920 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



manufacturers and farmers, and annually reported on the prog- 

 ress of the industry. The result was familiarity with the possi- 

 bilities throughout the country, the removal of all obstacles from 

 inertia and ignorance, and a rapid development in all regions 

 where there was a promise of profits. 



At all events, the beet-sugar product increased rapidly after 

 1890. It quadrupled between 1890 and 1900, and more than 

 quadrupled between 1 900 and 1 9 1 o a remarkable rate of 

 growth. Far from remaining insignificant and quite negligible, 

 its contribution to the country's sugar supply became more and 

 more important. It surpassed that of Louisiana cane sugar, 

 equalled that from Hawaii, and itself was surpassed only by the 

 supply from Cuba. In round numbers, over one billion pounds 

 of beet sugar were produced in each of the four years, 1908- 

 191 2. The years 19 12- 19 13 and 191 3-1 9 14 still showed a 

 marked increase. 



Equally significant and striking was the geographical distribu- 

 tion of the industry. The tabular statement on the next page 

 shows what that distribution was. 



One fact is obvious on a cursory inspection of these figures. 

 The beet-sugar industry is in the main massed in the Far West 

 in California, Utah, Colorado, and the adjacent region. The 

 agricultural belt of the Central States has a very slender share. 

 Only one state in this part of the country, Michigan, makes a 

 considerable contribution to the supply. Wisconsin and Ohio 

 (not separately given in the table) each adds a little. No other 

 state in this region has more than one beet-sugar factory. Bar- 

 ring Michigan, the production of beet sugar may be said to be 

 confined to the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states. 



The explanation of this geographical concentration does not 

 lie in any obstacles from climate or soil in other parts of the 

 country. The beet flourishes over a very wide area. An instruc- 

 tive pamphlet issued by the Department of Agriculture shows the 

 zone in which the sugar beet may be expected to "attain its 

 highest perfection." This zone, or belt, two hundred miles wide, 

 starts at the Hudson, and sweeps across the country to the 

 Dakotas ; turns southward through Colorado, New Mexico, and 



