The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-08-30

vegetable is most important factor
in general agriculture prosperity. 1t |
is the basis of scientific agriculture In |
Europe. where the far-.Crs, by using
it in rotation with other crops, have
doubled and trebled their general
yields per acre In the past half CEN
tury so that European farming lands,
though worn by centuries OF cultiva-
ton, are now far ahead OF our fresh
er soils in productiveness. Agricdltur-
al scientists maintain that with prop
err encourag cement, the culture of the
sugar beet will bring similar advances
in the United States, and will add 81
100000, 900 a year to the value OF
American farm products. The sugar
beet crop itself was worth last year
$40, 000, 900.
The belief that this crop is capable
OF adding tremendously to the agrf
cultural wealth Of the country has
long been held by Secretary OF Agri-
culture Wilson, DR.. Harvey w. Wiley
and practically every other agricul-l
tural expert and they accordingly !!
have exerted every effort to advance
the industry urging congress to de-
velop it by tariff duties on the inn
ported product as we'll as by appro-
priations to fight is insect enemies.
In support Of this belief they point to
what has been accomplished with
old soils of France and Germany
where sugar beet culture is the practi-
cal basis of all modern agricultural
development OF FIVE staple crops they
show that Germany, using the sugar
beet as rotation crop is securing
from two or three times the yields
per acre secured in this country with
its fresher soils. And now that beet
growing is developing SO rapidly in
this country the records show that the
same results can be accomplished
here It is no wonder then that the
bug army should be assiduous in its
warfare against its enemies, since
with the possibility of saving for our
farmers the s10o,ooo,D0 now spent
each year for foreign brown sugar,
and at the time increasing the yield
tof all our other staple crops from 25
! to so per cent, as has been accom-
plished in sections where beet grow
ing is already established, it will be
seen that the beet is Deserving Of all
possible protection and encourage
ment
OF the $50 beet eating insects only
few are particularly destructive,
and of these the curly-top leafhopper
is the beet's worst enemy. This is an
lagile tick like insect with talent for
long distance jumping. 1t pierces the
/ leaves of the growing beets in order
to deposit its eggs and incidentally it
appears to leave some poison in the
veins of the plant. After a time the
leaves become curly and shrivel and
the beet itself shrivels and grows a
/ long and luxuriant set OF 'whiskers,"
and eventually rots away Needless
! to say the fashion of growing whisk-
ers, SO far as beets are concerned, is
not approved by the farmers
Practically every fruit, grain, tree
and garden plant grown in the coun-
try has its special collection OF in
sect enemies. They range from two or
three in number to scores of different
varieties. While nearly all the old
ones persist new varieties are being
discovered from time to time and
new methods must ne worked out for
combating them. All in all, therefore
Uncle Sans bug army is easily the
busiest fighting machine in the world