OTHER FARM CROPS 623 



a certain amount of moisture in order to produce its normal crop. 

 This moisture must be derived either from precipitation in the usual 

 way or from irrigation; or else the soil must be of that particular 

 quality which will allow subterranean moisture to reach the rootlets 

 of the plants. Soil of this kind appears to exist in many localities 

 in California, where beets are grown almost without rain. The por- 

 ous and sandy soils adjacent to many of the Western rivers, such as 

 the Arkansas River in eastern Colorado and western Kansas also 

 appear to furnish a sufficient amount of subterranean moisture to 

 produce a good crop in connection with the rainfall, of which, how- 

 ever, but little is expected in those localities during the summer 

 months. Where there is little subterranean moisture, and where 

 irrigation is not practicable, the culture of the sugar beet should not 

 be undertaken unless an average summer precipitation of 2 to 4 

 inches per month can be depended on. There are many conditions 

 of agriculture, however, under which the beet becomes quite inde- 

 pendent of extremes of precipitation. The beet may thrive with very 

 little rainfall or with a great deal, if properly cultivated in a suitable 

 soil. (F. B. 52 Revision 1910.) 



Growing Beets on Irrigated Lands. The experience of more 

 than twenty years in California and ten years in Colorado has shown 

 that the climatic data, regarded as of prime importance in beet cul- 

 ture in Europe, can not be regarded as rigidly applicable to this 

 country. The successful growth of sugar beets in the arid regions 

 of our country, with irrigation, has introduced a new factor into 

 the science of beet meteorology. While the arid area on which 

 beets can be grown without irrigation is probably confined almost 

 exclusively to the coast valleys of California, the successful commer- 

 cial production of sugar beets in Utah and Colorado has opened a 

 new and extensive field. What has taken place in these States is 

 being rapidly duplicated in Idaho; a beginning has been made in 

 Montana, and the time is undoubtedly coming when beets will be 

 grown in Wyoming and probably throughout the whole arid region. 



The northern parts of the Eastern and Middle States and the 

 States of Oregon and Washington have at least an equal chance for 

 the successful production of beet sugar with the fields of Germany 

 and France. The irrigable parts of the great Southwest have advan- 

 tages of soil and climate which will enable them to enter into compe- 

 tition in the production of beet sugar. To be able to control the 

 moisture of the soil is a matter of prime importance to the beet 

 grower. In the arid region the time at which the beet matures can 

 be controlled by withholding the water. Furthermore, there is no 

 danger of loss due to second growth, so easily induced by late warm 

 autumnal rains. 



The high cost of good irrigation renders it imperative that the 

 areas under culture be devoted to a crop which is capable of produc- 

 ing a more valuable yield than is afforded by cereal culture. In a 

 dry soil the beet can endure without damage a low temperature, 

 which would prove quite disastrous in a wet climate. More complete 

 maturity may be thus obtained, and a more leisurely harvest. In 



