276 



CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 



intervals, as it probably does in Minnesota, the rain is neither likely to influence the 

 beets nor to bother the harvest in the same way as when coming down gradually at 

 short intervals. More water will evaporate from the soil, and therefore more rain is 

 needed in Minnesota than in Denmark on account of the higher temperature of the 

 former. According to another account the fall of rain in Minnesota is as follows : 



With such extraordinary differences within the same State it would seem likely that 

 some sections, at least, may be favored with the proper climate for a successful culti- 

 vation of the sugar-beet. The temperature of the summer does not seem excessively 

 high, for even far south on the continent of Europe the beet is grown successfully, 

 and just in those of the above sections where the beets are richest in sugar the sum- 

 mer heat is comparatively high. 



2. Soil. — The proper soil for the sugar-beet is neither too heavy (clayish), nor too 

 light (sand), uor containing too much organic matter. A well cultivated, rich, and 

 deep soil, that would produce a good crop of barley for malt is well adapted for the 

 sugar-beet. New and rich land, that in a crop of cereals would develop the straw at 

 the expense of the seed, would make a bulky crop of beets, but they would be poor in 

 sugar and rich in non-sugar, detrimental to the extraction of the former from the juice. 

 Land of old cultivation, made rich by continued plowing and manuring, is better than 

 newly broken land. Therefore, without knowing from personal experience, one would 

 imagine the soil of Illinois to be better adapted to the sugar-beet than that of Minne- 

 sota. The land should be well drained, either by nature or by pipes laid deep in the 

 ground, allowing no water to remain on the surface at any time. 



The limits for the physical condition of the soil are, however, very wide, for we have 

 grown rich sugar-beets on comparatively heavy and on comparatively light soil, the 

 former being made porous by deep drainage and intense stirring with steam-plow and 

 cultivator. But, whether heavy or light, only land in a state of high cultivation 

 could produce beets rich in sugar. 



3. Labor. — One of the worst drawbacks to the successful introduction of the sugar- 

 beet in the Northwest would seem to be the, labor question. Even with the advantage 

 of the best implements to stir the land, thin and clean the ridges, and gather the crop, 

 the hand-labor needed to grow sugar-beets is considerable. Wages being about three 

 times as high in the Northwest as in Denmark, this would increase the expenses at a 

 great rate. Supposing one hand to be needed for three acres of land for four months, 

 about 30 days' work would be necessary to cultivate one acre. Supposing one acre to 

 yield 15 tous of beets or 2,400 pounds of sugar (8 per cent.), 30 days' work, at $1.50 a 

 day, would make $45 an acre, or $3 per ton of beets, or 18f cents per hundredweight of 

 sugar, while in Denmark, at 50 cents a day, the labor would only amount to one-third 

 of these expenses. And supposing the product could bear such expenses, would it be 

 possible to gather a sufficient number of hands so as to grow 1,500 acres of beets within 

 the limit for the area of one sugar factory ? For it is a deplorable fact that, at the 

 present development of the industry, sugar cannot be manufactured from beets on a 

 small scale, but must be produced in large establishments which require the raw ma- 

 terial from a large number of acres. And, on account of the bulky quality of the 

 beets, they cannot bear long transportation, and must therefore be grown within a 

 certain comparatively narrow distance from the factory. Again, during the manufac- 

 turing season, which only lasts about four or five months, the factory would employ a 



