SUGAR-BEET 



SUGAR-BEET 



589 



produced from beet roots aggregates upward of 

 7,000,000 tons annually. 



Beginnings in the United States. — The first at- 

 tempt to introduce sugar-beets into the United 

 States for sugar-producing purposes was made in 

 1830, by some persons living near Philadelphia. 

 This and many subsequent attempts to establish 

 the beet-sugar industry in this country failed. A 

 small quantity of sugar, less than one ton, was 

 made from beets at Northampton, Mass., in 1838, 

 but this venture proved unprofitable and was soon 

 abandoned. During the thirty years that followed, 

 several attempts were made to establish beet-sugar 

 factories in different parts of the United States, 

 but none of them proved successful, owing to un- 

 fortunate location or to an imperfect knowledge of 

 the methods of sugar-beet-growing and beet-sugar- 

 making. The first successful beet-sugar factory in 

 this country was established at Alvarado, Califor- 

 nia, in 1869, having been removed to that point 

 after several unsuccessful attempts to establish it 

 elsewhere. This factory has been in operation every 

 year but one since its erection, and may well be 

 considered the pioneer factory of the country. 



In the decade that followed the building of the 

 Alvarado factory, four other factories were estab- 

 lished, one in each of the following four states : 

 Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Delaware ; 

 but none of them survived the struggle through 

 which they were obliged to pass. As late as 1892 

 only six factories were in operation, by which it 

 appears that the early growth of the industry in 

 this country was slow. Several states tried to en- 

 courage the development of the sugar industry by 

 offering bounties on all sugar produced within the 

 state. While, for a time, this plan seemed to stimu- 

 late the industry, the difficulties that arose in 

 regard to paying these bounties made it inexpedi- 

 ent to continue them, in most instances. Neverthe- 

 less, in spite of the many difficulties that have 

 attended its early development in this country, the 

 beet-sugar industry has steadily progressed since 

 1890, until, at the present time, sixty-four facto- 

 ries and three slicing stations are in operation. The 

 combined capacity of these factories is, approxi- 

 mately, 50,000 tons of beets daily. They are dis- 

 tributed among sixteen states, as follows : Arizona, 

 1 ; California, 8 ; Colorado, 15 ; Idaho, 4 ; Illinois, 

 1 ; Kansas, 1 ; Michigan, 17 ; Minnesota, 1 ; Mon- 

 tana,! ; Nebraska, 2; New York, 1 ; Ohio, 1 ; Ore- 

 gon, 1 ; Utah, 5 factories and three slicing sta- 

 tions ; Washington state, 1 ; Wisconsin, 4. 



The possibilities of beet-sugar-making in this 

 country are practically unlimited. The growth of 

 the industry thus far has not kept pace with the 

 increased rate of consumption of sugar per capita. 

 Assuming that the cane-sugar industry will main- 

 tain its present output, 'the United States will not 

 be able to make all the sugar it requires for home 

 consumption until at least 400 beet-sugar factories 

 are operated at full capacity each year. 



Culture. 



Land. — A special soil, that is, a soil radically 

 different from that needed by other crops, is not 



required by sugar-beets. Any good land will produce 

 sugar-beets when the climatic conditions are suit- 

 able, if the seed-bed is prepared properly and the 

 plants are thinned and otherwise pared for in a 

 timely and workman-like way. 



Experience has shown that virgin lands, even of 

 good quality, are not generally satisfactory fof 

 sugar-beets; hence it is advisable to. get the land in 

 good tilth by growing other crops for two or more 

 seasons before planting to sugar-beets. Clay loam 

 has been found to be one of the most satisfactory 

 types of soil. A sandy loam will frequently give 

 equally good returns, but if there is too much sand, 

 so that the soil approaches lightness, the beets are 

 likely to be low in sugar content. Furthermore, 

 sandy soil frequently loses its moisture too rapidly, 

 thus allowing the beets to wilt and become retarded 

 in growth, or even to die if the dry conditions con- 

 tinue too long, especially in those sections where 

 the soil moisture is dependent on rainfall. Another 

 serious objection that has been found to sandy soils 

 in localities where strong winds prevail, is the 

 likelihood of the young plants being covered with 

 sand, causing the loss of many, so that the stand is 

 seriously reduced. 



In some of the sugar-beet areas of the West and 

 Southwest an adobe soil is common, and when 

 properly handled this gives satisfactory results 

 both in regard to the quality and the quantity of 

 beets. An adobe soil can not be plowed when it is 

 very dry; on the other hand, if plowed when too 

 wet it bakes and becomes almost unmanageable. 

 Another difficulty lies in its readiness to form a 

 hard crust after the surface has been moistened by 

 rain or irrigation. As these conditions for crust- 

 formation frequently prevail in the spring soon 

 after planting, the seedlings that form under the 

 crust are unable to get through to the light with- 

 out assistance. The crust is easily broken without 

 serious injury to the young plants by the use of a 

 light drag harrow or other suitable implement. 

 Even after the plants are up they are sometimes 

 " bound off " by the formation of a crust that 

 prevents growth at the line of contact with the 

 surface. 



Muck soils are usually unsatisfactory. They fre- 

 quently produce a large tonnage but the quality of 

 the beets is usually poor, although some exceptions 

 to this statement have been recorded. 



One of the least satisfactory soils is the gravelly 

 type, probably because of its inability to retain 

 moisture. A soil that is of considerable importance 

 in some of the sugar-beet areas of the West is the 

 alkali land. While this crop is capable of making 

 satisfactory growth in soils too strongly alkaline 

 for many other farm products, there are thousands 

 of acres of otherwise good soil where the percent- 

 age of alkali is too strong even for existing strains 

 of beets. Much has been done toward reclaiming 

 this land by washing out large quantities of the 

 alkali. Efforts are also being made to develop a 

 strain of sugar-beets that shall be so resistant to 

 excessive quantities of alkali that the\ will thrive 

 in many areas that are now useless for agricultural 

 purposes. 



