Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1899-03-03
Bay County Farmers in Some lnStan-
ces Cleared as High as S4S
Per Acre.
AVERAGE ABOVE S2s.
GOOD ROADS WERE A BIG FACTOR IN
FARMERS PROFITS.
Those Living on the Stone Roads Secured the
Largest Retprns-Acreage Has Been
Tretled This Year

80 ldr exceeded EXPECTATIONS tudt ~
out of every 90 farmers who devoted
no fewer than FIVE acres 10 the crop,
will say that they are more than we'll
pleased with the results attained.
In the Introduction Of any new indus
try, there are always certain draw
backs and difficu to be encountered,
and in the sugar business, from farm 10
factory, there have been various obsta-
Giles TO surmount. some of which have
been costly but. taken as a whole, the
success attending the propagation of the
beet and the manufacture OF the sugar,
has been almost phenomenal, when IL
is taken into consideration that this was
the first season
Up TO date, two farmers have been
heard from who made a failure of rails
ing beets One lives near Lansing and
the other in the backwooks of Bay
county The latter said that his beet
crop did not pay him, and hereafter he
will devote his attention 10 wheat The
Lansing man. on investigation, did not
have the proper kind of ground, having
planted his seed in mucky soil.
As 70 the profits made by farmers in
the cultivation Of the beet, there is
variance coming from the varied con-
ditions The farmer whose beet land
was along stone road, or very near
one and not far from the factory, has
cleared as high as SAG an acre, after
all expenses were paid. Reports have
been received of even larger profits,
from farmers who live in remote parts
of the county and shipped TO the fac
tory by rail, paying 30 cents a ton
freight.
The average profit per acre, is proba-
bly, $50 or S25, depending on the mum.
Der of tons produced per acre. The
labor is practically the same on an acre
of land producing 10 tons as on an acre
from which % tons are taken Some
farmers are more skilled in the cultiva.
tion Of the beet than others, and get
better results because they have raised
long slender beet-than the farmer
who raised a short. bulky beet. In top
ping slender beet, less sacharine mat.
ter is removed than from a bulky beet
produced in soil not properly plowed
The deeper the soil. the longer the beet.
The first years experience in this
county shows that the factory could
have had beets and started four weeks
earlier than il did, had il been ready
Had al early start been made, farm.
ers would have realized much more, in
some cases, than they did, because they
would have been able to get their beets
10 the factory before il was necessary
70 pit them. One complaint the farm
ers had was that they were obliged TO
go to the expense of pitting some Of
their beets, holding them until called
for by the factory. Hauling them to
the pit, pitting them and then un.pit.
ting them, entailed considerable add.
tional expense.
But the best evidence that the grow
ing of the sugar beet in this section of
Michigan has been an overwhelming
success is the fact that every farmer has
doubled or trebled his acreage for the
campaign of 1899. One year ago the
one factory here had 10 go into Is coun.
ties TO secure acreage enough for the
a.. l,n
same factory obtained more acreage in
Bay county alone than il got in the is
counties year ago.
In addition TO the acreage, two new
companies, which will have factories in
the field next September, found no diff
ficulty in getting 5000 acres each under
contract, and it is stated that it would
be possible without much exertion to
get enough acreage for still another fac.
tory, as the three companies have de-
clined TO take any more contracts
While beet acreage has been solicited,
three chicory companies have had agents
out among the farmers, and they too,
nave succeeded in getting from | 800 to
. 800 acres each under contract.
This year the farmers of this county,
profiting by the experience Of last sea
son, will have improved tools for cult.
vating the beet, will know better the
q "tity Of seed TO SOW on an acre and
will, lave facilities for a more speedy
delivery of crops to the factories.
One of the prime factors in the sue.
cess Of the sugar beet industry in this
county is its system of unexcelled stone
roads running into all sections Of the
county, without which il would have
been impossible to have delivered their
crops last fall on account OF the unusu.
ally heavy rains which made dirt roads
| impassable The above was published