Evening star., 1916-12-31
Annual Sugar Bill of United States is S7&O, 1000 1000

STA. The price for long time was
10 cents a pound. which was at the
rate, perhaps. of SO a bushel The scar
city of seed during the past season. inn
ports from Germany being cut Off re-
duced the acreage of beets in this coun-
try and closed several factories Seed
growing is an industry in itself, and is
two-year process. Seed planted in
the sprnig viii produce beets early in
the autumn. The beets are taken from
the ground, kept through the winter
and put back into the ground. like
tulips and other bulbs. the following
season. These are the beets. which,
running to tops and blooming. pro-
duoe the seed.
American farmers. SO Ear. have
bought their seeds at a cost of about
81 an acre. Some of the sugar COM
panies. because of their experiences
brought about by the war; are prepar-
ing to engage in the seed business on
large scale. Several of them have
combined and will use 1000 acres in the
west for the production of seed for
themselves and others.
There are no pure starins of sugar
beets in this country. If there are any
in Europe, the dealers and planters
there are keeping the fact to them
selves Breeding experiments by ex-
perts in the Department of Agriculture
nave Hot btcn enllftlN successful, but
we hope to obtain a beet that will be
rich in sugar. lean in minerals and
suitable for our soils and climates.
sugar beets can be grown from
Maine to California. east and west. and
from the great lakes 70 the Ohio river,
north and south. Cool nj ,hrs and mod
crate temper ature during the day seem
20 be necessary With such a vast area
Tor the growing Of oeets there is no
reason. why we cannot make all the
"a nd Al
have surplus to sell in other parts
of the world"
How is sugar made from beetsc" DIR.
Townsend was asked.
Well, let us start with the beet
itself. he answered 1T is white in
color and looks, in form, like a huge
carrot The round seed from which it
grows is really a ball of small seeds
usual method of planting. The plants,
therefore, are in continuous rows
across the field. each ball of seed pro-
duclng its own little cluster.
me farmer with small hoe chops
out the young plants. leaving clumps.
each the growth from a single seed
ABOUT eight inches apart in the rows
Later he thins the clumps by pulling
up all the plants but one Thus he oh
tains a stand of about 80. 200 plants TO
an acre.
cultivation of the field as a matter
of course, follows during the summer.
eeds are kept down and insects de.
stroyed. Harvesting consists in loosen
ing the beets with an implement and
then pulling them out by hand. The
beets are piled in the field and later
in the day the tops are cut off with
heavy knives. The tops are fed to live
stock and must be counted in when an
estimate of the value of the crop Is
made.
Our imports of sugar total 3.5O0.-
600 tons a year. We make 100000
tons from beets and cane grown in this
country. OF that quantity. about 700,-
600 tons are manufactured from beets
and about 100000 tons from cane. The
of cane is also American
agricultural industry. you understand.
our attitude toward it. naturally, Is
friendly.
what will occur In Germany when
Labor may be dear. / am not think
ing. however, about sugar-making in
My interest is in the United
States. / would like to see enough
factories in this country to supply our
people with every pound of sugar they
consume.
THE land is ready for the plow and
factories can be built near every large
center of our population. from Boston.
Oh the Atlantic coast, to- San Fran
cisco, on the shore of the Pacific, ex-
cept. possibly, in the south. where the
climate is not favorable for the storing
Of profitable quantities of sugar into
beets."
Copyright. 1916. by James B. MorrouJ