;398 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



diH-tiveiu'ss of tlie soil. As Dr. NVik'V told you .vt'storday, the avora<;e 

 yield of wheat per acre in France has been increased from seventeen 

 Imslirls to t \\(*iity-('ii:ht l»iisli<'ls since the inti-oduction of sujifu- l)eet 

 industry. In both'Frante and (Jermany, the suj^ar beet is considered 

 the best crop to i»recede a crop of wheat. The thoronjih and clean cul- 

 tivation recpiiri'd for su<;ar beets, not only subdnin<jj tlie soil, but keep- 

 inu out the weeds — the trainjts and bums of a^iriculture — all contribute 

 to llie preparatioji of the soil for so exhaustinj; a crop as wheat. It is 

 not stranj^e, therefore, that beet growing should increase the fertility of 

 the laiid. 



The coniniercinl ])roduct f)f the sugar beet industry — sugar — does not 

 contain a j)article of fertilizing material; no potash, no phosphoric acid 

 and no organic nitrogen. It is a pure carbohydrate, or hydrate of car- 

 bon, the carbon derived from the carbonic acid of the air, the oxygen 

 and hvdro«;('n from the rain, all these combined and elaborated under 

 the force of the sun's rays in the laboratory of plant life, and thus 

 sugar is produced out of wind, water and sunshine. No amount of 

 l)ure sugar taken away from the soil can reduce its crop-i)roducing 

 power in the least. When Dr. Wiley's attention was called to this 

 matter, he charged me to say to you that "the export of sugar cannot 

 impoverish the soil.'' 



Yet the sugar beet is called an exhausting crop. While pure sugar 

 contains no fertilizing material, yet to grow the beets, to construct 

 nature's laboratory where she makes her stores of sweetness, a large 

 amount of fertilizing materials is required, and if the entire crop 

 is removed from the field, speedy reduction of fertility will follow. It is 

 the by-j)roducts other than sugar, the leaves,, crown, pulp and molasses, 

 that contain all the elements of fertility in the crop. If these are 

 removed from the soil large quantities of potash, phosphoric acid and 

 organic nitrogen must be applied to the field to compensate for this 

 loss. But if all these waste iiroducts are directly or indirectly restored 

 to the soil, loss of fertility is averted, and the ground made more pro- 

 ductive. The leaves and crowns of the beets should never leave the 

 field, being fed to stock or directly returned to the soil. The pulp 

 sliould be converted into beef or milk by feeding to stock, and thus 

 furnish manure, or be dried and iireserved for distant or future use, 

 as proposed in Bay City. Even the residual molasses, containing so 

 much ])otash, should be fed to stock, and not allowed to flow into Sagi- 

 naw river. If all these residues are finally returned to the field, the 

 loss of fertilizing material on the farm will be prevented. But if these 

 are wasted, a large supply of commercial manures, particularly potash 

 and phosi)hates, will be required on our farms. 



THE FAKMER AND THE FACTORY. 



The manufacture of beet sugar in this state is a kind of co-operative 

 industry, in which the farmer and the manufacturer combine their 

 efforts to produce satisfactory results. It is important that there 

 should be harmonious action between the parties, and friction and 

 even suspicion should be avoided. There are two points in the relations 

 of farmers to factories where misunderstanding and friction may spring 

 up. 



1. Tare, or deduction from the gross weight of the beets as allow- 



