AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 25 



cording to this method, seed to be offered for sale comes on the market in time to 

 be planted during the fifth year after the first steps in its production were taken. 

 This plan, or one similar, is adopted by all successful seed-growing specialists in 

 the old country. Of course, after the first lot is ready for market, each succeed- 

 ing season furnishes a crop. The only long delay comes in starting. 



AVERAGE PER CENT. OF SUGAR IN THE BEET. The writer has assumed that 14 

 per cent, with 80 purity is nearer the average than higher percentages or purity. 

 It must be admitted that for days the factory average at Los Alamitos, Alvarado, 

 and Pecos Valley has ranged from 17 to 18.50 per cent, with a purity from 80 to 

 84, but it would be unwise to hold out the inducement to the country at large that 

 such results could be depended upon. Poor land, poor stands, and poor farming 

 will always prevent high averages, hence the selection of 14 per cent, as the safe 

 unit of sugar in the beet to be calculated upon. 



IRRIGATION. Sugar beets, like most agricultural products of the temperate 

 zone, can be successfully grown by irrigation, as is well illustrated in Lehi, Utah, 

 and Pecos Valley, New Mexico. The chief danger lies in the too frequent use 

 of water and the consequent neglect in cultivation. Particularly when approach- 

 ing maturity should the water be kept away from the beets. An otherwise suc- 

 cessful farmer in the Pecos Valley who had been accustomed to growing potatoes 

 and cabbage by irrigation, and had been successful in Colorado, attempted to 

 apply the same rules to beet culture, and made an unsatisfactory showing. The 

 Mormons in Utah have made greater success, and there can be no risk whatever 

 in establishing a sugar factory solely dependent upon an irrigated product. 

 The larger area devoted to beet culture, however, will be where che submoisture 

 or natural rainfall during the period of growth is sufficient to make a crop without 

 irrigation. Beets will not thrive if neglected. Sugar and weeds, or sugar and 

 neglect in any way, are not found in the same beet patch. 



DEEP PLOWING. Deep plowing on old land is of highest importance ; fall 

 plowing is preferred, and if farmers could only see the great benefit resulting 

 from subsoiling, it would be more generally practised. Otherwise the surface plow 

 must go down 8 to 12 inches. When planting time comes, the land must be per- 

 fectly pulverized. This may be by one harrowing, or it may require six. Seed 

 will not germinate well in rough ground, the rows will not be straight and the 

 stand will be uneven, some seed being too deeply covered and others not covered 

 at all. Deep plowing and perfect pulverization precede the seeding. 



QUANTITY OF SEED NEEDED. The quantity of seed required per acre ranges 

 from 12^5 pounds to 20. In some soils the seed germinates more quickly than 

 in others ; the temperature may be too high or too low. Many things militate 

 against the germination of every seed, so it is best to plant enough to insure a 

 good stand, and also to exercise the force necessary to lift the crust and let the 

 tender germs out. The rows should be 18 inches apart, which permits room for 

 the horse to walk in cultivation and the leaves perfectly to shade the ground. 

 The proper depth for planting depends upon the locality. In moist land .with a 

 humid atmosphere, y z to i inch is fully deep enough, while i^ inches in very 

 arid regions is necessary, owing to rapid evaporation of surface moisture. Where 

 conditions are perfect, shallow planting is best. 



