The Grit-advocate., 1903-05-29
FARMING MATTERS,
Sugar Beet Seed Theory.

The Denver Republican prints an ir
terview with Henry krOedler of Brus.
sells. q representative OF large sugar
beet seed growing interests in Belgium
who was recently in Colorado looking
over the beet fields here | cana sim
ply because OF the new Importance this
part OF the world has assumed in con-
necuon with the beet seed industry {"
Mr.. Kroedler said We sell very little
seed direct to this country, but what
expansion there is in trade will be in
this direction, and thought it best to
come and see for myself what the
prospects are.
Il believe that the development OF
the beet growing industry in this part
OF the world will increase the seed
growing industry of Europe. 1t has
been suggested that in time beet seed
used In Colorado will be grown here
but do not think that. The reason
is little hard to explain-I can make
it clearer by comparing the beet sugar
with the fat of animals
The beet root stores up the sugar
just as the animal stores up the fat.
as q reserve for future use or growth.
Now, when the breeder of fat stock ia
raising the calves or the young pigs.
he keeps his breeding stock thin and
the young stock then tend to take on
fat and flesh If the breeding stock ia
excessively fat, then the next genera.
ton will tend to be less feshy. Now
1t has been shown that a beet root
with sixteen per cent. sugar in it has
more sugar than is actually needed to
grow the seed the next year Seed from
such q beet will then have lessened
tendency to store sugar, just as the
calf Of an over fat COW will be in
clined to be not so fat. 1t is law of
nature-the law of reversion.
Now if you take some of these ex-
trairdinarily rich Colorado beets and
raise seed from them in this climate.
that seed will not. in this climate, pro
duce SO much sugar as the parent
stock. Perhaps In another climate 1t
might produce more sugar than beets
raised in this climate, but that Is not
sure. But if you take beet seed raised
in Europe that would never at home
produce more than eight or ten per
cent. Of sugar, and plant it here, you
will get your twelve and sixteen per
cent. of sugar.
The cost Of beet seed is so tri-
fling compared with the value of the
crop. that the matter of expense will
never enter into the choice OF seed II
uttermost Siberia was the best place
in which to raise the seed, then it
would come from there.
Il have gone to most of the beet
growing districts of California, and
Utah and Colorado. OF course, to my
eyes, accustomed to the great use of
labor in the fields, the work done here
in the west seems coarse and crude 1t
seems almost surprising that you get
any crops at all. The soil is not made
SO fine as it is in the old country, and
rough to a man accustomed to fields
that have been cultivated in some crop
or another for 200 years.
But the figures as to the crops that
are raised show that after all you
raise the beets. 1t Is not so much how
the fields look now, how they will look
when the beets are grown, that makes
the difference to the farmers. look to
see fire times as many beet sugar fac
tories in Colorado ten years from now
There is no question that beet sugar
is the cheapest sugar that can be pro-
duced Even with the cheapest labor
and two crops year, the tropics can-
not compete with the beet regions. And
this arid, irrigated region is theoretic-
ally and actually the best in the world
for producing the beets, so it will
eventually control the sugar situation
of the world