The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1912-08-29

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''The production Of the sugar best
requires the highest style Of intensive
culture that science has been able to
suggest. The principles Of feeding the
sugar crops. the methods of culture
and handling. the attention and skill
Of the workers, are such as to create in
every field and factory devoted to
sugar culture an agricultural expert
ment station of the highest type The
| soil and climatic conditions in the great
er part of the United States are thor
oughly favorable TO beet culture and
America is the greatest sugar market
in the world.
I'm the case of the sugar beet the
crops which are grown in rotation with
1t yield very much larger returns than
when the old fashioned system of agri-
culture prevailed. The reflex action Of
this influence becomes u benefit to
American agriculture the value of
which it would he difficult to measure
in dollars and cents"
DR.. Wiley proceeded 10 give a graph
ic picture of how the sugar beet trans
forms as by a fairy wand farming and
farm life
wherever the sugar beet is cult
vated," he continued. "the farmers are
all prosperous. no matter what kind OF
other crops they raise. The beet gen
orally improves the productiveness of
the soil in all kinds of agriculture. 1t
causes the employment of more labor
and indirectly benefits commerce and
transportation and produces in every
community conditions Of prosperity in
agriculture which it would be diff
cult to bring about in any other
way.
The scientific principles of agricul-
ture must he fully understood in order
to grow sugar beets with success.
These principles are essentially the
same for all kinds of agriculture. BY
teaching them the culture of the sugar
beet becomes Il general blessing to all.
In beet growing communities the farm
er's fields become richer, weeds grow
less numerously. fences are improved.
barns are painted or whitewashed and
kept in u neat condition. bathrooms
are built in the houses. and farm life
becomes more attractive and profitable
to the farmer. his wife and his chill
dren. The necessities of transportation
bring good roads. Good roads bring
visitors. The increased activity adds /
additional value to the farm. and in
few years the farmer is surprised to {
find the land worth double what it was
before beet culture was introduced.
The culture of the beet brings into
the neighbOrhOOd the large sugar fac .
tory using fuel and other raw mate /
rial and with its complement OF labor /
ers and experts. thus giving a better !
and more profitable market to the sur
rounding farmers for all their prod I
ucts. The factory being close at hand. !,
its operators are likely to keep in
friendly touch with the farmers and to /
work in close cooperation with them
for general improvements.
zone of the best things about sugar :
beet culture from the point of view Of
agricultural improvement is that it
fits in so perfectly with dairying and
stock growing. 1t is. of course. one of
the elementary facts of practical,
dairying that the rearing and keeping
of live stock afford the easiest. cheap
est and most natural means of i'm |
proving the fertility of the soil.
The residual pulp from the sugar
beet. after the factory has extracted
the saccharine matter. is a valuablek
and wholesome food for cattle andk
other farm animals. and the byprod
uct of molasSes. when mixed with 9th
er foods. fattens and improves the ap-k
pearan"e and value of the cattle. The
farmer incidentally finds himself get
ting larger quantities of manure. in
better condition. than ever before HeG
learns to he more careful about pre-.
serving this natural fertiliZe..
Sugar beet culture should he en-
couraged not only as an aid to agri-1
culture. but for the product itself
Sugar is n most valuable food ele-t
ment. and we are learning to consumed II
more of 1t every year. 1t is. of course.
only a partial food, giving heat and
energy and building MP the fatty It's
sues. but not building muscle or bone
or restoring waste. 1t Is most abun-e
dant and delectable fuel for the human
machine 1t is particularly valua bic for
man engaged in hard physical labor.
The sugar beet. then. Is great fac
tor in making farm life more attrac
tive. But farming Is at best StrugS
Cling occupation. The farmer should !
have fair chance in the markets. gov-S
erned by supply and demand as to riseh
and fall. and not have everything he Z
grows and everything he buys manipu-X ]
lated as to price by people who have !
nObOdy's interest at heart but their
own. The farmer cannot sell a steer
today or bushel of wheat or bushel
Of corn at price governed by supply J
and demand
while the yield from our titled lands
s far below what it should be and far
oelow what it may become with inteIli-
gent effort and while the returns
which the farmer receives from his la
Dor and investment are still too mea-
ger do not see in this situation any
reason for discouragement Instead it
should be a spur to greater and more
systematic effort The conditions OF
country living have been vastly i'm
proved in the past forty years and are
improving all the time. Through the
activities of the federal and state gov
ernments. through the work Of educa-
liOnal institutions and through a va
riety of other efforts believe that the
standards of cultivation will be surely