Weekly journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1908-1929, 1912-05-01
IMPORTANT PLANTS ARE
|. IMPORTED BY UNCLE
SANS EXPERTS

time when they may successfully
tickle the National palate
Among the better known plant
aliens OF recognized dcsirability
which have immigrated from dis.
tant shores and have become useful
citizens are figs. dates. rice. sugar
beets. camphor, tea and edible BAN
boo Perhaps the most important
even though il be Of plebian origin,
one which has literally built cities
and provided livelihood for thou
sads Of people. produced an industry
capitalized al more than one hundred
million dollars, and benefited an
kinds 81 agriculture intellectually. is
the sugar beet. Az first confined to
California il has spread over some
sixteen states and is annually grown
on @2o0lA acres with a direct return
to the farmers OF 81, 100000 The
direct and indirect value of this i'm
migrant has secured for IL constant
fostering care from. the Department,
Of Agriculture until at present the
sugar beet may well claim citizen
ship upon the single item OF supply
ing Is per cent Of the total amount
Of sugar consumed in this country
That. however. is but a beginning.
according to the Department Of Ag-
riculture's experts, since IL is stated
in an official report recently pub.
lished that IL but one acre in fifty
ofthe cream az the beet growing area
were planted 10 beets once every
four years, il would mean the pro
duction Of all the sugar we now pur-
chase from foreign countries and
would bring the farmers direct mon
ey returns amounting to $l25,000, 600
a year DIR. Harvey w. Wiley and
Charles r. Saylor, who were instru-
mental in establishing the sugar beet
here point to it as being one OF the
most important factors in the future
development Of the productiveness
Of American soil. because Of it's
value in crop rotation and the inten-
sive methods OF farming which it
brings about wherever IL is grown
Just AT present the Bureau Of Plant
Industry has sufficiently under way
to predict a successful outcome an
experiment, to produce a race Of
what are termed single germ beet
balls. The seed, or beet balls, now
used in sowing the beet crop con
tain one 20 six germs each capable
Of producing a plant. II is ncces-
sary in planting the sugar beet to
use six 81 these beet balls to insure
the proper stand Of crops and il each
one grows the result is thirty-six
plants. thirty-hye Of which must be
,hinned or pulled up. II is expected
that in six To eight years there will
be available the single germ beet
ball and planting six Of these to-
Rether will mean no more than six
plants IL all grow. The saving which
this will bring about is estimated at
s. per acre. The estimation in which
the beet is held by the farmers was
shown not long ago when they pro-
tested before a Congressional COM
mittee against the destruction Of The
sugar beet industry through the
elimination Of the tariff on sugar,
saying that not only would they lose
an enormous amount Of money di-
.ree,ly but much more indirectly be
cause Of the increased yields of oats,
rye. wheat, corn and potatoes due To
rotation with the sugar beet.
A promising immigrant from Jap
an is the Oriental persimmon. one
OF the chief staples OF Japan where
il outranks the orange in popularity
and quantity Of production. II
grows 10 size 81 from four 10 five
inches in diameter and can be sliced
like peach or frozen after IL is
thoroughly ripe and eaten like a
sherbet II is also dried and IN that
condition may he eaten like a hg or
prepared by siewing \ planting Of
$1,000 trees has just been made in
Florida and the combined crop of
the South this wear will he consider
able
What perpiesing problems these
plant immigrants may present be
fore they become useful citizens is
sirikingly illustrated by the introduc-
ton Of Smyrna figs. Cuttings OF
Smyrna figs were brought TO Cali
fornia in 1870 bu, though the trees
,hrived no commercial figs could be
produced investigation revealed the
fact that the female tree alone bears