Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-04-02

Some of the Facts to be Observed A Val
liable Communicat From. the Michi-
gan State Experiment Station.

gan State Experiment Station.
county in the question of sugar bee
raising that the principal PARTON of {
recent bulletin. issued from the Stat,
Experiment Station, il given below:
1t is advisable that an effort Ice mad,
in the county this season to test the ca,
pabilites of Gratiot in proper man.
ner. To do this in way that would
insure practical results requires at least
two or three hundred tests and the
leading farmers IN each town should
get TO work. Says the bulletin:
Farmers must remember that to pro-
duce beet sugar cheaply. and to sue
cessfully compete with the producers of
other countries, the best and latest ma
chinely must be used. The buildings
and equipment of u first-class beet
sugar factory, and such alone are prof
table, cannot cost less than $3.50 900
The investment of this large amount OF
capital cannot be expected until the To-
cality is able TO fully demonstrate that
a sufficient number of farmers will
pledge themselves to produce annually
about 5000 acres of sugar beets. This
is no slight undertaking as the supply
of beets must be maintained whether
the season is favorable or otherwise
Moreover, sugar heets should form but
one factor in four year rotation, hence
there must be at least eight to ten thou
sand acres within reaching distance of
the factory adapted TO bcets
1t is safe TO say, that, as far as gen
ersl climatic conditions are concerned, !.
all OF the southern peninsula as far
north at least at the northern borders |
of Oceana, Ncwaygo, Isabella, Midland
and Bay counties can grow sugar beetS
successfully.
a monthly rainfall of not less than
two inches charactcrizes our summer
season and a comparis IN of the summer
climate of Michigan with that of the
best districts OF France and Germany
shows that5we have good climatic con-
tltions in our State. May and June
should have enough rain to secure
'igorous start and u well developed tap
DOT so that the plant can well with
stand moderate drough later. A
warm July and August with abundance
If sunshine and September with {
plenty of ripening weather are favora- ,
'Ie to the crop. If. Is sometimes hap
'ens, September and October are warm {
nd rainy fresh growth of leaves d
tarts and, instead Of ripening properly i
he roots lose in quality and the yield a
) thereby greatly lesSened. A wet fall f
nd dry June are equally disastrous. a
ortunately the majority of our seasons p
re favorable. q
The sugar beet requires no particular Il
ind of soil for its best production. u
ny soil that will grow a good crop of a
indian corn or potatoes will, under
roper cultivation, produce a good crop 81
beets. The soil must be open and Il
orous with a sub-Soil either naturally
'ose, or broken up by a sub-soil pillow Il
order that the growing beet may II
'netrate and not be pushed above the ST
lrface OF the ground by its growth. A
'ep sandy loan is excellent while b
III tenacious clay is not suited to the ii
duStry. A reclaimed swamp and ii
ucky soils generally cannot be used CT
L the production of sugar beets. al
hey will yield a large crop of beets pl
1t with small content of sugar W
The land must not be recently ma h,
lred CT the beets will not have the W
ne cylindrical or elogated conical eli
rm but will be divided up into many &C
ancheS toward the apex. Such beets III
ould be refused by any factory. The OF
Il must, therefore, be naturally fertile
must be made so by manuring at tn
lst two years before planting the beet tn
ed in order that TIE fertility may be Gu
oroughly distributed through the soil di
d completely mixed with it, Com po
'rcial fertilizers, especially those rich
potash and phosphoric acid, can be an
piled with great freedom to beet TIN
Ids Nitrogen in its various forms th
lst be used with caution as it tends an
produce heavy growth with conse- tiy
ent diminution of the sugar content. or
'avy manuring just prior to the SOW TN,