Nitrate of "It is absolutely essential to success that we secure the best quality of 



Soda for seed, and past experience has conclusively shown that we cannot depend 

 Sugar-Beets upon doing so from abroad. We must raise it ourselves, and in such a care- 

 ful, scientific manner that it will not only be of the best quality, but will 

 have such characteristics as will make it adapted to the particular needs and 

 requirements of the locality where it is to be sown. Seed raised on a particular 

 soil and under certain climatic conditions may not be best suited for planting 

 in like soils and under similar climatic conditions ; in fact, very often it is 

 not. Seed from comparatively poor soil may do best on rich soil, or that 

 raised in the East may do best when sown in the West. Only study and 

 personal experience on the part of each factory manager can determine what 

 seed is best suited for the conditions in his region." 



Fertilizers for the Sugar- Beet. 



" Professor Schneidewind, the German beet expert, has made 

 extensive experiments with fertilizers for beets and he has come to the con- 

 clusion that the views of the different experts in regard to the value of these 

 fertilizers which are best suited to beets can never be considered as correct, 

 because the plant foods at the disposal of the root have a very different effect 

 in different surroundings, and that it must remain largely for the individual 

 farmer to give each suggestion a fair trial and then draw his own conclusions. 

 The experiments by Schneidewind show that a surface application, Top- 

 Dressing, of Nitrate of Soda (saltpeter) is better suited to beets than any other 

 form of nitric fertilizer, and very much more satisfactory.'* 



From The American Sugar Industry, 1906. 



Nitrate of Soda as a Fertilizer for Beets. 



Mr. E. S. Bumstead, President of the State Beet 

 Growers' Association, of Colorado, has stated that "At Sugar 

 City, near Rocky Ford, beet growers began using Nitrate 

 of Soda as a fertilizer three years ago. 'This was obtained 

 from Chili, South America, and the very first experiment 

 therewith proved so beneficial that it has been in use ever since. 



" 'Two hundred and thirty-five tons were tried first. The 

 indications were from the outset that just the right thing had 

 been discovered, and my opinion is that this will eventually 

 become a great commercial article. It is reliably told me that 

 100 pounds of the soda will increase beet tonnage from 2 ^ to 

 j*/2 tons per acre. 



" With this in view, it can be readily seen that such a 

 fertilizer is not only practical, but quite profitable. This is 

 another case in which science is aiding nature, but science 

 must be good for something." 



