252 The Sugar-Beet in America 
many farmers fail and have to sell the farm at a loss and 
seek employment elsewhere. Farming under these up- 
and-down conditions is not satisfactory. The introduc- 
tion of beet raising into the farming system tends to over- 
come this variation. Fruit raising may yield higher 
profits during favorable years, but the uncertainty of its 
returns is not attractive to the conservative farmer and, 
therefore, not conducive to permanent agriculture. 
PROMOTES GOOD FARMING 
The raising of sugar-beets is not consistent with poor 
farming. Rye may be raised on land that is merely 
scratched ; it needs but little attention in addition to the 
work of planting and harvesting. Sugar-beets, on the 
other hand, cannot be raised without careful attention 
being given to every operation, from plowing to the de- 
livery of the crop at the factory. The expense of pro- 
ducing the crop is so great that the farmer cannot afford 
to neglect any phase of the work; carelessness in thin- 
ning may reduce the returns by several times the amount 
of the cost of thinning. The farmer cannot afford to 
allow weeds to grow, since these pests reduce the yield 
not only by using moisture and plant-food needed by the 
crop, but they cause a decrease in sugar formation by 
shading the beet leaves. In a cheaper crop, the cost of 
keeping weeds under complete control might not justify 
the expense; but in beet fields weeds cause greater in- 
jury than the expense of removing them. Thus, in 
every phase of sugar-beet farming, thoroughness is de- 
manded. This is certain to reflect in the raising of other 
