Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-06-06
SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY
SECRETARY RUSK FEELS CONFIDENT
OF ITS FINAL SUCCESS.

The Farmers of America Have Somc Re
sponsibility in the Development Of the
n~dustry-Suga to BE Made i'll Grand
Island, Neb., This Ycar-A Government
Report.
The department of agriculture has Just
issued a report dealing exclusively with
the agricultural situation in this country
/ at the present time. An interesting feat
ure for the northwestern states is some
general suggestions made regarding the
introduction of the sugar beet industry in
these states. The report says the evolu-
| ton of the beet-sugar manufacture is a
growth Of the present century. 1t was
fostered early in the century BY science
and government through invention and
bounty, yet half OF its development has
occurred during the last decade. Profit
ing by European experience, this country
has q less difficult problem TO solve.
There have been no satisfactory expert
periments in the manufacture here until
the success of Alvardo in California.
Those of Maine, Wisconsin and Hi
nois we're preliminary and inconclusive.
They were necessarily failures from lack
Of skill and completeness of preparation,
and still more from failure of farmers to
cooperate. In the Maine case the aver
age contracts were for only a fraction of
an acre, a garden patch receiving ordinary
field cultivation, without knowledge of the
necessary culture or fertilization, and with
out the adjunct Of cattle feeding and utlli-
cation of the by-product.
The report adds that there promises to
be a general revival of the experiment in
the northwestern states since the repeated
successes in California. with high promise
of continued enlargement. Nebraska has
already entered the lists. 1t would be an
i%gnominious Acknowledgement to admit
successfully throughout Europe and can not
be a success upon the continent of North
America, when q good yield of beets having
a high content of sugar has been repeatedly
grown from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and good sugar. has been made year after
year at a profit.
This agricultural writer believes that the
farmers of this country have some respon-
slbllity in the development of the sugar
industry. The product cannot be made
without beets, which must come from the
fields of the farms. Hence the farmer has
a large stake in the skill and technical
knowledge which yields the best results.
The most extensive preparations for beet
sugar production east OF the Rocky noun
tains are to be made this season at Grand
Island, Neb., and Medicine Lodge, Kan.
At the latter place beet sugar was made
last year.
The report goes on to say that the pre-
vailiug error il agriculture! practice, as in
some other lines Of effort in this country,
is to look only to the present hour, and get
the largest return to-day, without a thought
OF the future. The beet sugar industry in
wolves something more thar the price of
q ton of. beets the present year. 1t in
cludes:
]. Rotation, which insures large Yields anc
clean cultivation.
Q. Symmetry in rural DEVELOPMENT, variety In
production.
3. Fertilization, providing in large degree the
materialthrough cattle feeding.
4. Fine filth and thorough cultivation.
$. Increased value of land, from its enlarged
capacity for production. and the cteapening of
cost Of product ard resulting increase of net
profit.
1t would be easy TO show the relative ad.
vance in value of lands in beet sugar dis
trlcts, the increase Of agricultural wealth,
and the general prosperity enhanced by
this industry. Rotation is q necessity, the
soil must be enriched, though fertilizers
must be applied to preceding crops and not
to the crop Of beets directly. Sugar beet
culture is only one link in the chain of
production which gives variety and pros
perlty to agriculture.
Secretary Rusk and his aids are certain
that the general results Of the experiments
made this year in raising the beets will be
highly successful.