Rocky Ford enterprise., 1911-12-29

II our farmers were made to know
that by proper rotation the culture OF
10 acres of sugar beets would increase
their yield of all other crops on Ioo
acres from 20 to SO per cent, you could
not build factories fast enough to care
for the beets they &ould furnish
Gradually they find it out for them
selves, but it is slow process.
Five years ago beet sugar factory
was erected at Chaska, MINI. where
1t since has been operated each year
and as evidence. of the time it takes to
disprove erroneous impressions and
absorb the truth which Napoleon pub
licly proclaimed century ago, and
which since have been proclaimed by
practically every European agricultur-
al economist of note, / quote a local
notice which recently appeared in the
Wabasha (Minn } Herald. This no.
| ticc says:
The Sugar Beets-What Is Done for
the Land-Attention, Farmers.
One of the best crops OF wheat
raised in this vicinity this year was
that of George Hauswedel. The wheat
was a fine stand OF good quality and
well filled out. There were II acres,
and the result in thrashino was an av-
eragc of 81 bushels to the acre. This
comes as a surprise to many farmers,
since the field was planted to sugar
beets last year, and the impression
prevails that crop of the latter will
SO exhaust the soil as to yield a poor
crop of grain the next year. Mr..
Hauswedel, however, has demonstrat-
ed the fallacy of this supposition. We
understand that the soil was given no
special treatment, and no particular
effort was made toward securing an
exceptional result.
You see that with factory operat-
ing in their midst for FIVE years the
erroneous impression still prevails
that sugar beets exhaust the soil.
Notwithstanding the contrary exper-
iencc of all Europe, and OF this man.
and probably MANY of his neighbors,
| have no doubt but what canvass
of the farmers about Chaska would
show that the general idea concern
iur beet culture is that bcets injure
the soil, and that unless they harvest
so many tons of beets per acre at
so much per ton" they will decline to
grow beets. The average wheat yield
OF Minnesota is 1874 bushels per
acre, hence the yield quoted above
was I39 per cent in excess of the av
eragc wheat yield OF the state. If
such a yield were secured throughout
the state. it would add $84,ooo.ooo a
wear to the wealth of Minnesota
wheat farmers, at S. cents ner bushcl.
Each increase OF I bushel of wheat
per acre in the state of Minnesota will
add S4,5ooooo annually to the wealth
of her farmers. This result OF Chas-
ka. which is reported as being a gen
sral surprise, is but an echo of what
one hears on all sides in the sugar
beet districts OF Europe and what Our
forefathers could have heard over
there so, rs, and even 100 years ago.
Last September visited the 7,ooo,-
acre Tachlowic estate at Yenc. 20
kilometers from Prague. Bohemia,
one of the imperial estates of Emper-
or Francis Joseph. Sixty years ago
a beet-sugar factory was erected on
this estate and since-that time one
third of its cultivable area has been
plauted to sugar bcets, grown in ro-
tation with other crops. The re-
cords of the estate show that for 90
years since one-third OF the area has
been devoted to sugar beets, the re-
naming two-thirds has produced 4
greater tonnage of all other crops
than did the entire three-thirds for 90
years prior to the construction of the
factory. and. in addition to this, the
stork-carrying capacity of the estate
has been increased 100 per cent.
At Hatwan, Hungary, 90 kilomet-
ers from Budapest, | visited the 25,-
ooo-acre estate of the Barons Alexan-
der and Joseph Hatvany, both of
whom are agricultural economists OF
high repute throughout Europe. This
estate is equipped with the largest
beet sugar factory in Europe, slicing
1000 tons of beets per day and using
the bcets grown on 10000 to 10000
acres. While they were producing
sugar at a small profit. the great in
ducement in operating the factory was
the indirect advantages secured
through beet culture. They grow B.
600 acres of beets on the estate. which
they rotate with 5000 acres of wheat,
barley, and other crops. The balance
OF their beets are grown on other
nearby estates, the owners of which,
in order to. secure the rotating value
of sugar beets, are only too glad to
produce large quantities of high grade
beets and sell them for fraction over
one-half the average price paid for
poorer bcets in the United States.
Their largest contractor furnishes
them with 5000 acres of beets. which
average 1877 per cent sugar. and the
price paid per 1000 pound ton was at
the rate of So. 80, our money. as COM
pared to the average price OF between
S. and SO per ton in the United
States
will digrcss for moment to state
that this estate. fo o'merl- the proper