202 THE SUGAR BEET. 



which, as shown, would be more profitable and advan- 

 tageous than any of the crops thus far produced.^ 



Value of Beets. 



The only profitable way for a manufacturer to have 

 beets worth using for their saccharine qualities is to 

 pay for them not a given sum per ton (as efforts will 

 then be made by the farmers to have large crops,^ with- 

 out paying sufficient attention to their culture with 

 a view to sugar manufacture) ; but, on the contrary, 

 according to their actual value. What basis then can 

 be determined upon has been the topic of considerable 

 discussion. The Germans^ have understood this prin- 

 ciple for years, and the results there obtained are suffi- 

 cient to demonstrate the importance of this question. 

 The Fi'ench and Belgians, on the contrary, are only 

 now commencing to appreciate it. 



On nearly every farm we have visited the manufac- 

 turers specify that a given seed shall be made use of 

 and the beet cultivated in a given manner ; but even 

 then the manufacturer is not protected, as here many 

 complications arise, for every farm theoretically and 



' From experiments made in Maine they came to the same conclusion ; to 

 this might be added various attemjits in other Northern States, which, Avhen on 

 suitable soils, etc., convinced those interested that the growth of the beet on 

 American soil would be advantageous and profitable. 



2 Then, again, fertilizers will be made use of to increase to a great extent 

 the total yield per acre, and thereby annually the sugar in the same proportion. 



^ See "German System of Taxation." 



