THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IIST 1920. 9 



pan. If the hardpan is level it may hold too much moisture in the 

 surface soil, thereby rendering the conditions unfavorable for sugar- 

 beet production without artificial drainage. If the hardpan is sev- 

 eral feet below the surface and has slope sufficient to carry off the 

 excess water, no unfavorable condition will result from it. 



Porous soil. — The reverse of the preceding condition is sometimes 

 found in sugar-beet sections in which the subsoil is of such a nature 

 and of such a depth that it is very difficult to keep the soil supplied 

 with moisture during the growing season. Rain or irrigation water 

 passes rapidly through porous subsoils, and is soon out of reach 

 of the growing plant. If the porous subsoil is very deep and ex- 

 tremely porous the ground is unsuited for sugar-beet culture. Fre- 

 quently this condition can be relieved somewhat by proper cultiva- 

 tion and b}^ supplying the surface soil with sufficient humus to en- 

 able *it to retain enough moisture to produce a fair crop. A heavy 

 crop of beets can not be expected on a thin surface soil underlain by 

 an extremely porous subsoil. 



TOPOGRAPHY. 



The unfavorable topography of an area is frequently the limiting 

 factor in the production of sugar beets. Mountainous areas can not 

 be utilized for the development of the beet-sugar industry unless 

 the valleys are sufficiently large to support a mill or are favorably 

 located with reference to an existing mill and are composed of 

 sufficient fertile, tillable soil so that beets of proper quality and in 

 sufficient quantitj^ can be produced at a reasonable cost. Many small 

 valleys, especially in the western United States, might be utilized in 

 the growing of sugar beets were it not for the fact that they are 

 too small to support a sugar mill and too far from existing mills to 

 permit the beet roots to be transported at a sufficiently low cost. 

 This problem may be solved by utilizing some practical means of 

 drying the beet roots. It is possible to slice and dry the roots, 

 thereby reducing the weight of the beets by about 75 per cent without 

 changing the quality or lessening the quantity of sugar present. If 

 this can be done with sufficient rapidity and at a sufficiently low cost 

 it will be possible to handle to advantage the product of many small 

 valleys and other limited areas. A sugar mill should be able to 

 handle not less than 500 tons of beet roots per clay of 24 hours, and 

 it can not be financially successful under normal conditions unless 

 it is supplied with a sufficient quantity of raw material to produce 

 a run of approximately 100 days each year. It is desirable that a 

 considerable x^art of the supply be within wagon haul of the mill. 

 Knj factor which reduces the working capacity or the operating time 

 of a sugar mill increases the cost of production of the sugar. The 



