INDIRECT BENEFITS OF SUGAR-BEET CULTURE. 19 



KANSAS. 



A. R. Downing, of Deerfield, reports a field of alfalfa plowed up several years ago 

 and put to wheat, yielding 45 bushels per acre. The field was then planted to beets 

 three years in succession and was then followed by oats, yielding 73 bushels per acre. 

 The oats were followed by wheat, which gave a yield of 53 bushels per acre. 



Mr. CarlCoerber, of Deerfield, plowed up a field of alfalfa and put it in wheat, which 

 gave an average yield of 35 bushels per acre. This was followed by beets for two years, 

 then oats one year, and wheat following the oats gave a yield of 45 bushels per acre. 



NEBRASKA. 



James R. White, of Hershey, route 1, reports that he farms 210 acres. Principal 

 crops alfalfa, beets, corn, and oats. Has grown sugar beets for five years. Has 15 

 acres in beets, which usually yield 14 tons to the acre. Plows 9 to 10 inches deep. 

 Harrows four times. Fertilizes with barnyard manure. Hoes twice and" cultivates 

 six times. A 15-acre field of oats prior to beet culture yielded 35 bushels to the acre; 

 after being in beets two years, yielded 50 bushels to the acre. A 30-acre field of 

 alfalfa, which yielded 4 tons to the acre prior to beet culture, yielded 6 tons to the 

 acre after having been planted to beets three years. 



S. E. Solomon, of Culbertson, reports that he has a 1,000-acre sandy-loam farm; 

 with 800 acres under cultivation to wheat, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, and alfalfa. 

 Has 300 acres in sugar beets; has grown beets for eight years, and averages 10 tons per 

 acre. He says: "Never practiced system of rotation; am not following a system, but 

 should do so. Depth of plowing, 6 inches; should be 12; use no fertilizer. Am not 

 employing any system of fertilization or rotation. Hand hoe beets one or two times; 

 horse cultivate two or three times. Am positive that rotation and fertilization would 

 double average yields. The most slipshod methods are employed in growing beets 

 in this section. What is needed is deep plowing, careful rotation, and use of barnyard 

 manures. Have had enough experience to fully demonstrate this." [Frank, but 

 foolish.] 



COLORADO. 



Lee Kelim, of Loveland, a large landowner, formerly the owner of the Loveland mill, 

 and who has operated thrashing machines in that vicinity for 25 years, says that previ- 

 ous to the starting of beet growing, 20 to 25 bushels of wheat was considered a large 

 crop, and that out of this they would screen 15 to 20 pounds of wild oats. Now 40 to 50 

 bushels is considered an average crop, and he feels safe in saying that in the Loveland 

 district the introduction of beets into the crop rotation has increased the yield of grain 

 100 per cent, and has cleaned the country of the wild oats pest. 



J. L. Sybrandt, of Berthoud, reports that he has a 360-acre farm, of which 290 acres 

 are under cultivation to wheat, oats, alfalfa, barley, potatoes, and 68 acres to sugar 

 beets, which average 12 tons per acre and which he rotates with other crops every three 

 to five years, and fertilizes his ground with sheep manure. He has grown beets for 

 four years and has increased his wheat yield of 20 to 30 bushels to 56 bushels per acre, 

 and his barley yield from 30 to 40 bushels to 65 bushels per acre. 



David Snider, of Platteville, reports that he has a 2,000-acre farm, of which he culti- 

 vates 1,200 acres to alfalfa, wheat; oats, barley, potatoes, and sugar beets, of which he 

 had in 400 acres. Has grown sugar beets for six years, secured a yield of 13 to 18 tons 

 per acre and rotates them with other crops, following them with wheat or barley. 

 Plows his land 10 inches deep. Has increased his wheat yield from 30 to 35 bushels 

 to 35 to 50 bushels per acre; his oats from 20 to 25 bushels to 60 to 75 bushels; his bar- 

 ley from 25 to 30 bushels to 70 to 85 bushels; and his potatoes from a nominal yield to 

 200 sacks per acre. 



The Taylor-Fuller Mercantile Co., of Avondale, report that they have been farming 

 for 14 years, operating a 120-acre farm, of which 100 acres are in cultivation. They 

 have grown sugar beets for eight years and average 14 tons to the acre, rotating beets 

 with other crops. By rotating with beets they have increased their wheat yield from 

 25 to 40 bushels per acre; oats from 30 to 50 bushels; beans from 12 to 18 bushels; and 

 hay from 3 to 4 tons per acre. They say : ' ' Before the introduction of sugar-beet raising 

 farming was conducted in a very loose way, and as it is impossible to raise sugar beets 

 at a profit without employing the best farming methods, it has made better farmers, 

 and they have found the same pay with any crop. For some reason grain and in fact 

 all other crops do well following beets, although the land may be worn out for sugar 

 beets." [NOTE. In this section it has been customary to follow the "gravel-pit", 

 method of farming, and grow beets on the same soil year after year without rotation; 

 with the inevitable result that the land finally refuses to produce a paying crop of 



