Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-01-07
MOST PROSPEROUS YEAR.
So Declares Annual Report. of the
Secretary of Agriculture.

| so DecLateS Annual Report OF the
Secretary of Agriculture.
Most prosperous of all years is the
place to which 1909 is entitled in ag-
riculture, declares the Secretary of
Agriculture in his Thirteenth Annual
Report, just made public. The value
Of farm products is SO Incompetent
sibly large that il has become merely
a row of 6gures. For this year it is
$8,76o,ooo,ooo. a gain of $86o,ooo,ooo
has nearly doubled in ten years. The
report says. Eleven years of agricul-
ture. befinning with a production of
$4,4I7, 10000 and ending with $780,
100000! A sum OF $4,000. .ooo,oo for
the period!
| Compared with the average of the
previous Ave years, all principal crops
are greater in quantity this year ex-
cept cotton, flaxseed, hops, and cane
sugar; but without exception every
crop is worth more to the farmer than
the fve-year average.
| This Is the year of highest produe-
ton for potatoes, tobacco, beet sugar,
all sugar, and rice; next to the high
est production for corn, oats, and all
cereals.
Regarding the years production OF
domestic sugar the report says:
1T is too early to foresee the
amount of the beet sugar of this
years campaign, but the indinations
are about 100000 short tons, or a
greater crop than any before pro-
duced. The value OF the sugar and
of the beet pulp for feeding purposes
is about S+7,ooo,ooo. an amount that
has not been reached in any earlier
year.
IF the commercial estimate Of .364,-
600 short tons for raw cane sugar is
accepted, it is little below the re-
cord OF half dozen years. The
value of the cane sugar, molasses
and sirup is placed at 100000
With fulfillment OF expectations,
the entire sugar crop will be about
S6+ 600 tons (refincd beet sugar and
raw name sugar., and the value OF al
sugar, molasses, and sirup, from farm
and factory, will reach about So5,ooo,'
600. SO that for quantity of total su.
gar and value OF total sugar, molass'
es, and sirup. this year is leading
one.
Concerning the work done by tn.
u. S. Department OF Agriculture II
sugar beet studies the report says:
THE encouragement OF sugar bee
seed production is being continued
Through work at a number of sta
tions valuable hybridized strains o
beet seed are being produced. ant
some of them are already in th'
hands of commercial growers. who
are offering American-grown seed o
high quality for sale. The work OF
the production of singlc-germ seed il
being conducted with promising re
suits. cit is hoped. by securing spe
cial strains of beet seed. to reduce
the cost OF growing sugar bects ant
to extend the industry into certain
sections where the soil and climatic
conditions are At present uniavorabl'
for the best development OF th,
strains now generally used. In al
the work involving seed production
methods OF SLIDING seed beets are re
cciving 4 great deal OF attention
Further work has been continued II
the matter of improving cultura
methods in connection with the grow
ing OF this crop. Preparation of tbs
seed bed. planting the seed, care o
the bects. and harvesting are all un
der experimentation and dcmonstra
ton. Crop rotation Is another i'm
portant matter being considered II
connection with the growing OF th'
beet. New areas not previously de
voted to the growing OF sugar beet'
are being tested from year TO year
with a view to the extension OF th'
industry. These tests are made a
far as possible under field conditions
and il the results are promising th'
tests are repeated for several year
in succession. Br this work there
have been located a number OF area
that are very promising for the cx
tension Of the sugar-beet industry. IL
conduc ting these experiments eonsid
Grafton is given as far as possible t'
the other conditions necessary in su
gar-bcct production such as the pres
enee Of lime, rock. water. etc.
THE use Of the by-produets OF th'
sugar beet. so far as they are known
4, tho present time. was exhaustivel,
considered in the last Yearbook o
the Department. and indicated that II
the West lime should be more gener
ally used as 4 soil improver, as all o.
our tests show Nhat it has deeidet
beneficial effect upon the physical con
dition of the sod.
Special attention has been liver
I'd the diseases of the sugar beet. a:
these maladies in certain scntions are
very destructive. Root-rot, crown
rot. damping-od, and other diseases
| of the sugar beet are receiving care
full attention Diseases OF plant.
grown in rotation with the beet have
also been studied