Middletown transcript., 1898-10-01
FARM. :. Aaer
l@ aaE EEEDaR
GAKPEN
BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY.
A Review of the General Condition In thi
limited States


United States.
The experiment stations of Arizona.
Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kan.
sas, Michigan, Missouri, New York,
Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Da-
kota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and
Wyoming have recently issued bulletins
on the subject of sugar beets. The Unit
ed States department of agriculture has
co-operated with the stations in this
work and has just reported the results
of experiments during 1897 in almost
every state and territory.
These experiments have shown that
there are wide areas in the United
States adapted by soil and climate to
the growth of sugar beets. While the
beet has generally attained its greatest
perfection in what are called north
temperate latitudes, the tests which have
been made in different parts of the
United States show that the lines must
not be drawn too closely in this respect
Beets of excellent quality have been
grown in regions having very dissimilar
climates For large part of the United
States the amount and distribution Of
rainfall or other supplies Of water seem
more important considerations than the
temperature. An average Of two to four
inches of water per month during the
summer is considered necessary for the
normal growth Of beets, but it is espe-
cially important that the weather should
remain dry during the ripening and
harvesting Of the beets, otherwise new
growth will start and the sugar rapidly
disappear.
Where irrigation is practiced the wa
ter supply is of course under control,
and experiments in the irrigated region
of the United States have shown that
beets of fine quality can be produced
with an artificial water supply. The
Colorado station has found that in order
to secure good beets the last irrigation
should be made about six weeks before
maturity. Farmers bulletin No. 50
states that lin general it may be said
that any soil which will produce good
crop of Indian corn, wheat or potatoes
will under proper cultivation produce
good crop of sugar beets The soil on
which sugar beets are grown, however,
should be reasonably level, and this be-
ing the case it should be well drained. "
The draft Of the sugar beet upon the
soil is not great provided the tops and
factory byproducts are returned to the
farm.
The varieties of beets which have
been most widely tested and have given
the most satisfactory results are White
Improved Vilmorin and Kleinwanzle-
bener. Seeds are now imported almost
exclusively, but farmers and seedsmen
might proftably turn their attention to
the raising of seed.
As stated in bulletin No. 79, the OBJ.
ject kept constantly in mind should be
the production Of beet of high sugar
content and paying yield. 1t must al
ways be borne in mind that the largest
beets are not the sweetest. Any undue
increase in the size is almost sure to be
accompanied by decrease in sugar con-
tent Beets weighing from one to two
pounds are considered the best for sugar
making. When beets are paid for by
the ton, it is Of course to the farmers
advantage to secure as large a yield as
possible, but the manufacturer at the
same time has right to demand that
quality shall not be sacrificed to size,
and that the beets which he buys shall
contain a sufficiently high percentage
of sugar to make manufacture profitable.
In order to secure such beets it is alb
solutely essential to deeply and thor
oughly prepare the soil. No fact has
been more clearly brought out by exper
iment than this, from the Indiana sta
tion: sit is Of the highest Importance
that the land intended for beet raising
should be plowed deeply enough to per-
NIT the beet to develop its normal shape
and still not protrude above the ground.
The soil should be loosened to depth
of not less than 10 inches" 1t is prob
able that neglect to observe this precau
tion has been responsible for large
part of the failures to produce beets Of
good quality which have been reported
from different localities.
It is evident that there must be mu-
tual understanding between the farmer
and the manufacturer. From the nature
Of the process it is quite improbable
that any simple home manufacture of
beet sugar will ever prove commercially
successful.