The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-02-14
FACTS FOR THE FARMER.
T CULTIVATINC THE
SUGAR BEET.
Interesting Letter from nm Expert In the Indus.
try In cslIfornia-DOn't Winter Too
Hsny Fowls-Boillns Grain for
Stock-Oid Horses. ,,,l
CultivatIng Sugar Beets.


A. A. Bertrand. OF Moro Colo Ranch,
Cal. writes to the Rural Home about
cultivatine the sugar beet The In
dustry In California, he says. is still in
is infancy and the methods employed
FRO very crude. yet it will compare
'arorably with any other part OF the
country, but it is for information more
than anything else that has prompted
me to write this article. In the first
place, will describe tho Moro Colo
Ranch and its methods. This is the
largest beet farm in the world, con-
tanning 1,500 acres and owned by Claus
eprcckles. the sugar king. 1t is situ-
ated en- Monterey Bay, at the mouth of
the Salinas river. ten miles from Wat
eonville, where Mr.. Spreckles has a
large sugar factory. The farm Is OF
such magnitude as to cause Mr..
Spreckles to build railroad from
Watsonville to the ranch, where it is
carried to any part OF the field by port
able tracks. In addition to this 1t is
the only ranch Of any size that employs
Ihite labor exclusively. The facts
here given were furnished me by w.
Y. Galley. the originator and main
stay OF tho place.
First we will refer to the preparing
OF the soil. he says: "My opinion
about blowing is. that the ground
should be plowed deep. at least ten
inches, early in the fall, after the first
rain, SO that the soil will be well ex-
posed to the atmosphere, aud be thor
oughly warmed by the time it is ready
for planting. using five horse sulky
pillow. Let it then be well narrowed
and cultivated. and II the weather has
not been too wet this blowing will
suffice.
Then in the spring as soon rs the
weather will allow, we plant, using a
planter, sowing in rows fifteen inches
apart and about two inches deep. using
from two and one-half to six pounds
per acre according TO the size of the
seed. il the soil pulverizes we'll there
is no need TO soak the seed, IL not you
must soak it we'll for forty eight hours.
This seed classified into Nos. and 3
before placing in the soak. Tie
planter itself is an original idea Of
Mr. w. c. Waters, superintendent OF
the Western Beet Sugar Co. There
are no patents on it. being for tho
benefit of the beet grower. and is the
most complete in existence.
''As soon as the bects have put forth
four or six leaves the thinning
process commences. This is oil done
by hand, tho men going through pull
ing all the surplus bcets, leaving
good plant every six or eight inches.
This will cost from $6 to $40 per acre.
according to the stand.
Then comes the cultivating. This
Is also done by hand. using tho hoe,
rs there is no machine that will
cultivate fifteen inches. The men are
kept going back ward and forward as
long as there is u weed in sight.
I'm California bcets ripen In from
four to five months.
Now we como to the harvest First
we use pillow that looscns the beet
This year we had twelve plows going,
paying the men that handled them 81
per day behind the plows. We had
twenty-five men at $l.l0 per day to
pull the beets and spade up those the
plows failed to loosen. They placed
them in piles for the toppers, who
were furnished with knives to rcmove
the green tops and parts OF beets that
had been exposed above ground.
Of these we had fifty, and they re-
ceived q cents per box. which aver
aged from Ill to lis lbs. accord ing 10
the soil. These boxes arc removed by
trucks operated by two men, a driver
who received $l.1O and helper who
received 81, tho hriver giving the
topper check for every box he re-
moved. He then conveyed tho boxes
TO a portable track; run to any part OF
the field, where they were dumped in
to cars, he receiving a check for every
box no hauled, keeping perfect tally.
The cars were then drawn to the main
line Of tho r. V. narrow-guage rail-
road, where tho engine picked them
up and carried them to the sugar
factory at Watsonville. Hero u
sample of from four to five beets are
taken together with tho number of
the car and sent to the laboratory
where tho chemist polarizos them.
The factory allowing 81 per ton for IA
per cent and so cents por ton for
every additional pcr cent.
ut would take too much OF your val