Rocky Ford enterprise., 1909-08-27
BETS BEST OF
ALL PRODUCTS.
Worth Millions to Farmers of Ma
ton in Rotation With Other Rich
Crops.

oOn III Notdaou WIN ooASk Mill
Crops.
The session of the Trans-Mississ-
ippi congress Friday afternoon closed
with an illuminating address by Tru-
man G. Palmer of Chicago. secretary
of the American Beet Sugar COM
pany, on the subject OF THE Beet
Sugar Industry as Affecting Ameri-
can Agriculture" The address was
OF great importance, the speaker
showing that the beet fertilizes the
soil and increases its productivity
when used in rotation with other
crops. He compared what Europe
is doing in this matter with what
America has done, much to the dis
advantage OF the latter.
Secretary Palmer explained the
methods bv which intensive farming
may be carried on by sugar beet rais-
ing. He tooA up the question of till
ing the ground and showed that the
sugar beet has small roots nourish-
ing its large root, which 70 deep in
to the ground and rot when plowed
up dooihs nuiius " Tue iowef stfdta
OF soil. The culture of beets, he
said, doubles the soil without adding
to the acreage.
He called attention to the marvel
Gus results attained in Germany by
beet culture in rotation with other
crops, and after quoting interesting
and exhaustive statistics, closed by
declaring that the question OF food
supply for the United States can be
solved by the beet sugar industry.
He said in part:
The culture of beets doubles the
soil without adding to the acreage.
Besides this, sugar is carbon, hydro
gen and oxygen, drawn wholly from
the atmosphere. being merely the
sunlight, the rain and the wind which
sweep over the fields. The farmer
who turns back all the byproducts
loses nothing from his soil, while
with wheat every thirty bushels car
gen, twenty pounds OF phosphoric
acid and twenty-siN pounds Of pot
ash. fertilizing elements which today
are worth So2S in the markets of the
world.
Reduced to dollars and cents, the
value OF this increase in the yield OF
other crops through rotation with su-
gar beets far exceeded the gross
amount received for the beet crop.
In round numbers, Germany today
grows I,Ioo,ooo acres OF sugar beets
the returns from which amount to
about SSo,ooo.ooo. In rotation with
these sugar beets the German farm.
ers cultivate some 100000 acres oi
wheat, barley, oats, rye and other
crops. and from the excess yield OF
these other crops by reason OF grow.
ing them in rotation with sugar beets
the German farmers receive over
$780, .ooo. 600. or double what they &c,
for their bects.
"1f we produced At home the su.
gar We consumed, the advantage OF
the cultural methods employed in
growing the beets eventually would
become known and be adopted
throughout the country as they have
been in Germany, and then our ex.
ira yield OF FIVE other crops would
bring our farmers an additional ST..
100000 4 year.
Sugar beets arc not overly rich in
fertilizing elements. but BY opening
up and enriching the lower strata oi
soil, and making it pay tribute TO the
farmer. they increase the productiv-
ity OF the land even more than do
icruHZers- tnocEn TO OBTAIN maxi
mum results both should be employ
cd. When we apply fertilizers, the
only return for the expenditure OF
money and labor is in the increased
yield of the crops. but when we ap-
ply sugar beets we more than &C,
back our money from the sale OF the
bects. and we secure larger yields of
the other crops which follow than as
though we had expended I large
amount OF money in applying fertil-
izers.
The average wheat yield of the
state of Colorado for the past ten
years has been twenty-five bushels