640 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



Valuation of Beets at the Factory. In the purchase of beets for 

 sugar making the factories offer the growers either a "flat rate" or 

 a "sliding scale." In case the former system is adopted, the factory 

 offers a uniform price of $4.50 or $5 per ton for all beets which reach 

 or exceed a certain minimum standard of quality, as, for instance, 

 a sugar content of 12 or 14 per cent with a purity of 80. In case 

 beets which fall below this standard are offered, the factory may make 

 a reduction in the price or refuse the beets, but no extra price is paid 

 for beets which exceed the standard requirements. If the "sliding 

 scale" is adopted, the factory offers a minimum price of say $4 or 

 $4.25 for beets which reach a minimum standard of quality, as, for 

 instance, 12 per cent of sugar with a purity of 80, and makes an extra 

 allowance per ton of 25 to 35 per cent for each per cent of sugar in 

 excess of the established minimum. Under this system beets of 

 extra fine quality may bring $5.50 per ton or even more. Some 

 factories buy all their beets at a flat rate, others buy only according 

 to a sliding scale, while many offer the farmers their choice between 

 the two systems. 



In determining the quality of the beets a sample is taken from 

 each load delivered. The percentage of sugar is determined either 

 directly from the beet or from the expressed juice. If from the 

 juice (which is the usual method), the percentage of sugar in the 

 beet is calculated from that in the juice. (F. B. 52 Revision 

 1910.) 



LABOR. 



One of the most serious problems that confront the farmer 

 to-day is the question of labor, and this is especially true of the sugar- 

 beet grower, since he requires more than the usual amount of help in 

 caring for his beet crop. The scarcity of farm labor is general 

 throughout the sugar-beet area. This condition has kept the acre- 

 age down in 'many localities, causing the farmer to plant only the 

 small area that he, with the help of his family, is able to care for. 

 In a few localities the sugar companies have undertaken to supply 

 the growers with the necessary help. This method has in general 

 proved satisfactory, and will undoubtedly be more commonly adopted 

 in the future, since the sugar companies are in better position than 

 the individual farmers to secure labor and to distribute it properly. 



Another serious question in this connection is the basis upon 

 which the laborer should be employed. The common methods are 

 by the day, the month, the season, the field, the acre, the row, and the 

 ton. The cost of day labor has advanced from 25 to 50 per cent in 

 some of the sugar-beet sections during the past few years. The 

 same is probably true of the labor employed by the month or by the 

 season. By employing labor on the time basis one can usually get 

 the work done satisfactorily, if not so rapidly as desired. By using 

 the field, acre, or row method the work is usually pushed more rapid- 

 ly, but is not always done satisfactorily. The laborer has no special 

 interest in the final result, and it matters little to him whether or 

 not the stand is good or the beets make proper progress in develop- 

 ment. The method of payment by the ton has some advantages in 



