78 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
stock food as for sugar. In that country the leaves are sold to adulterate tobacco and 
it is said that in some cases fully enough to pay for the expenses of cultivation. 
SOILS FOR THE SUGAR BEET. 
This plant thrives on a wide variety of soils. In Virginia, a warm clay or slaty 
soil, mixed with some sand and having a depth of 15 inches or more, gave the best re- 
sults. In other states where the industry is not yet established, experiment shows 
that the plant thrives on nearly all kinds of lands. But never select poor land—use 
the best soils available. It seems to do best in these regions on what farmers ordina- 
rily call good potato or corn land. The soil must be well drained, for while the beet 
requires abundant moisture during the growing period, it does not thrive with ‘‘ wet 
feet.”’ It therefore does much better in some soils than in others. The soil must 
possess good depth, for the beet is a deep-rooting plant, going down 12 to 18 inches, 
In Nebraska, the best soil to produce a large tonnage is the so-called bottom land. 
Hilly land produces generally a better quality, but does not come up as well in quan- 
tity. The more lime the soil contains the richer the beets would be. Under no cir- 
cumstances should seed be planted in soil which is sandy enough to blow. In Utah, 
and also in the Pecos valley, where one has plenty of water for irrigation, a nice 
sandy loam is preferred, but if the water supply is scant a clayey soil is better. 
In California, the rich, strong, sandy loams that produce heavy crops of wheat 
and barley yield 15 to 25 tons of rich beets per acre under proper rotation, but lower 
Jands, when well drained of wet or that enjoy natural sub-irrigation from the lower 
stores of water, are often still better. It has been found at Chino that even when the 
lower or more moist lands contain as much as 12,000 lbs of alkali salts per acre to the 
depth of three feet, the beet does well in yield and quality, provided the amount of 
common salt in the soil does not exceed 0.04 per cent or 1500 lbs per acre to the depth 
of three feet. But it is wisest to verify on a small scale the adaptability of doubtful 
land before planting a large area of it. . 
New land, by which we understand Jand that has only been broken one or two 
years, should never be chosen for beets, as it producesa crop inferior 1n yield and 
quality. In Utah, the best results in sugar and purity are obtained from land that has 
been in small grain and the best tonnage is obtained from land that has previously 
had potatoes. Alfalfa land is good for beets, provided two crops of small grain are 
first grown upon it to get rid of the roots. For preparing new land for beets, noth- 
ing is better than to first plant alfalfa or field peas, the latter to be plowed under 
when in flower. Sage brush or mesquite land is excellent, provided it is thoroughly 
subdued by preparatory crops, and can be irrigated. 
{It is also important that the soil be such that the beets can be easily extracted 
from the ground by a beet puller or plow without breaking the root and without hav- 
ing a lot of soil adhere to it. In this particular, the sandy loam is ideal. To dig the 
root from a clay or adobe soil is hard work; in such soils the beet tip often breaks off 
when ripe, and much soil adheres to the beets, thus adding to the freight and to the 
‘tare.’ 
ROTATION OF CROPS. 
This is highly important. Beets may do well year after year on the same land, 
especially if properly manured, but the constant draft upon the soil for the same pro- 
