ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE 195 



which withstands larger quantities of alkali than almost 

 any other desirable alkali-resistant plant, does not do well 

 where winters are severe. 



Economic Factors Affecting Choice. After knowing 

 the relative tolerance of the various crops and their adapt- 

 ability to the particular conditions, certain economic 

 considerations further modify the choice. With cheap lands 

 in some of the grazing sections, for instance, it might be 

 preferable to plant the land to some permanent grass 

 giving only a medium yield than to use the more resistant 

 crops such as sugar-beets and other high-yielding plants 

 which do best under certain other economic conditions. 

 As a general rule, forage crops are more suited to alkali 

 lands than crops in which quality is more important. 

 Land in the neighborhood of large cities or other places 

 where there is a good market for intensive crops, such as 

 the vegetables and fruits, is often more economically 

 planted to these crops even though they may be somewhat 

 less tolerant of alkali than other crops. 



The use to be made of the crops also governs the choice 

 for alkali lands. Grain crops will produce a heavy growth 

 of fairly good hay in soil considerably too strong to give 

 satisfactory yields of grain. Likewise, although cotton 

 grown upon certain kinds of alkali lands does not give 

 the fine-textured fiber so desirable in the manufacture of 

 the high-class cotton goods, it may produce a profitable 

 yield of the coarser grade suitable for other purposes. 

 Sugar-beets will produce excellent yields of roots on land 

 that is high in alkali, but if the quantity of salts, especially 

 sodium chloride, be too large the beets may be so poor in 

 quality that they are fit only for stock feed and not for 

 sugar-making. The quality of sugar cane and of various 

 fruits is impaired when grown upon soils impregnated with 



