156 GARDEN FARMING 



Swiss CHARD 



Swiss chard does not produce a thickened root as do the other 

 forms of beets mentioned. It is grown as a salad plant, its 

 thickened leafstalks often developing to large proportions. The 

 leafstalks are frequently 2 feet or more in length and from i inch 

 to 2\ inches in width. There are types of varieties which have 

 white, pink, or red leafstalks. This plant, while grown extensively 

 in Europe, is not at all common in this country. Its cultivation, 

 however, requires practically the same conditions as the ordinary 

 garden beet, except that considerably more space is needed both 

 in the row and between the rows. 



SUGAR BEET 



This variety of beet, which is capable of developing a high 

 percentage of sugar in its juice, has been selected for a definite 

 type of root. 'The evolution of this plant has largely been accom- 

 plished within the last century in France and Germany where, at 

 the present time, a large amount of sugar is produced annually 

 from this crop. Within the last twenty years the cultivation of sugar 

 beets has assumed commercial proportions in various sections of 

 the United States, and a number of beet-sugar factories have been 

 built at various points near large tracts of land suitable for the 

 growth of sugar beets. The crop is peculiar in this respect, that 

 its sugar content is largely determined by the character of soil and 

 the climate in which it is grown. Experiments in the United 

 States have conclusively demonstrated that the sugar beet shows 

 the greatest sugar content in high latitudes and where there is a 

 relative scarcity of moisture. The region in which the sugar-beet 

 industry is the most profitable at the present time may be some- 

 what roughly outlined as Colorado, Utah, California, Michigan, 

 and Wisconsin. All these states have extensive plantations, and 

 each of the regions supports one or more large sugar-making 

 factories. While this crop is not as profitable as many truck crops, 

 and while it requires more hand labor than almost all the other 

 agricultural crops, yet the constant and annually increasing demand 

 for sugar justifies the statement that the outlook for the sugar- 

 beet industry is steadily growing brighter. Another reason which 



