The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1894-06-01
NUMBER Is.
Beet CuliRre. .

Tue UrccnSllle IlH'es has TeCcHtIy
been publishing articles on beet cul-3
ture which possess interest to all
Mississippi. Matters have progressed
to the point where special expert
mcDts will be tried in the Delta Re-
gion. We copy from the Times:
"1hc letter Of Mr.. Richardson. pub
lshcd in late issue of the Times, on
thc'subject of Sugar Beet culture. has
created, we are glad to note, wide
spread interest. The packages of seed
he sent out for distribution to num-
Der Of planters in the Delta, have
been generally planted, and the cxper-
ment Of raising the bcets will be
faithfully tried in this and adjoining
counties. Mr.. Richardson Is still
sending out the seed, as he Is deter
mined that the experiment shall be
thoroughly and intelligcntly tested.
a thoughtful article in Farm Ma
chinery treats this subject exhaust
lively, and its conclusions are that the
requisites for success are subSOil
plOwing in the fall, a soil naturally
fertile or rendered so by artificial
means, the experience gained from a
year or two Of experiment and consci-
entious effort, and Il dry and favorable
autumn for harvesting the crop. Su-
gar 5eets are not slovenly crop, or
one that can be made remunerativc by
the desultory and half-earnest atten-
tion which is usually given in this
country to all crops including cotton.
Shallow plowing must result in
stringy beets, growing with the
body of the beet half out Of the
ground, and making harvesting by
improved machinery very wasteful
and unsatis factory. Delta conditions
of soil and climate would seem to be
intended by nature for the protection
Of this crop.
The harvest, in sections devoted to
this product, usually commences
about the first of October--a period
when winter weather and storms are
beginning in the Northwest, but
which is with us the perfection of
the year. The usual rule in beet
planting in Europe is to put the same
land in beets every third year. Expe-
rience proves that the thorough culti-
walton required by the beet crop has
been of incalculablc advantage in in
creasing the yield of intermediate
crops-an increase of 30 to 80 per cent
being common on land whereon beetS
have been cultivated, while lands on
which no beets have been grown show
much smaller percentage OF increase.
Another item of Importance Is the
utility of the beet tops and the resi-
dunn of pulp after extracting the
sugar, as a feed for stock, great fat
tening qualities being clai med for
them.
1t may be of interest to those who
are turning their attention to tins
matter to know something of the eX-
perience in beet growing in the Chino
Valley, in California, as recently laid
I, before Congress in an exhaustive ad-
, dress by Senator PETER. The rancho
cited as an example consisted Of 20
:, 600 acres. When purchased it was an
exhaustive sheep and cattle range.
The owner fenced it and commenced
! the culture of the sugar beet accord
ing to European methods. Mistakes
we're made at first, and discourage
ments encountered, but perseverance
y triumphed and in 1893 the total value
= of the beet crop upon this 10000 acres
was estimated at $500, 900. The aver
age price paid by the factory was ID
. per tom the production per acre was
, 10 tons; the cost Of production per
acre was $25, making the net profit
per acre about $50.
b, Following is table showing the re-
! suit upon one l0-acre tract OF the
!. ranch for 1892:
a n