Arizona republican., 1910-06-03
BENEFITS DERIVED FROM
 SUGAR BEET CULTURE
SUBJECT OF PRIZE ESSAYS PUB LISHED IN COLORADO.
or Interest to Any Community Affect
 ed by the Industry.

can Beet Sugar company conducted .
 contest in which essays were submitted
 by the high school students of Las Ami
 mas on the subject The Benefits De
 rived from the Sugar Beet Culture as
 a Farming Industry in the Arkansas
 Valley and the Commercial Relations
 of. Beet Sugar Factory to a Com
 munity Where the Resources are
 Largely Agricultural" The prize win
 ming essays were presented by Miss
 Lcttie Ham and Carroll Wright, each
 of whom won thereby handsome gold
 watches.
 The essayt of these young people
 showed no small amount of study and
 hard thought on the econom
 ics. The contest from it's incipiency
 attracted wide attention. more than
 local notice having been aroused. As
 these essays seem practical and of
 general interest to communities af-
 fected by the sugar beet industry they
 are herewith reproduced.
 Miss Hams Essay.
 After the fall of the Roman empire
 the barbarans carried back to Bohe-
 mia a scrubby little root. The botanic
 name of this plant growing wild in
 southern Europe is beta vulgaris. It
 was naturally an annual plant, but
 when carried north it became a bien
 nial This change caused sugar to be
 stored in the root. In 1705 Oliver De
 Serre found sugar in this plant. Fifty years later Marggraf extracted the
 first sugar. and one of his pupils con- structed the first factory During the
 Napoleonic wars when the British de
 priVed France Of sugar and the price had risen to one dollar per pound. Ma
 pOleon appropriated S200,000 towards the sugar industry, and in 1910 sugar was produced at 90 cents per pound. A few men tried to introduce sugar culture into the United States in 1885. but failed. pr. McMurtrie was sent to Paris in 1878 to investigate the sugar beet industry. He made very elab- crate report which resulted in a con- siderable sum being invested in the New England states and Delaware. Two or three factories were built. but failed solely from the agricultural side At the same time there was a factory of eighty tons capacity built in Cali forhit; beet culture was successful and the new industry thrived By 1896 it had passed the experimental stage.
 On account of the enlarged tap root the sugar beet can be raised in the driest parts of the country. This gives an advantage to the western farmers. The crop being valuable, re- pays for careful cultivation The land must be plowed deeper than for other crops Grain crops absorb sub stance from the surface of the ground, while beets send roots as deep as four feet into the soil. The small roots are left and help to fertilize the land. Sugar beets are usually considered injurious to the ground. but every bOtanist knows that sugar is made in the leaves from water and carbon dioXide gas, requiring no nour- ishment from the soil whatever IL uses the lower part of the root for a store house. If the tops, pulp and molasses were returned to the land. the soil would increase in fertility The law of Germany requires this to be done Some of her farmers have raised beets on the same ground for twenty years in succession and the | soil is now more fertile than when | the first crop was planted Germany 1 exports over million tons of sugar | annually. Every ounce of this was | made from water, air and sunlight. | We export tons of Indian corn and | wheat, and with it almost as many | tons of fertilized elements. If any ordinary crop is grown for several years in succession on piece of ground. the land will become value less. When a crop of beets is raised and harvested, it leaves the ground in excellent condition for any other crops that farmers wish to grow next year.
 When d factory comes into dis trict, it assumes the responsibility of agricultural prosperity. Unless the factory receives d sufficient amount of beets of the required quality. it canont succeed. This forces the fac tory to take an active part in the production of beets In looking to the future or their own welfare they insist on the general advancement of scientific agriculture. The inexpe- rienced growers are not left to their own resources in producing this new crop. The contracts with the farm CTS make it incumbent on them to produce beets in accordance with cer- tain stipulations, under the direction Df a representative of the factory. The men chosen are experienced agri- culturists. They have corps of as- sistants constantly moving about among the beet growers seeing that they use the easiest and most ap- proved methods for producing the pest beets, The factory's superin- -endent of agriculture is in constant ouch with the beet growers, advising hem with reference to all the details )f preparing the land. cultivating the plants. and harvesting the crop While heir instruction is given with ref srence to beet culture, they are con- ( ;tantly advising as to the production . ,f all crops The advisers represent ' ng the sugar factory fully under { Itand that a plant costing hundreds | f thousands is no temporary affair. l They appreciate the fact that the ' ,eet plant will be cultivated more ( han one year. While they are striv { ng to bring the best results from rop of beets planted each year they re also endeavOring to best prepare he land and the farming community \ O serve the interests which they rep esent for a long period of time They now whether or not a tract of land