18 



FIELD CROPS 



1917, with a production of 87,141,000 bushels. Other root 

 crops are grown principally for stock feeding, as the mangel, 

 carrot, turnip, and rutabaga. No figures are given for the 

 annual production of these crops by the Bureau of Crop 

 Estimates, but in 1909 they occupied only 18,916 acres, with 

 a production of 253,533 tons. The sugar beet is a root crop 



Figure 3. — A Hold of \vell-cultiv:ited sugar beets, our most important root crop. 



which has grown to be of great importance for the produc- 

 tion of sugar. It is discussed under the heading of sugar- 

 crops in Chapter XXIII. 



12. Sugar Crops. Two important sugar crops are grown 

 in the United States, the sugar cane and the sugar beet. 

 Sugar cane is much the older source of sugar. The develop- 

 ment of the sugar beet industry in America is comparatively 

 recent, and it is onh' in the last few years that the produc- 

 tion of beet sugar has surpassed that of cane sugar in the 

 United States. The cultivation of sugar cane is limited 

 practically to Louisiana and Texas, though the crop is 

 grown generally over the South for sirup production. The 

 sugar beet is grown over a wide range of countrj^, from New 

 York to California. The production of cane sugar in the 



