216 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



fornia in July. In regions of heavier rains planting is 

 done in April and May. In all regions there is consider- 

 able length to the sowing season, so that succession in 

 ripening is possible, where there are lands of different 

 elevations and degree of moisture. It seems possible to 

 keep the factories in operation near the whole year with- 

 out great storage of beets, but this has not been 'done 

 so far. 



Yield and Profit. Taking into his calculation the figures 

 for a number of years, Dr. G. W. Shaw of the University 

 of California has shown that "on a total of 326,000 acres 

 there has been an average production of 9.8 tons of beets 

 per acre annually, giving an average return of over $44 

 per acre, or a net profit of about $14 per acre (after charg- 

 ing the value of the labor), which certainly compares 

 favorably with other field crops grown in the State. A 

 like number of acres devoted to wheat and most other 

 agricultural crops for the same period would have pro- 

 duced a decidedly less return per acre, if average price 

 and yield per acre be taken as the basis. 



The figures cannot be taken as the entire value, for there 

 should be included the better condition in which the land 

 is left for the growth of other crops, provided the beet 

 crop is properly handled by returning the tops to the field 

 either by plowing under or feeding them and returning 

 the manure to the field. This, of course, is difficult to ex- 

 press in money value. 



"To maintain California's high producing power atten- 

 tion must be given to the matter of irrigation ; it is the 

 only way in which the fickleness of climate can be over- 

 come. Given climate, and the farmer is largely inde- 

 pendent of the soil question when rational methods of cul- 

 ture are observed. When the season's returns per acre to 

 the farmer are considered, Utah, with $51.55, is the only 

 State which exceeds California with $49.94, but it has 

 probably cost Utah growers that much more to irrigate 

 their land; this extra cost, however, being well spent in 

 order to make sure of a crop, a condition which is de- 



