24 BULLETIN 582, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 
little else for sale. When they can secure sufficient manure, many 
of the larger operators do the same. Some operators even omit 
alfalfa from their rotations and grow virtually nothing but beets and 
grain. The grain furnishes food for man and beast, sometimes 
brings in a small addition to the cash income, and enables the oper- 
ator to trade the straw with town dwellers for equal volumes of 
manure from the town corrals. Manure needed for beets in addi- 
tion to the farm supply and that secured as above is bought for about 
25 cents per ton, loaded and hauled by the buyer. The manure keeps 
up the beet yield, and the operators apply enough to secure 16 or 
more tons per acre in most years. These men can concentrate on 
beets in this way because of the ample labor supply. Few farmers 
have difficulty in securing extra labor when needed for blocking and 
thinning and for harvesting the beet crop. The operator can grow 
nearly as large an area of beets as his supply of regular labor can 
perform the regular operations for, such as hoeing, cultivating, etc., 
or as he has land and manure for. These men are doing the logical 
thing in an area where there is plenty of labor, the market is sure, 
and the land area is limited. They buy the hay needed. Their system 
is sound as long as they do not crop with beets continuously, until 
trouble with beet diseases cuts down the yield per acre. The limiting 
factor in their system is the supply of manure. 
More men would follow such a system as above if they could get 
the manure. It would seem probable that many more of them could 
follow such a system with the present supply of manure. In the 
absence of a good market for canning peas and snap beans, which 
would permit a greater relative concentration on beets because of the 
fertility they leave in the soil, reliance could be placed on edible dry 
beans. This crop leaves a large amount of immediately available 
fertility behind it. It also furnishes a considerable amount of rough- 
age which is highly valued for live stock in bean-growing sections, 
particularly when fed with some good hay. The small farmer's bill 
for hay would be markedly decreased or possibly almost wiped out 
by growing a few acres of beans, and the same amount of manure 
would suffice for a much larger area of beets. At the same time, the 
small amount of extra labor needed for beans comes largely at a 
time when such labor is in relatively small demand. This fact, of 
course, is of more importance to the larger operators, and will appeal 
quite strongly to orchardists who have to pay a heavy bill for extra 
labor every year, extra labor used on crops which in many cases give 
but small net returns. The home market for beans would be quickly 
supplied, but the crop is easily stored or shipped, and is of sufficient 
value for its bulk to warrant a long shipment to market centers. 
When a man is able to rent additional land, or owns a farm which 
approximates the upper limit of those in groups 1 and 2, Table 
