THE SUGAR-BEET IN AMERICA 
CHAPTER I 
GENERAL VIEW OF THE INDUSTRY 
Tue beet-sugar industry in America has but recently 
passed out of the experimental stage. It was undertaken 
nearly a century ago by men who had more enthusiasm 
than knowledge concerning the raising of beets and the 
methods of extracting sugar from them. Early attempts 
to establish the industry on the Western Hemisphere were 
not successful, partly because of the lack of scientific 
methods and partly because beet-growing was first tried 
in unfavorable localities. It also required time to train 
farmers to grow beets and experts to make beet-sugar. 
Legislation, also, has been a factor. When regions well 
adapted to beet-culture were chosen, when farmers became 
familiar with methods of raising beets, when methods of 
extracting sugar from the beets were improved, and when 
legislation was favorable, then was the industry able to 
establish itself and to pass beyond precarious infancy. 
This stage being passed, the industry has now entered 
the period of vigorous youth — the time of greatest virility 
and growth. The beet-sugar industry is now firmly es- 
tablished in America; it is ready to take its place in the 
sisterhood of great American industries. 
B 1 
