Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-12-04
ABOUT SUGAR BEETS.


the culture and industry of sugar beets
and as had the pleasure to talk to
your readers about this important
question, some months ago, l come
again before the public to push this
matter and lend helping hand to such
a laudaDle enterprise.
The beet sugar industry is destined
to become one of the leading industries
in the United States, and according to
experiments on my farm beets will
grow and do we'll in our soil and eli
mate.
The culture of sorghum for purposes
of sugar making should be discarded.
as it is neither paying, nor good
sugar producing plant. L have shown
this in my former article by some cal
culatiOnS.
The sooner the farmers of Kansas
introduce the culture of sugar beet, the
sooner they will reap the benefit, which
always resulted from their introduc-
tiOn in countries where it now has a
strong foothold and where it is consid-
cred not only as the best paying, but as
the best agriculture promoting enter
prise also.
In those parts of Austria, France and
Germany where beet culture is carried
on, the agricultural conditions are,
without fear of contradiction, the most
prosperous ones. The culture of sugar
beets requires intense work and per-
manent and thorough cultivation. A
| field of sugar beets cannot be permitted
to run up in weeds, as we generally see
our cornfelds. Cleanliness of the soil
| is the most sacred duty here, but the
work will repay in good hard dollars
and good many of them too, better
than any otEer crop.
In my native land, SaxOny, fields of
beets look always clean, only the fat
leaves of the beets (by the way, good
food for milch cows) looming up from
the dark, we'll cultivated ground.
What a profit such we'll titled soil is
after the harvest of the beets; how
admirably adapted for the seeding of
wheat.
| The weeds will become exterminated.
and after few years of beet culture
and the necessary rotation of crops, we
would be well rewarded by the entire
absense of these obnoXious,pests.
All those interested and desiring TO
further the beet industry in our midst
should write to the Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. c., where
they can obtain a little pamph-
let, ''Bulletin No. 27,'' containing lots
of useful information about this new
industry.
1t would be good plan also to have
our newly elected members to the state
legislature instructed to lend a
helping hand in furthering this
new enterprise, and L want to
suggest that the state of Kan
sas should undertake the indus
trial part of building, equipping and
running the necessary factories in the
interest and for the benefit of the whole
people, viz: commonwealth. Capitalists
in their greediness are already eager
to swallow this sweet morsel, sweet
in every respect. The principles OF
American Nationalists would thus gel
Il stimulation, which, without doubt
would help their cause and propagate
these noble ideas.
CARL VOIGT.
Ellinwood, Kan, Nov. 2Sth, 1890.
Verbeck Barton Co, Kan, New. 2Sth, 1896
EDITOR DEMOCRAT:
Sugar making from beets is at bes
only an experiment. though a reason
ably successful one. This is all the de
partment of agriculture claims for it
The plant at Grand Island, Neb., ha
made some good sugar, some of it be
ing standard granulated.
But whether beet sugar can be profit
ably made without state or nationa
2 aid is quite another question. The ait
Y extended to that and other beet an
sorghum sugar plants amounts to mor
Y than the sugar ought to cost. Sugar
4 before the war, often sold as low a
t 5 cts, in New Orleans, and that wa
S about the average price on the planta
t tions at that time, and the business G
4 making sugar was good then. But th
f tariff and increased consumption ha
raised the price till Il cts. represent
e about the price on the plantation ft
the mast tpn Years
Now the first question to consider il
, which is the best plan, to continue t
pay bounty of cts, divided betwee
the state and nation and possibly PR
duce our own sugar as result, or
{ establish reciprocity with South Anne
;. ica, placing sugar on the free list, bot
n there and here, and have our suga
S laid down in New Orleans at abol
e 8 cts.
,r Since we import about sixty millio
II dollars worth of sugar annually
would be an Immediate saving to tt
:. country of about fifteen million dOlla
70 unif ho horpfu r,1op