St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-06
THE SUGAR BEET.
It's Cultivation Discussed by Al
bert Meyer, the Chemist.

ltS cultivation Discussed by Al
bert Meyer, the Chemist.
To the Editor of the Globe
Very seldom in the history of our
commerce h there been such q great
increase in the importation of an article
as there has been in the raw sugar from
Germany The last few years. Two years
ago the importation amounted to 81, 5OO,-
QUO, aud last year 1t increased to S1G, OOO.-
900. Sugar Is manufactured i'm that
country exclusively of the sugar beet.
and only small! part of the raw sugar we
import comes from that country. What
an enormous capital Is lost to us every
year.
The question rises. what can be done
to correct this evil? May we not, even
i'll our own state, try the beet sugar
culture, which has been such q great
success for years in Germany. Austria.
Belgium. France, Denmark and Russia?
In extensive experiments made the last
twenty-five years is disclosed the fact
that the sugar beet might be success
fully raised in nearly all parts of the
United States. and it will especially
thrive In the coast valleys of California.
! Oregon and Washington, in large dis
tricts In the Dakotas, Minnesota. Wis
( cOnsin, Iowa, Illinois, etc. To make a
failure impossible, experiments ought
to be made by the farmers to ascertain
in what districts the beet will thrive
best. Up to the present day the sugar
baronS. like Claus Spreckels. the sugar
trust, ETC., had the whole benefit. as
there is no tariff on raw sugar, and
they can keep up the price by
controlling the market. The tillers of
our soil ought to reap, at least part of
these profits for themselves, by trying
the rational cultivation of the sugar
beet, to induce capitalists to invest in
the enterprise. 1t will pay the farmer
to raise the beet as fodder for his cattle;
they eat them with eagerneSs, especially
the leaves. The following experiments
have been recorded by DR.. w. Tod
Six COWS of about the same weight and
from eight to twelve weeks new mich
erS were selected and fed daily with
thirty-fve pounds beetS (press refuse at
sugar factory, five pounds beet leaves.
six pounds barley straw, for four weeks
the constant quantity of milk received
being about the same. Then three cows,
we will call A, got for four weeks forty
pounds beet press refuse, six pounds
barley straw, enc ounce salt:
the other three OBJ. where fed with
2625 pounds btet-press refuse, six pounds
barley straw. In addition, the three
COWS named b got for four weeks-the
first week 1879 pounds beet leaves (the
leaves had been Salted DOWN, the sec
ond week 1873, the third 20 and the
fourth 1858 pounds each per day. The
result was remarkable. The quantity
of milk received from the cows (A) i'm
the four weeks trial reduced from
23.7S to about 20 pounds each during
the last week, while the other three (B),
with the addition of beet-leaf fodder,
Increased their quantity from 26.09 to
3l.4O. The beet needs well-cultlvated
soft SOIL which will not hinder the tap
root from entering the ground to the nee
eSSary depth, and to expand the vol
ume of the beet, which is essential with
the development of the sugar juice.
The ground must be accessible to the
atmospheric air and the necessary moist
ure, and, as matter of course, kept
from getting crusty. The plant will
not thrive when the tap root strikes
rocks or stagnant water. Heavy, sour
or wet soil is not adapted for the culti-
walton of the beet. but if there is soft,
black, sandy loan, of reasonable depth,
OF easy access to moisture and free of
stones, then it is what we might call
natural-bOrn beet soil. The writer has
looked over large tracts of land in
: Woodbury., Cottage Grove, Oak Tale,
ETC.. In this county, and finds that these
lands have all the requirements of eX-
cellent beet soil. Dry weather is early
spring is dangerous for the growth OF
any vegetation, and more SO for the beet,
but that is very seldom in our climate
The seed must not be drilled too far
apart. as the beets must not grow too
large, in which case they contain more
water than sugar. The formation of the
sugar lies mostly on these conditions:
warm weather and warm rains. A
warm. moist May will give the plants a
hearty start, hot July furthers the de-
'veloRment of the seed stalk: abundant |
rains in July and August will bring good |
sizes, and dry September is essential |
with the formation of the sugar. The |
manufacture of beet sugar promises q |
great future, so farmers, try beet cult |
ure. The writer has been technically |
connected for long year; with beet sugar |
factories. and is willing to get the best |
varieties of seeds from the provinces of |
SaXOny, Hanover and West Prussia, |
and give all information possible. Now |
IS the time for the farmer to make |
trial. l may remark, lastly, that the |
field ought to be plowed about four
inches deeper than usual. The crop is, |
on an average, about fifteen tons per |
acre, and the price ranges from 81 to |
$3.50 per ton. ALBERT MEYER.
Saltwater, Mimi, Nov. 20.