34 



BULLETI2Sr 721, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



cases alfalfa may be grown two or three years, and at the end of this 

 period the last crop of alfalfa is plowed under for the improvement 

 of the soil, thus putting it in good condition for one or two crops of 

 sugar beets. It is not desirable to grow sugar beets immediately 

 after old alfalfa, because the old alfalfa roots are large and woody 

 and interfere seriously with cultivation. It is better to follow old 

 alfalfa with a noncultivated crop, such as grain, which in turn may 

 be followed by sugar beets. 



Table IV. — Beet-sugar production, 1916-17. 





Num- 



Location and 



ber of 



year. 



sugar 





mills. 



California: 





1916 



11 



1917 



14 



Colorado: 





1916 



14 



1917 



15 



Idaho: 





1916 



5 



1917 



7 



Michigan: 





1916 



15 



1917 



14 



Ohio: 





1916 



4 



1917 



5 



Utah: 





1916 



11 



1917 



15 



Other States: 





1916 



14 



1917 



21 



All States: 





1916 



74 



1917 



91 



Days 

 oper- 

 ating. 



Acres 

 of beets 



har- 

 vested. 



108 

 92 



102 

 91 



53 



141,097 

 161,909 



188, 568 

 161,476 



42, 135 

 37, 745 



99, 619 

 82, 151 



24,767 

 24,234 



68, 211 

 80,289 



100,911 

 116 993 



665,308 

 664,797 



Aver- 

 age 



yield 

 in 



tons 

 per 



acre. 



10.37 

 8.16 



10.25 

 10.84 



7.87 

 7.59 



5.05 

 5.62 



5.56 

 8.36 



10.38 



8.35 



7.75 



8.90 

 8.46 



Total 

 tons of 

 beets 

 pro- 

 duced. 



1,462,895 

 1,321,716 



1,933,591 

 1, 749, 875 



331,478 

 286, 446 



602, 705 

 461, 721 



137,696 

 202, 624 



708, 237 

 696,522 



843, 071 

 906,641 



6,919,673 

 5,625,545 



Aver- Aver- 

 age per- age per- 

 centage centage 



of ex- 

 trac- 

 tion. 



16.15 

 15.84 



13.04 

 13.39 



13.84 

 13.40 



13.79 

 13.91 



13.24 

 12.08 



12.75 

 12.01 



12.87 

 12.22 



13.86 

 13.60' 



of sugar 



in the 



beets. 



Aver- 

 age co- 



effi- 

 cient of 

 purity. 



18.35 



18.48 



15.00 

 15.40 



16.95 

 16.74 



16.37 

 16.28 



15.89 

 16.24 



16.05 

 •15. 61 



15.69 

 15.17 



16.30 

 16.28 



84.13 

 82,91 



85.79 

 85.16 



86.39 



84.84 



85.22 

 86.57 



83.36 

 86.25 



84.79 

 82.27 



82.67 

 81.87 



84.74 

 83.89 



Tons of 

 sugar 

 made. 



236,322 

 209,325 



252, 147 

 234,303 



45,874 

 38,376 



69,341 



64,247 



18, 234 

 24,467 



90, 277 

 83,662 



108,462 

 110,827 



820, 657 

 765,207 



Av- 



price 

 paid 

 per 

 ton 

 for 

 beets, 



Total 



paid for 



beets. 



$6. 30 $9, 

 7. 60 10, 



I 

 6.0612, 

 7.2813, 



6.16 2, 

 7.06 2 



6.14 

 8.04 



6.83 

 7.18 



5.73 

 7.04 



6.18 

 7.37 



6.12 

 7.39 



311, 000 

 125,000 



236,000 

 526,000 



199,000 

 203,000 



337, 000 

 216,000 



008,000 

 580, 000 



577, 000 

 368,000 



471,000 

 175,000 



139,000 

 192,000 



Fruit. — In several sugar-beet areas fruit has been found to be a 

 competing crop. In several instances the sugar beet has been elimi- 

 nated or shifted to other areas, or reduced in area below the point of 

 a profitable mill run. It is sometimes possible to grow considerable 

 areas of beets in orchards when the trees are small, but as the 

 orchards get older and the trees increase in size the space between the 

 rows must necessarily become smaller and smaller until finally the 

 sugar beet is excluded. When fruit growing has become general in 

 a sugar-beet area, as has been the case in several instances in certain 

 localities, sugar-beet growing and diversified farming in general 

 have been practically eliminated. Occasionally some misfortune 

 overtakes the fruit industry and the area again returns to general 

 farming, including sugar beets. In one locality studied the entire 

 cycle has been passed through, and the fruit growers are now remov- 

 ing their trees and returning to general farm practice, including the 

 growing of sugar beets. 



I 



