INDIRECT BENEFITS OF SUGAE-BEET CULTURE. 11 



France is the size of our three greatest wheat-producing States, 

 Kansas, Minnesota, and North Dakota. In 1907 France sowed 

 16,000,000 to wheat, as did these three States. Since the introduction 

 of beet culture, French soils have been so rejuvenated that from her 

 16,000,000 acres of wheat French farmers harvested 325,000,000 

 bushels, while from our 16,000,000 acres the farmers of Kansas, Min- 

 nesota, and North Dakota harvested but 188,000,000 bushels, or 11.7 

 bushels to the acre to the Frenchman's 20.3 bushels. 



From France the beet-sugar industry spread to every country of 

 continental Europe, which since has produced 150,000,000 metric 

 tons of sugar, worth, at 4 cents per pound, $13,000,000,000. 



Europe produces annually 8,000,000 tons of beet sugar, consumes 

 5,500,000 tons, and exports 2,5007000 tons, while the United States 

 produces 800J)00 tons of beet and cane sugar, consumes 3,300,000 

 tons, and imports 2,500,000, taking a portion of Europe's exports. 



Not only does Germany produce the sugar her people consume and 

 $50,000,000 worth for export, but by reason of better farming meth- 

 ods, brought about through the establishment of the beet-sugar 

 indusfry, her so-called " worn-out soils" now produce 30.5 bushels 

 of wheat to our 15.8; 59.1 bushels of oats to our 30.3; 39.4 bushels 

 of barley to our 24.3; 29.4 bushels of rye to our 16.1; and 208.9 

 bushels of potatoes to our 106.8. 



In 1907, Germany and Kansas each sowed 5,200,000 acres to 

 wheat and from their 5,200,000 acres of rejuvinated soil, German 

 farmers reaped 145,000,000 bushels, while from our 5,200,000 acres 

 of virgin soil, Kansas farmers reaped but 68,000,000 bushels. 



Germany alone absorbs one-half of the world's production of potash 

 and the European imports of commercial fertilizer are enormous^ 

 As commercial fertilizers aid the chemical condition of the soil, so 1 

 sugar beets aid its physical condition. When the farmers apply 

 commercial fertilizers, they have to pay for the fertilizer, but when, 

 by growing a crop of beets which they sell for enough to pay for the 

 cost of production, and at the same time add greatly to the produc- 

 tivity of the soil, it is equivalent to securing the fertilizer for nothing. 



As compared to the total United States production, Germany, 

 with an area equal only to that of Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri, 

 produces one- tenth as much tobacco, one-fifth as much wheat, three- 

 fifths as much oats, four-fifths as much hops, four-fifths as much 

 barley, three times as much sugar, six times as many potatoes, and 

 nine times as much Tye. In 1907, German farmers, from 43,000,000 

 acres sowed to wheat, rye, barley, oats, and potatoes, harvested 

 3,000,000,000 bushels, while from the 88,500,000 acres sowed to the 

 same crops in the United States, American farmers harvested but 

 1,875,000,000 bushels. In other words, from less than one-half our 

 area, German farmers harvested nearly double the number of bushels. 



If on land devoted to wheat, oats,^ barley, rye, and potatoes in 

 Germany their farmers secured only our average acreage yield of 

 those crops, German farmers would be poorer by $900,000,000 a year. 



If on the land we devote to wheat, oats, barley, rye, and potatoes 

 American farmers secured the same yield per acre as is secured by 

 German farmers, our farmers would be richer by $1,400,000,000 a 

 year. 



By the expenditure of far more labor the German farmer secures a 

 yield of beets 2 to 3 tons per acre in excess of our average yield, but 



