The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1913-12-04

which beets can be grown without r.
rieafion u probably confined almost ex-
to the coast valleys OF Cali
fornia, the successful commercial pro-
duction Of sugar beets In Utah and Col
orado has opened n new and extensive
feld. What has taken place In these
states is being rapidly duplicated In
Idaho. beginning has been made ~
Montana, and the time i undoubtedly
coming when beets will be grown In
Wyoming and probably throughout the
whole arid region.
The northern parts of our eastern
and middle states and the states Ut
Oregon and Washington. have ut least
an equal chance for the snccessf'il pro-
ducti0h Of beet sugar with the fields 1T
Germany and France. The trrigaIHe
parts Of the great southwest have ad-
yantages of soil and climate which
will. enable them to enter lnto con'l,e-
tition in the production Of beet sugar.
The high cost Of good irrigation rem
dcrs it imperative that the arens under
culture lie devoted to crop which is
1cdpai,le Of producing n more valuable
yield than Is afforded by cereal culture.
II n net profit OF from, $40 to so l,er
acre can lie secured. from 800 to $:.tM
per acre can be, paid for the land. II
is. estimated that neariy &D.ONOWO
acres Of land In the arid regions OF
the United States may eventually I've
Irrigated. heing nearly one-fifth OF the
total area OF this area perhaps 10
per cent Is capable OF casy and speedy
irrigation. Farmers who raise Mrts
for n sugar factory are not left entire
" to their own resources IN growing
the crop. They enter into n contract
with the factory management which
outlines the methods to be employed
Then the factory employs an nRric'ii-
tnral superintendent and n corps Of
assistants whose duty It Is to 60 among
the growers giving instructions and
suggestions regarding the selection md
preparation Of the soil. planting. culti-
walton, time Of harvesting. etc. These
men are OF course we'll Informed on III
phases OF beet culture. and they are
usually able to make valuable suggcs-
tons In regard to the cultivation OF
! other crops grown In rotation with
beets. Their instructions and Inf u
i erice therefore tend to improve the
{ farm practice Of communities in which
/ sugar beets nre grown.
The sugar beet doe8 not require a
particular kind Of soil for its proper
production. In general soils are de.
scribed for practical purposes II
clayey, sandy, loamy or alluvial soils
/ All OF these soils will produce beets
! The black prairie soils also have been
found. with proper cultivation. to pro
1Hce excellent beets.
New land should not be selected tc
grow sugar beets. for the crop is not q
good retainer Of soils. And especial
" to lie avoided Is new land contain
ing decaying vegetable matter. which
produces only rank growth with low
sugar content. Preferably the mos
productive land on the farm should In
used. s,fcl, a soil aa will yield goof
crop of Indian corn. wheat or DOta
toes. The soil should neither be ~
compact as to interfere with cultiva
ton to a depth Of ten or twelve incbe
nor have.a tendency to bake hard.
Happily in most American soils Their
Ii still SUFFICIENT natural fertility t
produce good crop Of sugar beets
whereas in the soils of Europe. wher
sugar bects have been grown for year,
the farmers must depend on fertilizer
to insure remunerative crop.
Every farmer should understand tina
he cannot continuously grow amy Gro
on the same ground and secure max
mum results. Bcets do best after "a
falfa, corn or small grains.
A good scheme Of rotation il frs
wheat. then beets. then clover for tw
!. years, the last crop being piowed NJ
/. der; then potatoes. wheat and beets
the order mentioned. II alfalfa can b
grown It should be Included In the n
tation Of crops; also In some section
. potatoes do well In the rotation. Beef
. do well after small grain crops. b
: cause these. being harvested earl!
leave the ground ready for late autumn
.. blowing. m important point In success
full beet culture.
; The field Ia which beets are to
planted should be selected and piowq
: In the Int AUTUMN to the depth OF !
least nine inches. As q rule. the plo'
: In. each furrow should be followed b
. subsoiler. which will loosen the SO
! to the depth Of six; or seven inch,
more.
Hand planting Of the seed may |
practiced when very small plat Is
be put In beets, but where a field en-
brAclng IN acre or moro Is to be plan
ed It Is not convenients In such cas-,
Z planting by drill Is best
The beets should be covered to
!. depth Of one-half inch to two inche
: according to the state Of the soil
: In the matter Of space between rov
!. there Is considerable variation.
). some cases the rows are made on
!. sixteen inches apart and In others
wide as-twenty- eight inches. 8
: The cost Of growing an acre Of bee
depends onsso many varying factors
to render Il impossible to give an es
= mate which Is reliable for every loo,
n ity.
J, It is probable that the actual cost
!. our farmers for the first few years
2 the beet industry did not exceed $c5
2 $35 per acre and In many instances +