Semi-weekly herald., 1909-03-22
CHEMISTRY IN THE STATE
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

AS early as 1887. President C. l.
Ingersoll saw the possibilities of sugar
beet growing in Colorado and began
experimentation on the subject even
before the establishment of the Colo
RADIO experiment station.
One of the experts, while engaged
in building the first beet sugar fac
tory in northern Colorado, stated that
the careful, thorough work of the
chemical section of the Colorado agii-
cultural experiment station, in in
vestigating the growing of sugar beets
convinced sugar experts and capital
lists that the industry would be profit
able in this state and induced them TO
build the first three factories.
From this start, made directly as
result of the work in chemistry at the
Colorado Agricultural college, Colo
RADIO now ranks as the first sugar beet
producing state in the Union, with six.
teen beet sugar factories and 127.67S
acres in sugar beets. The industry
has brought to the state an invest
ment of over $2O.00O,000 in sugar man
ufacturing plants, has brought the
price of tens of thousands of acres
of land In the beet producing sections
up to $3.50 to S400 per acre, and yields
our farmers an annual revenue of over
seven and a half million dollars. The
industry is just In Its infancy in this
state.
The chemists of the agricultural
college have two lines of work-teach-
ing and investigating farm problems.
Four chemists work throughout the
year. The chemical building cost $27,-
600; apparatus and supplies of the de-
partment are valued at s7,102. and for
the two years ending Nov 30, 1908,
1t cost sl2.Sl5 to operate the depart
| ment.
One chemist spends all his time in
| teaching. and another one-fourth of
| his time; all the rest of the time OF
| the four men is given to experimental
WIN DuiiHS the ycai ehulu6 MAJ I'll
| 1, 1909, there was a total enrolment
in all classes in chemistry of 2S7.
DIR. w. p Headden has been at the
head of the chemical department of
the agricultural college and expert
ment station since 1898. He and his
assistants have studied alfalfa for six
ffap ware cpuar haatc for aiabt xaa re
and irrigation waters for fifteen years
The first report on alfalfa investi-
cations was made in 1896, In Bulletin
| No. 80, and gave the most exhaustive
| study of this plant that has ever been
made. 1t showed Colorado farmers
| that there were serious losses in the
prevalent methods of harvesting this
crop, some times to the extent of half
of its feeding value. AS a result new
methods were adopted which have sdd-
| ed to the value of every ton of Alfalfa
hay produced in the state for the In 1t
ten years. This bulletin is quoted
in almost every book and bulletin on
| alfalfa that has been published since
and has effected improvements in the
handling of this crop in every alfalfa
growing state.
The study of the irrigation waters
of the state. their changes and effects
has been carried on for fifteen years
and is still in progress. One line NJ
this investigation--the use for irriga.
ton OF waters strongly charged with
alkali-showed that they could be safe.
ly used, and as result thousands of
acres are irrigated with alkali seep.
age water that was formerly wasted
because considered dangerous. The
yearly profits from the crops grown
with these waters In Colorado would
many times pay all the expenses of
the agricultural college and experi
ment station.
Many trees In the older apple or.
chards In some sections OF the state
are now in bad condition, nr even
dying; the cause OF this has not been
apparent until Doctor Headden seems
10 nave demonstrated that II Is due
to the accumulation of arsenic (dc-
rived from spray materially in the soil.
This information. together with that
in the same line given by the entomo-
logical department of the college, viii
enable the fruit growers OF Colorado
this year. to save over $4,000 in
spraying material. and to save their
bearing trees from death. This
amount is 40 per cent more than the |
cost Of maintaining both departments.
The chemical department has issued |
fwenty-four bulletins, recording inves.
legations with alfalfa, sugar beets; ir.
risation waters. soils. alkaii and con.
CRETE Colorado folders. potatoes. and