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pose. It has been thoroughly demonstrated by the experiments carried 

 on by this Department, that sugar-beet culture is possible in this coun- 

 try, and it only remains for the farmers of the country to indicate a 

 willingness to grow the beets to secure the rapid development of our 

 beet-sugar industry. The education of the farmers in this direction 

 will doubtless be slow, but there is no reason to doubt its success. 

 There is abundant capital in the country waiting to embark in the 

 manufacturing part of the industry whenever it can be assured of a 

 sufficient quantity of raw material for its operations. 



BEET SUGAR EXPERIMENT STATION AT SCHUYLER, NEBR. 



Impressed with the necessity of securing in this country experimental 

 tests of the most scientific methods of cultivating sugar beets and pro- 

 ducing seed therefrom, I was directed by the Secretary of Agriculture 

 in autumn of 1890 to visit Nebraska and other States with the inten- 

 tion of selecting a site for the establishment of such an experimental 

 station. 



The reasons which led to the selection of Nebraska as the State in 

 which this station should be established were the fact that already a 

 beet- sugar factory had been erected in that State and others were in 

 process of erection, and that in its soil and climate it seemed to pre- 

 sent a favorable locality in which to try the experiments, which, when 

 finished, might prove of the greatest advantage to all parts of the 

 country. The location of the station on the Pacific Coast would have 

 placed it too far away to secure the personal control on the part of the 

 Department which seemed to be necessary to success, while, had it been 

 established farther east and north, it would not have so well represented 

 all the points of soil and climate of the northern central portion of the 

 country, in which the farmers seem to be most interested in beet-culture. 

 Many localities were found in the State of Nebraska, and, as a result of 

 personal inspection, two sites were favorably recommended for the loca- 

 tion of the experiment station. The first of these was near Norfolk, in 

 the northeastern part of the State. At this place a beet- sugar factory 

 was in course of construction, and the people not only of the town but 

 of the whole country were thoroughly aroused to the importance of a 

 careful study of the beet-sugar industry. A favorable location was also 

 offered for the establishment of the station at a distance of about a mile 

 and a quarter from the location of the beet-sugar factory. The second 

 place recommended was near the town of Schuyler, where two or three 

 different plots of ground were offered, each of which seemed to possess 

 some advantages. The Secretary finally selected Schuyler as the site, 

 leaving the particular location in the vicinity to be determined after- 

 ward. The work therefore which is carried on at Schuyler must not 

 be taken to represent the interests of Nebraska alone. Those interests 

 are amply provided for by the excellent investigations of the State 



