The Tucumcari news. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1906-03-03

SUGAR Beets.

Sugar Beets.
Many of our farmers can add great
ly to the value Of their farms by grow
ing a small area of sugar beets for
use on the farm. Nearly all farm AMI
mails are very fond of sugar beets.
Cattle thrive on them as do hogs n
poultry. The large amount of sugar
In them makes them very palatable.
IL they are grown only for home use'
much of the labor usually attendant
on the growing Of sugar beets Is
avoided. When they are grown for
factory use It is necessary that a
great deal OF labor be put upon them
In the way of thinning and topping
20 produce n beet not too small and
not too large. In producing beets for
factory use also it is necessary to
have a variety that will grow largely
under the ground. But when these
beets are produced for use OF the farm
1t is not at all necessary to be care
ful as to variety. or whether they are
grown both above the ground or under
the ground. Some of the varieties or
sugar beets, on good soil, will project
3 or 4 inches above the ground. The
man that is going to SOW a small
patch of beets should secure the seed
as early in the winter as possible and
test the terminating power, that he
may be able to form some conception
OF how much he needs to SOW to get
a fair stand. He should buy enough
seed so that he can SOW it in n row
and get a compact stand, which will
give q compact mass of foliage. This
In turn shades the ground, helps the
nitrifying bacteria and keeps the
weeds from growing. 1t leaves space
between the rows free for the passage
OF the horse c%ultivator. In the fall
these beets will prove to be very
valuable. whatever way they are used.
The amount of work put upon them
Will be then comparatively small.
Partridge Peas.
There is a wild plant growing in
Illinois and the adjoining states known
as the partridge pea. 1t belongs to
the order of sensitive plants and has
been considered of no particular value
in agriculture. 1t has. however, been
a strong ally of the farmer without the
farmer suspecting 1t. Where the par
fridge peas are to be found growing
wild the land when plowed will be
found admirably adapted to the grow.
ing of COW peas. Many a man has
sown COW peas and obtained a very
meager return, while other men a
few miles away have sown COW peas
on apparently the same land and have
obtained enormous crops. 1t is only
recently that the cause Of this differ.
ence has been learned. The nitrogen
collecting bacteria on the roots of par
fridge peas are identical with those
on the roots of cow peas. Therefore
the man that had turned under a piece
of sod upon which wild partridge peas
were growing had a vast supply of the
minute vegetable forms that would cre-
ate nodules on the roots of COW peas.
The COW pea must have the help of
bacteria or 1t cannot improve the soil
by increasing the nitrogen content
Farmers Review.
Retaining Submerged Florida Land.
The everglades of southern Florida
are attracting attention on account of
their ability, under proper drainage
and management, to produce subtropi.
cal fruits and vegetables for the north
ern markets. Large amounts of mon.
ey have been expended in drainage
works to lower the water along the
border of the glades sufficiently to
grow vegetables during the winter sea.
son, this land being mostly under
water during the rest of the year. 1t
seems likely that the area available
for this purpose can be extended by
the use OF bikes and pumping, but
this presents experimental features,
and it's extension would ultimately in.
, volve large problems In drainage en-.
y neutrality-suspicious. Station Rec.
ord.