The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1898-02-10

ton. The following is from q man Of
large experience both in. this country
| and in Europe, aud what he says on
sugar beet culture is reliable and yalu.
able. He says the soil should be good.
The crop will not pay if planted OIL poor
ground. or on muck land, or on land
which has not good drainage, or if the
soil Is not i'll good state of cultivation.
The cost Of raising an acre of beets is
600 high for them to be grown on poor
lana. The success of this industry is in
the hands of the farmers and not in the
| hands OF the manufacturers, No matter
now perfect the machinery or how econ
omicaily a factory is managed, if the
oeets are brought to the factory not in
proper condition the expenses are
doubled and the farmer is dockel, which
means loss OF time. general discourage.
| ment and want of success to both man.
ufacturer and planter. The beets when
delivered at the factory should be cut
OH hat at the root of the leaves, so that
none of the green top is left This is
| absolutely necessary III order to make q
good standard of sugar. Every beet of
which the green juice of the leaves is
mixed with the beet juice proper is an
obstacle to crystalizing the sugar, and
every drop of that green juice must be
| eliminated before the white graduated
sugar can be manufactured. All the
fertllizing properties Of the beets are
contained in the tops and the farmer
meets with q double loss if he carries
them to the factory instead of cutting
them off and leaving them on his land.
He is locked s or 10 per cent at the fac
tory, and wastes the valuable fertilizing
properties of the tops which are thrown
away.
METHOD OF CULTlvATING SUGAR BEETs.
The rows should be 18 or 20 inches
apart. the plants thinned out to stand
or 4 inches i'll the row. Do not wait
until the young beets are surrounded by
weeds. but cultivate with the hoe as
soon as the plants can be seen. The
thinning should be done as soon as the
plants have two to four leaves After
this keep the weeds and grass down by
the horse hoe, cultivating often to
loosen the earth around the plants and
give air to the roots. AS the cultivation
is very expensive no chance should be
neglected which will help to make as
large crop as possible. If weeds and
grass are allowed to grow they will take
up the strength of the soil, which should
be used to make the beets. The rows
should not be further than 20 inches
apart If wider than this the beets will
be larger but will not yield as much in
weight per acre, and besides, what the
sugar manufacturer wants is small
beets, from to ~ pounds in weight.
These are more profitable to handle and
have also higher percentage of sugar
and less water than the larger sizes.
COST OF CULTIvATING AN ACRE IN SUGAR
BEETS.
Preparation of land: blowing and
narrowing s 90
Extra narrowing before putting
in seed 80
Tilling and rolling 1 so
Cleaning between the rows with
hand hoe 3 90
Thinning out and resetting plants
to stand or inches, and clean
/ ing between rows 90
Cleaning with horse hoe rs
Cleaning with horse hoe and
slightly killing up IS
Taking out weeds near the beets,
which horse hoe has left ] %
Pulling up. topping. putting the
beets in small heaps and cover.
ing with leaves G 90
Loading and hauling to market,
| estimating - tons to the acre,
at so cents per ton, distance of
= 6 miles 10
| $97 90
The IL tons at 81 90 per ton would
! be $4S 90
Cost of cultivating as above 81 rs
$50 %
In this account labor is estimated at
Sl.25 day, and no allowance is made
for fertilizers or cost of seed The
United States Department Of Agricult.
ure estimates the cost per acre for the
first few years at from $40 to $50 per
acre, though in many instances it will
fall below these figures. The cost varies