FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 1* 



In making the above computation the plant foods per pound have been 

 reckoned at the ordinary prices paid when purchasing commercial fer- 

 tilizers, namely 5 cents each for potash and phosphoric acid and 14 cents 

 per pound for nitrogen. A ton of beets and their leaves, it will be noted, 

 has a plant-food value of |2.74, and a ton of barnyard manure, |2.50. The 

 removal of 16 tons of roots and leaves from an acre is equivalent to re- 

 moving the main mauurial constituents found in nearly 18 tons, or a very 

 heavy coat, of the best barnyard manure. Nothing further should be 

 required to teach us that sugar beets are an exhaustive crop. As shown in 

 the table, approximately two-thirds of the manurial elements reside in 

 the leaves and tops, therefore they should be left scattered evenly over 

 the surface as a partial restoration of fertility. The longest intervals 

 possible in a rotation should intervene between beet crops on the same 

 land, accompanied by frequent applications of fertilizers, stable or com- 

 mercial, and clover. 



THE SEED. 



To secure a large tonnage and a high percentage of sugar requires an 

 even stand, of a medium average weight, generally not to exceed 1^ to 

 2^ pounds. These results cannot be obtained unless the beets are in 

 close rows, and are close in the row. Hence 8 inch spaces are advised 

 and from 18 to 24 inch rows. The thick seeding and attendant expense 

 entailed, under present methods, must be accepted by the farmer as a 

 necessary evil, which, it is to be hoped, proper tools will soon remove. 

 When rows are 22 inches apart 



15 lbs. of beet seed per acre means 1 seed every 1.2 inches, and 



18 lbs. of beet seed per acre means 1 seed every .99 of an inch. 



In the former instance nearly 7 seeds, and in the latter more than 8 

 seeds are scattered through a space where one living plant is needed. Is 

 it too much to hope that, with spacing drills and good germinating seed, 

 3 or 4 seeds placed in a bunch where wanted, will do the work of produc- 

 ing a single strong plant, in place of the 8 or 9 seeds now sown — mostly 

 where not wanted? 



It is estimated that farmers tributary to a beet factory are compelled 

 to expend annually for seed from |6,000 to $12,000. It would seem that 

 this large sum, by the use of suitable implements, would admit of material 

 reduction. 



The somber side of this question has been thus presented, not to with- 

 hold from any the grasp of a golden opportunity, but rather to assist him 

 to that end by casting a ray of light upon the obstacles in his pathway. 

 That they may be overcome the past has amply demonstrated. It is safe 

 to predict that this specially favored State will become the theatre of 

 great beet-sugar making developments in the immediate future. 



DISCUSSION. 



Q. What is the value of sugar beets for feed? 



J. Y. Clark: They have a high value for feeding dairy cows or other stock, for 

 which they are more valuable than mangels, as thej^ contain more dry matter per 

 hundred weight and more sugar. They serve a good purpose in keeping the 

 bowels in right condition when fed in connection with a ration otherwise mad« up 

 »f hay and grain. 



Q. Is not the cost of thinning greatly reduced by the skillful use of a hoe? 



3 



