art 3 '««» 02' lO" lo" ^ 0' 0 08 -^ co' ^" 0" x" t>^ ^ r^ CO ^ CO -H Tt< (5 t-- CO CO X lO o> CO IN IN CO IN CO IN 0 0 C0_ CO_ 05_ CO_ IN eiT rt" >-<" r^" '^" 0 0 ? - z ■^s fe 3 H ^ t^ t>. i^ t^ r^ CO CO --^ t^ CO 10 in s 5 S ■N cs es cs N e. X X 0> CO CO 5 K J 0. 3 IN e^ M (N e^ IN 0 OS CO t^ t^ H ■3 a m lO M CO W ^ o ^ lO CO CO lO t>. CO t>. O ; CO CO 1 1 iq C-< ^ -i t^ o ^ CO o .£ CO CO irt ^^ X ^ CO o o o in X OS T-c CO rr t^_ OS ^_ OS a IS CO* •*' co' d d OS OS d d X CO '-"-"-' i-l 1-1 1-C 1-C 1 i; ■ a ■a t^ CO iC w CO o o -3 C5I>OCOC^X 03 S X -H •"t •^ ^ OS O o Olt^OOOOO OS'S » t- cj t- o_ X t^ OS 8S -« O X CO O T»< co_ co_ 1-^ - o" lO" CO* x" - o" ^ co" £ ^ X co" lo" d co' ^ lo .afc Ost-iOXX'-CO 05 O •* t^ X t^ CO ^S CO-*iOlO-*COCO J3 CO C5 05 O 1-1 ■* CO OS N IN O CD 1- ■* O I^ < ]* •* lO CO X CO CO -H o CO 73 i^omowiNio fc; 5* •< o t^_^ X_^ X_ O (N CO t- Tj< Tf 5 ^_^ lO iC rr O^ IN CD_ ^ ^ X" N -H IS c^" nT r^ O lO" B d' OS IN co" IN ■** d K^ K CO O t^ X -^ --^ 0> ■* rf O i-(OSOSC0lNt>.IN 3 V3 ^ iOiCCOt^t»XX G 0 Z " z a 0 £ S? .o CO CJ CO <-< ^4 •* Tj< -^ ^ CO CO -J O t^ Tf « ^ s CO CO CO .CO CO - CO CO b- 0 S ;3 - ? fe: O O O O r)< tK «o Ol (M CO -O >* C^ lO X O X -^ O O O O CJ S-v S LO CO o^ ® X -< CO 05 irt CO Oi o_ q q q^ -^^ •— QJ c .. . . *** CO tH tC 30-*^ co" 05 t>." ■^" T^" CD Tf lO* 05 "S "■ - CO lO 0) 5* o o CD irt 05 En CO CO q 1 1 1 1 aoa>oa> III 0 * 1. (^ ci 00 lo till ^ 1-1 --H t-l 1-1 H) a Q <-l lO CO 05 -*i ^ (M O — o ■* — CO Tj< O O CO -i e O -H ■-< 00 (N CO 05 t>. lO ._^ ^ ■>*< ea iM O lO o o t- «A CO OO" » ■^ CO 05 05 ^ 1^ Tf 05 o ^ ^ -t CO CO (N (N ^ CD r-< t>. X r-T cf o alia 0-11 1-12 2-13 ^ (N CO Tf (N CO • r> 05 05 05 05 ^ ^ _, _H ^ ? Ol Oi 05 05 05 "^ Oi C^ Oi ^0500005 &1' _l ^ _l rH ,-1 -5 S "-^ '^ -* < ^ ^ ^ ^ _ ^ Appendix C 331 (N -c t^ N IN X OS CO CO o 'J* •«}< O ei OS W tf5 0> to to lO »o O Ol ^- ^ 0> O '^ 03 (N -Tfl CO »0 CO Tl< (N cq ^ —1 IN —1 IN rH (N O M< 00 lO IN lO X M t^ 05 1^ IN -.Ji O O O O to »0 IN lO CO o to CO 03 O --i CO OS t^ o o o o «0 »0_ «5 t>-_^ o O 1^ ■-I o r- t^ 05_ (N lO O^ 0_ 0_ 0_ (N <-<" 0> -"^ «o oi d 00 t>r co" oT 1 X tC iN ■* Os" x" ci 05 ■^ »>• lO CO t^ t^ lO to lO t^ -* X to "-I OS ^ t^ QO o> X Ol to CO CO lO" cq -I rt 00 rH IN ^_ O 0_ lO IN ^" co' M ■ O iC — 1 CO 03 •*, i-< >-; 0> ■* t^ .-H 03 lO to •^ iq O O O O O O oo' 00 t>^ i>^ d d lO •-< to ui r» to OS rt !>■ iC -< 00 f ■* ■^ IN i-i rt rt ,-c "O 5D CO CO O T30 ,-1 05 "O to CO ■>* ^ o •o Q^ J3QQQ «« lO a> o « '1 --i <^i «. > 05 l?f 'H CO » C^ C-1 CO 3 eg > 1,66 9,98 9,84 4,58 2,95 & al o o o o o o 1 t^ o t^ -T o" o" moo^o_oo_o S o" i> 00 co" co' r-T 1 ^rl* lO IC iO C<1 CO ■* *5 ,— ( ^ OS -il< rt X IN (SCO CO CO "s ri c CO ^ IN IN —1 (N ^ K o w ■* t^ t^ CO X t- ■* r^ lO X -H -H lO ^ X O Tf CO X o o o lO OJ o ^ rv. CO X CO to o t> r- OS o o o ■<«< t- X o to tn CO X lO "-I ,-1 1^ X lO to r^ >c OS (M lO X Ol CO •^ r^ IN r- M< X to ■* IN CO IN C^ t^ CO t>. t^ CO I> X Cq IN IN —1 rH lO iC OS Tf CO o "I ■* "I CO f-1 IN IN i-i CO -' -' '-' CO •^ 1^ CO ^ t^ CO rt cq to X to CO OS to O X Oi 05 e^ -l c> CO ■* lO to a 03 IN CO M< lO to t^ c; 3 1 1 1 1 _ O ^ IM CO a r-H r-H ,-1 -H o3 i 1 1 >- IN 1 1 1 1 1 1 CD ^ e^ CO -^ lO o -H (N CO 4" lO to c 4> ^ o> O^ o O^ cj 05 CS Oi 0> OS 0> OS OS o OS OS OS OS C> OS 0,rt rt r^ 1-1 > o! '3 CS cj a "-s l-J cc P INDEX Achard produced first commercial sugar, 10. Acid soils, 68. Adaptations of beets, climatic, 37. Agriculture stabilized by beets, 251. Air in the soil, 62. Alkali, effect on beets, 66, 67. Arabian sugar, first record of, 7. Army-worms, 187-189. Arundo saccharifera, 268. Availability of plant food in soil, 69. Bacteria in the soil, 70. Bacterium teutlium Met., 202. Bamboo as source of sugar, 7. Beet: by-products : composition of, 160. relation to live-stock industry, 158. contracts : advantages of, 92. types of, 94. crown and top, proportions, 159. cultivators, 124. culture : improves labor problem, 255. increases business, 256. diseases, 198-204. dumps, 156. farmer, personal requirements of, 50. flower and seed description, 34. harvesting implements, 151-154. insect pests of, 184-198. land, depth to plow, 108. leafhopper, 197. Beet: — Continued molasses as a by-product, 177- 181. plows, 151, 152, 154. pulp, 168-176. dry, 169, 173. loss in siloing, 168. racks, types of, 155. -root aphis (Pemphigus betae Doane), 194. -rust (Uromyces betae Kuhn), 202. seed : amount and depth to sow, 115. importation of, 216-219. storage of sugar in, 29, 30. -sugar extraction, opposition to, 10. -sugar factories, 3. of America, 312. -sugar industry, 1, causes of early failures, 18. development of, 6. legislation on, in U. S., 19, 21. Beetles harmful to beets, 193. Beet-raising : and community welfare, 250-257. increased land value by, 2. Beets : adapted to irrigation farming, 126. and national independence, 257. botanical grouping, 22. climatic adaptation, 37, 43. commercial fertilizer for, 77-81. cultivation of, 123. early history of, 8. economic adaptation, 44. educational value of culture, 254. 333 334 Index Beets: — Continued first used as stock food, 9. hauling to market, 155. plant food requirements of, 74. preparation for thinning, 117. promote good farming, 252. shape, effect of irrigation on, 143. size, irrigation applications for, 136. soil adaptation, 43. storing at factory, 258. suggestive rotations for, 89, 90. time to irrigate, 133-136. time to prepare seed-bed for, 106. washing and weighing at factory, 260. water requirements of, 131. Beet-sugar : industry : recent developments, 20, 21. successes in U. S., first, 19. production of U. S. by states, 322. production of various countries, 326. Beet tops, 158-168. composition of, 159, 160. hay from, 162. methods of feeding, 161, 162. silage from, feeding, 166-168. siloing, 163-166. value of, as food, 159. yield of, 158, 159. Bengal, sugar-cane in, 7. Beta vulgaris species of plants, 22. Blister-beetles, 187. Blocking and thinning beets, 118. Botanical grouping of beets, 22. Boys and girls benefited by beet raising, 4. Brazil, sugar-cane in, 7. Breeding sugar-beet seed, 221. Business : increases with beet culture, 256. stabilized by beet raising, 4. By-products of : seed production, 228. sugar-beets, 158-183. California, first successful beet factories, 19. Cane-sugar (see sugar-cane). Capital requirements of beets, 48. Caradrina (laphygma) exigua Hbn., 187. Cattle, feeding beet by-products to, 161, 166, 167, 170-174, 178- 180. Centrifuging the massecuite, 264. Cercospora beticola Sacc, 199. Children profit from beet culture, 255. China, sugar-cane in, 7. Chlorophyll, 28. Chrysomelidae, 193. Classification of soils, 57. Climate, effect on quaUty of beets, 208, 209. Climatic adaptation of beets, 37-43. Commercial : extraction of sugar, first, 10. fertilizer for beets, 77-81. production of beet seed, 223. use of sugar, first, 8. Common army-worm, 188. Community benefited by beet raising, 4. Competing crops of beets, 44. Composition of : sugar, 276. sugar-beet, 160. by-products, 160. tops, 159. Consumption of : sugar in U. S., 5. world sugar supply, 284-286. Contracts : for labor on sugar-beets, sample of, 100. to raise beets : advantages of, 92. items included in, 93. samples of, 95-100. types of, 94. Correlation, size and sugar content of beet, 33. Index 335 Cos8ettes, 261. ^^--^.^^ Cost : and profit on beets, relation to acres raised, 237-240. of growing beets, 231-249. based on time, 240-246. in various sections, 234. of producing beet seed, 230. Crop : competition of sugar-beets, 44. rotations : principles governing, 88. reasons for, 86. Crowns and tops of beets, pro- portion of, 159. Crystallizing beet sirup at factory, 264. Cuba, sugar-cane in, 8. Cultivating beets, 123. Cultivation previous to thinning, 118. Curly-top or curly-leaf of beets, 197. Cutworms, 190. Cyprus, sugar-cane in, 7. Damping-off disease, 204. Deep plowing best for beets, 2. Depth to plow beet land, 109. Development of beet-sugar in- dustry, 6. Digging : processes of, 151. time to begin, 149, 150. Dingley Act of 1897, favorable effect, 19. Disaccharids, 276. Diseases of beets, 198-204. Drainage : reasons for, effects of, 144, 146. system, installing, 147. Drains, kinds of, 146. Dried sugar-beet pulp, 169. Drought in early fall, danger from, 150. Drying, effect on quality of beets, 211. Dyer sugar-beet factory first success in U.S., 19. Economic adaptation of beets, 44. Elateridae (Wireworms), 192. Euphrates valley, sugar-cane in, 7. European : beet-sugar industry, early, 15. countries, early sugar supply, 8, introduction of sugar-cane, 7. sugar factories, number of, 3. Eutettix tenella Baker, 197. Extracting beet juice in factory, 261. Extraction of beet-sugar : first method, 9. percentage recovered now, 266. Factories ; for beets, early failures in U. S., 16-18. in U. S. and Europe, 3. Factors afifecting quality of beets, 205-212. Factory : essential factors for success, 52. first in U. S., 16. process of sugar making, 258-268. Failures of early beet industry in U.S., 16-18. Fall army-worm, 189. Fall plowing for sugar-beets, 106. Farming improved by beet culture, 252, Farm manure : conserving, 84. for sugar-beets, 82. Feeding : beet pulp to : cattle, 170-174. horses, 175. pigs, 175. sheep, 174, 175. beet tops : methods, 161, 162. silage from, 166-168. 336 Index Fertility : determination of soil, 76. maintenance of, 75. of soil, elements of, 69. requirements of beets, 74. Fertilizer : commercial, for beets, 77-81. home-mixing of, 82. indirect, 81. Flea-beetles, 193. Flower and seed of sugar-beets, 34. Food, value of sugar as, 279-283. Frederick the Great fostered beet- sugar industry, 11. Frederick William III aided first beet factory, 11. Freezing : and heating of siloed beets, 157. effect on quality of beets, 211. -in of beets, 149. French encouragement to beet- sugar industry, 11-13. Frost: danger during harv^est, 149. effect on growing beets, 39. Fruits: as source of sweet, 7. sugar in, 278. German encouragement to beet- sugar industry, 13, 15. Germination power of seed, im- portance of, 214, 218. Grasshoppers, 193. Green-manures, use of, 85. Growth : habit of sugar-beets, 23. of beet-sugar industry, 8. of beet plant, 26-29. of industry, factors affecting, 2. Guadeloupe, sugar-cane in, 8. Gypsum as a fertilizer, 81. Hail, effect on beet growing, 42. Harvesting : and threshing beet seed, 227. beets, time of, 148-150. Harvesting: — Continued implements, 151-154. processes of, 151. Hauling beets, 155. Hay from sugar-beet tops, 162. Heart-rot of beets {Phoma betae Frank), 200. Heating and freezing of siloed beets, 157. Heat in the soil, 63. Heterodera schachtii Schmidt, 195. Hoeing sugar-beets, importance of, 122. Holding water off to bring maturity, 150. Home-mixing of fertiliser, 82. Honey formerly chief source of sweet, 7. Horses, feeding beet by-products to, 168, 175, 180. Humus in the soil, 64. Implements for : harvesting beets, 151-154. preparing beet seed-bed, 110. Importation of beet seed, 216, 217. Increase of sugar in beets, 6. India, as source of sugar, 7. Indirect fertilizers, 81. Injury to beets by insect pests, 184. Insecticides, 186. Insect pests of beets, 184-198. Iron sulfate as a fertilizer, 81. Irrigation : amount to give beets, 131-133. before plowing, benefits, 110. effect on beet, 137-144. methods of. 130. of beets, 126-144. preparation of land for, 129. size of each application, 136. time to apply to beets, 133-136. water : sources of, 127. terms used with, 129. Index 337 Juice of beets : evaporation, 263. extraction, 261. purification, 252. Labor : agreement or contract, sample of, 100. and cost of beet production, 240- 246. furnished boys and girls by beets, 4. problem in beet growing, 45. stabilized by beet growing, 255. Lachnosternaspp. (white grubs), 191. Land : drainage, 144-147. values increased by beet raising, 2. Laphygma frugiperda S. and A., 189. Leaf-beetles, 193. Leafhopper Eutettix tenella Baker, 197. Leaf-spot Cercospora beticola Sacc, 199. Legislation : factor in beet-sugar industry, 1. in U. S., effect on sugar industry, 19, 21. unfavorable to early beet in- dustry, 13. Legumes as green-manure, 85. Length of beets, effect of irrigation on, 141. Leucania unipuncta Haw., 188. Leveling land for irrigation, 129. Lexosterie sp., 190. Lifting or loosening beet im- plements, 151, 152. Lime: as a by-product of beet factory, 181. as a fertilizer, 68, 81. Livestock : feeding beet pulp to, 169-176. feeding beet-tops to, 161, 162, 166, 167, 168. z Livestock: — Continued relation to beet-sugar industry, 158. Losses in weight, harvesting beets, 154. Louisiana, sugar-cane in, 8. Madeira, sugar-cane introduced into, 7. Manure : for sugar-beets, 82. how best to use, 84. storing of, 84. Manuring : and rotations, 73-91. with green-manure, 85. Marggraf first obtained beet-sugar, 9. Martinique, sugar-cane in, 8. Massachusetts, first beet factory of, 16. Massecuite, centrifuging, 264. Maturity, indications of, in beet, 149. Mechanical harvesters or toppers, 154. Medicine, use of sugar as, 6. Mexico, sugar-cane in, 8. Moisture : effect on beet growing, 40, 42. in the soil, 64. Molasses, feeding value and com- position, 177-181. Monosaccharids, 276. Moors took sugar-cane to Spain, 7. Mother beets : planting of, 225. testing for quality, 221, 222. Napoleon encouraged beet-sugar industry, 11, 12. National independence increased by home sugar, 4. Natural sugars, 277, 278. Nebraska, first sugar factories of, 19. Nematode, sugar-beet, 195. 338 Index Nitrogen fertilizer for beets, 74, 78. Noctuidae (cutworms), 190. Number of beet factories in U. S. and Europe, 3. Oliver de Serres records sweet- ness of beets, 9. Ooapora scabies Thaxt., 201. Organic matter in the soil, 63. Origin of soils, 56. Osmosis, 27. Oxnard Brothers, early interest in beet industry, 19. Pemphigus betae Doane, 194. Persia, sugar-cane in, 7. Pests and diseases of beets, 184- 204. Phoma, 204. Phoma betae Frank, 200. Phosphoric acid fertilizer for beets, 74, 77, 79. Pigs, feeding beet by-products to, 167, 168, 175, 176. 180, 181. Plant-breeding, aid of to beets, 6. Plant-food : in the soil, 69. requirements of beets, 74. Planting : beet seed, 113-115. mothers or stecklinge, 225. Pliny on sugar in Arabia and India, 7. Plowing : best depths for beets, 108. reasons for thoroughness in, 104. time of, for beets, 106. Population increases with beet culture, 256. Portugal, King of, dispersed sugar- cane, 7. Potash fertilizer for beets, 74, 77, 80. Precipitation, effect on beet grow- ing, 42. Preparation of beet land for irriga- tion, 129. Preparing seed-bed. effect of pre- vious crop, 103. Price of land increased by beet raising, 2. Prices of first sugar, 8. Profits from seed production, 230. Prosperity follows beet culture, 256. Puddled soil. 62. Pulp from sugar-beets, 168-176. dried, 169. loss in siloing, 168. Pythium, 204. Quality of beets, factors effecting, 205-212. Rainfall, effect on beet growing, 40, 42. Rhizoctonia of beet, 203, 204. Ripening : before digging time, danger of, 150. indications of, 149. period, water requirements, 150. Rolling beet seed-bed. 111, 116, 118. Root-rot or Rhizoctonia, 203. Root tips and waste sugar-beets for feeding, 176. Rotations, 86-91. Salt as a fertilizer, 81. Sampling and taring beets on delivery, 156. San Domingo, sugar cane in, 8. Scab of beet (Oospor a scabies Thaxt.) , 201. Science, aid to beet-sugar industry, 6. Sedentary soils, 58. Seed: amount to sow, 114, 115. and flower of sugar-beet, 34. -bed: final preparation, 111. preparation and planting, 103- 116. Index 339 Seed : — Continued crop, care during growth, 226. factors showing quality, 112. harvesting and threshing of, 227. importation of, 216-219. .production, 213-230. by-products of, 228. commercial method of, 223. in U. S., 216. quality, importance of, 213, 214. raising, profits from, 230. sources of, 215. yield of, 229. Selection of mother beets, 221, 222. Sheep, feeding beet by-products to, 167, 174, 175. 180. Sicily, sugar-cane in, 7. Signs of ripening in beet, 149. Silage from beet tops, use of, 166- 168. Siloing : beets, 157. beet tops, 163-166. stecklinge, 224. Single-germ seed, 220. Sirup as source of sweet, 7. Size of beet and sugar content, 33. Slicing beets in factory, 261. Soft-rot of beets {Bacterium teut- lium Met.), 202. SoU: acidity, 68. adaptation of beets, 43. air in, 62. alkali, 66. and subsoil, 58. bacteria of, 70. determining fertilizer needs of, 76. effect on quality of beets, 210. fertility : elements of, 69. maintenance of, 75. heat, 63. moisture, 64. organic matter of, 63. organisms, 70. Soil : — Continued plant food in, 69. relation to beet culture, 54, 55. structure, 61. texture, 59, 60. tilth, improvement of, 61. SoUs: adapted to sugar-beets, 71. classification of, 57. origin of, 56. Soot as a fertilizer, 81. Spain, sugar-cane taken to early, 7. Spreckels early sugar factory, 19. Stand of beets, importance of, 115, 121. Stecklinge, 223, 225. Steffen process of extracting sugar, 265. Stomata, 28. Storage : of beets, effect on quality, 211, 212. of sugar in beet, 29, 30. Storing : beets at factory, 258. stecklinge, 224. Structure of soils, 61. Subsoil, 58. Subsoiling for beets, 109. Successful commercial beet sugar production in U. S., 18-21. Sucrose in beet, effect of irrigation on, 139, 140. Sugar : consumption of per capita, 284- 286. content, relation to size of beet, 33. early sources and prices of, 8. early use of, 6. extraction : early improvements in, 13. extraction from beets : first, 9. in U. S. by states, 322. in various countries, 326. opposition to, early, 10. 340 Index Sugar: — Continued factories : beet, 3. in America, present, 312. rapid growth in U. S., 20. first commercial extraction from beets 10. future supply of, 291. in beet : factors affecting, 31, 32. first discovery, 9. increase in consumption, 283. industry : causes of early failures, 18. in U. S., early, 16. in nature, 277, 278. introduction into : commerce, 8. diet of Europeans, 8. kinds and properties, 275. making of, 258-267. percentage extracted from beets, 266. production of : Europe, early, 15. U. S., 292. yearly, 320-322. World, 287-291, 326. properties of, 276. storage of, in beets, 29, 30, 150. trade, first competition in, 8. use as medicine, 6. use confined to modern times, 6. value as a food, 279-283. wholesale prices monthly and yearly, 324. Sugar-beet : by-products, 158-183. composition of, 160, 182. importance of, 158. conditions for growing, 36-53. contracts : items included, 93. sample of, 95-100. diseases, 198-204. factories : early failures in U. S., 16-18. of America, 312. Sugar-beet: — Continued factories: — Continued of the U. S. by states, 322. factors affecting sugar in, 31, 32. factory : first in U. S., 16, 17. requirements for success, 52. flowering habits, 34. habit of growth, 23. industry : early decline of, 12. encouraged by Napoleon, 11, 12. favorable conditions for growth in Germanj', 13, 15. first success in U. S., 19. fostered by Frederick the Great, 11. growth of, 12, 13, 15. recent developments, 20, 21. molasses as a by-product, 177- 181. mosaic, 203. nematode, 195. pests and diseases, 184-204. plant : description of, 24, 25. elements essential to growth, 27. growth and feeding habits, 26-29. production : of U. S. yearly by states, 322. of world, 326. pulp, 168-176. dry. 169. 173. loss in siloing, 168. raising, personal requirements for, 50. seed : breeding, 221. harvesting and threshing, 227. importation, 216-219. production, 213-230. commercial, 223. of the U. S., 216. Index 341 Sugar-beet: — Continued seed : — Continued quality, indications of, 112. sources of, 215. time to plant, 113. yield and profit, 229, 230. soil, selection of, 71. tops, 158-168. composition of, 159, 160. hay from, 162. methods of feeding, 161, 162. silage from, feeding of, 166-168. siloing, 163-166. types of, 219. webworm, 190. Sugar-beets : and root tips, feeding of, 176. a profitable crop, 2. area raised in : different countries, 326. each state of U. S., 322. blocking and thinning, 117-122. botanical grouping, 22. bring national independence, 257. capital required to raise, 48. cash crop, 4. climatic adaptation, 37-43. commercial fertilizer for, 77-81. cost of production, 231-249. early history of, 8. economic conditions for grow- ing, 44. effect of irrigation on, 137-144. farm manure for, 82. fit in with grain production, 4. furnish much stock feed, 4. help weed problem, 4. importance of stand to yield, 115. increase yield of other crops, 4. in U. S., first, 16. irrigation of, 126-144. labor problem of, 45. origin of, 22. plant food requirements of, 74. quahty in, 205-212. relation to soil, 54, 55. rotations for, 88. Sugar-beets: — Continued soil adaptation, 43. stabilize agriculture, 251. time to plow for seed-bed, 106. transportation requirements, 49. water requirements, 131-133. yield per acre : different countries, 326. of states of U. S., 322. Sugar Bounty Act of 1890, favor- able effect, 19. Sugar-cane, 268-274. adaptation of, 270. cultural methods, 272. description and varieties, 269. extraction of sugar from, 274. harvesting, 273. in : Brazil, 7. Cuba, 8. Cyprus, 7. Euphrates Valley, 7. Guadeloupe, 8. Island of San Domingo, 8. Louisiana, 8. Martinique, 8. Mexico, 8. Persia, 7. Sicily, 7. Spain, 7. Tigris Valley, 7. introduced into Europe, 7. production of the world, 330. soils and manuring, 271. yield of, 274. Sunlight, effect on beet growing, 40. Sweet of beets first recorded by Oliver de Serres, 9. Taring beets at receiving station, 156. Temperature adaptation of beets, 37. Temperature of soil, 63. Texture of soils, 59, 60. Theophrastus on sugar, 7. Thermal adaptation of beets, 37. 342 Index Thinning sugar-beets, 117-122. Tigris Valley, sugar-cane in, 7, Tilth of soil, improvement of, 61. Time to harvest beets, 149, 150. Tonnage increase of beets near harvest time, 150. Topping beets, 152-155. Topping machines for beets, 154. Tops: and crowns of beets, proportion of, 159. height of, as influenced by irri- gation, 144. of beets, 158-168. composition of, 159, 160. value of, 159. Transportation as a factor in beet growing, 49. Transported soils, 58. Tychea brevicornis Hart, 195. Types of beets, 219. Utah, first sugar factoriea of, 16, 19. Varieties of beets first recognized, 8, 9. Varieties of sugar-beets, 219, 220. Wagons used to haul beets, descrip- tion of, 155. Waste : lime and minor by-products of factorj', 181-183. sugar-beets and root tips, 176. Water : kinds of, in soils, 65. -logged soil, 62. measuring devnces, 129. withholding from beets before harvest, 150. Weeds, relation to beet indiistry, 4. Weight : increase in beet, effect of irri- gation on, 141. loss in beets during harvest, 154. of beet, increase near harvest time, 150. White grubs, 191. Wilson Act unfavorable to beet sugar, 19. Wind, effert on beet growing, 43. Wireworms (Elateridae) , 192. Work necessary to raise beets, 240- 246. Yield of beets : effect of distance apart of plants, 119, 121. irrigation water, effect of, 132. Yields : increase on all crops with beet culture, 253. of sugar-beet seed, 228. Printed in the United States of America. University of British Columbia Library DUE DATE m PEB 7 RECfl M PE0 10 m{ FEB 24 196?- FFP 5 0 ciil'D MAR 1 0 19C7 MAR? 8 1 ^ APK3 RECT) '■ « ijt •"-^ RECB JilL "-p DEC 1 9 Reco PORM 3IO H^ FORESTRY AGRICULTURE LIBRARY Hinlllliil iljilji. I! ! i