THE USES OF CROPS 19 



Sugar cane is much the older source of sugar; the 

 development of the sugar beet industry in America is com- 

 paratively recent, and it is only in the last few years that the 

 production of beet sugar has surpassed that of cane sugar in 

 the United States. The cultivation of sugar cane is limited 

 practically to Louisiana and Texas, though the crop is grown 

 generally over the South for sirup production. The sugar 

 beet is grown over a wide range of country, from New York 

 to California. The production of cane sugar in the United 

 States in 1909 was 325,000 long tons, and of beet sugar, 

 458,000 long tons. The sugar crop ranked eighth in value 

 for that year, falling just below tobacco. 



13. Stimulants and Sedatives. The only stimulant or 

 sedative crop which is grown to any extent in the United 

 States is tobacco. This crop was grown On 1,295,000 acres 

 in 1909, or 0.27 per cent of our improved farm land. The 

 production amounted to 1,055,765,000 pounds, valued at 

 $106,000,000, making it rank seventh in value among our 

 field crops. 



14. Miscellaneous and Medicinal Crops. None of the 

 miscellaneous and medicinal crops is grown on a large 

 scale. Among them may be mentioned broomcorn, hops, 

 the castor bean, mustard, and various kinds of mint. 



15. The Uses of Crops. The principal uses of field crops 

 are to supply food and clothing for humanity, to feed ani- 

 mals, to maintain or to restore the vegetable matter and the 

 fertility of the soil and to prevent the loss of fertility through 

 erosion or other means. The principal food crops of the 

 United States are wheat, corn, rice, potatoes, and sweet 

 potatoes. Other crops which are used to a greater or less 

 extent for human food are oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, the 

 sugar beet, and sugar cane. The plants which supply 

 material for clothing are cotton and flax. Many plants 



