12 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



field conditions in the districts where sugar beets were thus exten- 

 sively grown, it became evident that the physical condition of the 

 soils to be devoted to the crop must be such as to maintain a consid- 

 erable supply of moisture throughout the growing season, while at the 

 same time the soil should be sufficiently loose and porous to allow 

 easy penetration of the roots and the development of a smooth even 

 beet of uniform size. Variations in the character of the soil also pro- 

 duced a considerable effect upon the percentage of sugar in the beets 

 and upon the index of purity. The qualifications of a good sugar- 

 beet soil are best met by the Clyde loam among all the soils of any 

 large extent which are found in the Eastern States, although more 

 limited areas of other related soil types are also capable of profitable 

 development for sugar-beet growing. In addition to the Clyde loam, 

 the Clyde fine sandy loam and the Clyde clay, which are associated 

 with it in all of the eastern areas, are fairly well suited to sugar- 

 beet production, though the yields upon the former are not so heavy 

 as upon the loam, and the stiff nature of the surface soil of the Clyde 

 clay does not favor the intensive tillage required for the production 

 of the crop nor the easy development of large-sized and smooth beets. 

 Sugar beets are almost invariably planted upon land which was 

 in sod the previous year. They thus take about the same place in 

 the crop rotation as that occupied in other areas by corn, and not 

 infrequently displace a part of the corn acreage where sugar beets 

 are grown. The land is prepared in about the same manner as for 

 the corn crop, and no special preparation or fertilization is ordi- 

 narily employed. The beets are seeded upon ridges through the use 

 of a special drill, and after the young beets have made a growth of 

 several inches in height it is necessary to go through the crop with 

 a hoe. trimming out the beets to a stand, and at the same time care- 

 fully removing grass and weeds from the row. Throughout the 

 season the beets require constant and careful tillage, a considerable 

 part of which must be performed by hand labor, although the ordi- 

 nary cultivator used for tilling the corn crop is used for the inter- 

 row tillage. A considerable amount of hand labor is also required 

 at harvest time, thus giving rise to a relatively high labor charge per 

 acre in the production of the crop. In fact, sugar beets would be 

 more extensively grown in the majority of the eastern communities 

 where market is available, except for the large amount of labor 

 required and the high cost of their production. 



The yields secured are extremely variable, dependent somewhat 

 upon the season, somewhat upon the proper drainage of the soil, 

 and to a considerable degree upon the care which is taken of the 

 crop during the growing period. The yields upon the Clyde loam 

 range from 5 to 15 or 18 tons per acre, being considerably higher 

 than upon the majority of other soils in the same general region, 



