326 FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



duction of the United States for these years was 433 

 thousand tons. For this five-year period the world's pro- 

 duction of beet sugar was slightly less than that of cane 

 sugar. 



In the United States, Colorado is the leading beet sugar 

 producing state, her average annual production for the 

 years 1911-1912 being 170 thousand tons; California is 

 next with 150 thousand tons, and Michigan third with 

 110 thousand tons. These three states during the two 

 years mentioned produced over two-thirds of the total 

 beet sugar production of the United States. Other 

 states in which small amounts are produced are Idaho, 

 Utah, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. 



336. Adaptation. — Sugar beets do not have a wide dis- 

 tribution when compared with other farm crops. Soil 

 and climate are important factors in growing beets with 

 high sugar content, and consequently these factors de- 

 termine to a considerable extent the area of their profitable 

 culture. The beet grows best on sandy or sandy loam 

 soils, but is not adapted to clays, muck, or peaty soils. 

 The beet is able to resist considerably more alkali in the 

 soil than most other crops and is grown in many slightly 

 alkaline soils of the West. Neither soils that form a hard 

 crust at the surface after a rain nor shallow soils with 

 an impervious subsoil are suitable for their growth. 

 The beet requires an abundance of sunshine during the 

 growing season, and is therefore not adapted to localities 

 where much cloudy weather prevails. 



CULTURAL METHODS 



337. Preparing the land. — Since the beet grows almost 

 entirely underground, a deep seed bed is necessary. 

 The soil should be plowed to a depth of 8 to 12 inches, 



