The Holly chieftain., 1902-11-28
The Beet Sugar Industry :.
In the Arid Regions.

| The beet sugar men OF the rain belt
have been astonished since 1901 at the
wonderful reports on the. beet sugar
| industry in Colorado.
They knew already that bests have
been successfully raised on irrigated
lands. for instance in Utah since
1891, and in New Mexico from 1895
| to 1893 but they knew also that the
final success OF the Lehi Utah factory
has required several years OF efforts
from the farmers, and that. after three
campaigns, the New Mexico factory
had to be closed on account of lack OF
good beet farmers in the Pecus Valley.
10 tons of beets per acre raised in the
first season. nor OF campaigns OF 90.
600, and even 100, 900. tons OF beets
showing an average percentage OF su-
gar OF II per cent. Such figures for
the eastern sugar men could not be
admitted without a careful investiga-
tion. and | was glad to accept the kind
invitation OF the Union Pacific Rail
way to visit Colorado, in view Of the
establishment OF new plants for 1903,
and to inquire about the conditions VI
the beet sugar industry in the region
of the high plateaus.
did not expect to finland did
not find-that the Colorado farmers,
whose experience in that line is hardly
two years old, have made any consd-
cradle improvement on the agricultur-
al methods used by their colleagues of
the rain belt. Their success is a ques-
tion OF good, new lands and of climate,
rather than Of exceptional ability OF
pericnce. saw one farmer using a
pickax to pull out the beets-which
can hardly be considered an improve
mcnt-and also observed that many
are topping the beets in such way as
to lose 20 per cent OF their crop, which
shows that a good topping machine is
just as badly needed in Colorado as II
IS in the East.
While every good farmer can depend
on crop OF from 10 to p tons to the
acre. Is tons being considered low
minimum in Colorado, vet I heard
that the average weight per acre corr
tractcd for In 1901 has not been more
than 10 tons Of beets delivered at the
factories, which shows either that the
acreage has been larger on paper. than
on the fields, or that the farmers have
much to learn yet. even in that blessed
region.
Almost all the beetS that l saw in
Colorado are OF that rather conical
shape of the Klein Wanzleben and
Nilm0rin varieties, which are used
almost everywhere in the rain belt and
in Europe. 1 believe that longer
beet or more cylindrical shape would
be better adapted to The lands and eli
mate OF Colorado. Experiments made
during many years in Europe with the
greatest care have proved that differ
ent kinds OF soil require different
kinds OF beets, and il there is a region
which requires long beet 1t is GER
tainly the region of the plateaus.
give this rs 4 personal and disinter-
estcd opinion, for l have no beet seed
to sell, and call the attention of our
specialists in the beet seed business to
this point.
AS to the polarization of the beets,
it is an admitted fact that the beets
delivered at the Colorado factories In
1901 contained about II per cent Of su-
gar as an average, at the time Of deliy-
erv. which is evidently the result Of
an abundance Of sunshine. This is
the real superiority Of the high pla-
teaus in the arid belt, and its import
ance cannot be overestimated, as the
additional quantity OF sugar thus de-
veloped In the beets does not cost any
thing to the farmer and does not ex
haust the soil. The purity is rather
low for such a polarization. 1t runs
from SO to 81 degrees, but there is
some compensation in the fact that
the osmose process gives better and
more complete results In Colorado
than it does elsewhere, for instance,
n Michigan; this, probably. on account
- L.. <.t ~, ,l>~ RI ~