The Greeley tribune., 1904-12-08
FROM WILSON
SECY OF THE AGRICULTURAL
DEPARTMENT REPORTS.
Feels Encouraged Over Showing
Made by Beet Sugar In
dustry-What Hen
is Doing

In his annual report, Secretary
of Agriculture James Wilson, dwells
on the vast crops of the nation, say
ing:
Horses and mules reach the high
est point this year, with an aggre-
gate value exceeding l,354 million
dollars. on the other hand, cattle
sheep and hogs all show Il slight de-
cline.
The steady advance in poultry
leads to some astonishing figures.
The farmers hens now produce one
and two-thirds billions of dozens of
eggs and at the high average price
of the year the hens during their Ousy
season lay enough eggs in a single
month to pay the years interest on
the national debt.
After careful estimate of the
value of the products of the farm
during 1904, made within the census
scope, it is safe to place the amount
at 4, 800 million dollars after eXclud-
ing the value Of farm crops fed to
live stock in order to avoid duplica
tion of values. This is 9.65 per cent
above the product OF 1903, and 3l.2S
per cent above that of the census
year 1899.
OF the sugar beet industry, the
secretary says:
The development of the sugar
beet industry continues satisfactory.
The bureau OF plant industry is
making an effort to improve the con-
ditious affecting this crop in the
matter of providing better seed, en-
couragiug the use of fertilizers where
fertilizers are likely to do good, study
ing the diseases with view to dis
covering remedies for them, securing
improvements in the matter of seed by
the production of beets which will
give seed of a single ball or germ,
etc. y little more than two years
ago the department again took up
the work. of establishing sugar beet
seed culture in the United States,
and since that time work has been
going on in four representative sec
tions of this country. Strains of ped
igreed seed are being established in
New York, Michigan, Utah and
Washington state, while in Utah
and Washington the industry is al
ready assuming commercial import
ance.
In California also seed is being
produced for local use. In Wash
ington state $4,000 pounds of seed
were produced in 1904, in Utah about
81, 900 pounds, and in California about
30, 900 pounds, a total of 1872,
600 pounds. AS rapidly as the depart
ment can bring home to all the
sugar beet factories the conviction
that American grown seed is as good
and often better than the imported,
these quantities will be increased,
and it is question of but a few years
when the entire 5000, 900 pounds
used in the United States will be
produced at home.
AS to the quality, American
grown seed has produced beets test
ing as high as tweHty-four per cent
sugar. while the average percentage
in all beets tested from American
grown seed during 1903 was l5.S per
cent. The average percentage of
sugar in all beets grown in the
| United States, as shown by the fac
| tory returns of their total extrac-
| tions, is little over IL per cent. 1t
will be. remembered, too, that the
American seed has the benefit of only
two years of careful selection. The
work of establishing a pedigreed
strain is slow, and years are required
for the completion of such an under
taking :but the work is so far along
that its success may be considered
assured.
In the fertilizer work efforts have
been made to determine the effect of
different fertilizers on tonnage and
sugar content, and also their influence
on various diseases. Investigations
along this line were undertaken in
SIX sugar beet states, seven brands of
complete fertilizers being used, and
in addition some seperate expert
ments with the various ingredients
used by themselves were made
The preliminary reports which have
been received indicate that in many
cases the effect of the fertilizers could
be seen from the time of the germi-
nation of the beets. In few cases
the lines separating the fertilized
i G..l.. L l. e. :: : Il i