THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 53 
beet roots when delivered and the other is the part of the crown that 
is sometimes left on the beet when the beet is topped. Tare is 
obtained by taking a sample from a load of beets and weighing it 
carefully. The dirt is then removed from this sample, usually by 
means of a stiff brush, and the beets, if not properly topped, are 
correctly topped and the cleaned topped roots again weighed. The 
difference between the original weight of the sample and the clean, 
properly topped beets is the tare. This is usually reduced to a per- 
centage, and the entire load is tared on the basis, of the sample tared. 
Most sugar-beet tare houses are provided with scales that give a 
direct reading of the percentage of tare for each sample as it is 
weighed. 
AREA COMPETITION. 
The competition between adjacent beet areas may or may not be 
of advantage to the beet-sugar industry, as a whole, and consequently 
may or may not be beneficial to beet growers residing within those 
areas. If the acreage in a given area is sufficient to support two 
mills, for example, the competition in securing acreage for each of 
these mills may, if properly handled, stimulate the development of 
the industry in that area. If, on the other hand, a sugar mill is 
established in a given area having a limited sugar-beet acreage, due 
regard being had for proper crop rotation, and a second mill is built 
in the same area the results may be disastrous to both of the mills 
and may result in retarding or preventing the development of the 
beet-sugar industry in that locality. 
In all lines of business, competition is desirable under certain con- 
ditions, but in the beet-sugar industry a certain acreage of beets is 
necessary in order to enable a sugar mill to operate on a profitable 
basis. If a competing mill draws upon the beet acreage in a given 
locality to such an extent that the raw material is not sufficient to 
provide a satisfactory and profitable run for either of the mills, one 
or both of them must necessarily suspend operations. This result 
must lead to disappointment and financial loss on the part of those 
who have invested in the mills, and it deprives the growers of the 
benefits of sugar-beet production, inasmuch as the closing of the 
mills must necessarily leave the growers without a market for their 
product. 
Sugar-beet producing areas may sometimes be extended by bring- 
ing in lands not previously under cultivation, by the development or 
extension of suitable means of irrigation, or by instituting or extend- 
ing a suitable drainage system which will reclaim lands not now 
under cultivation. In this manner areas that are now capable of 
supplying but one mill with raw material may eventually be made 
to supply two or more mills. In all cases the necessary acreage for 
the maintenance of a mill should be in sight, without injury to exist- 
ing mills or to local growers, before any money is expended in the 
