GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN CALIFORNIA. 7 
Table IV. — The annual average rainfall by months for three sugar-beet districts 
in California. 
Los Angeles. 
1877-1909. 
Elevation 
293 ft. 
Oxnard. 
1892-1912. 
Elevation 
150 ft. 
Salinas. 
1873-1912. 
Elevation 
40 ft. 
3.03 
3.00 
3.05 
1.02 
0.48 
0.08 
0.01 
0.03 
0.10 
0.75 
1.33 
2.85 
3.96 
2.44 
3.09 
0.44 
0.43 
Ti 
0.01 
Ti 
0.48 
0.79 
1.03 
2.08 
3.02 
2.21 
March 
2.50 
1.18 
0.49 
0.13 
July 
Ti 
0.01 
September 
0.19 
October 
0.68 
November 
1.33 
2.32 
Total 
15.73 
14.75 
14.06 
Total: 
1915 
16.67 
23.29 
19.38 
28.01 
18.24 
1916. ... 
18.81 
1 A trace of moisture only. 
In the Los Angeles area the normal monthly temperature ranges 
from 53° to 70°, at Oxnard from 52° to 64°, and at Salinas from 
47° to 62°. Generally speaking, no irrigation is practiced at Oxnard ; 
at Salinas it is frequently advisable to irrigate the land before it is 
plowed for beets (see fig. 4), and at Los Angeles it is often necessary 
to irrigate at least once during the growing season. The prevalence 
of fogs during the dry season plays an important part in the con- 
servation of moisture. In all areas the average temperature during 
the growing season approaches 70°, the temperature recognized as 
being necessary for sugar-beet production. 
SOIL. 
Several soil types are found in the three areas studied. A brief 
reference to these types will undoubtedly assist the reader in his 
interpretation of the cultural methods which are described in this 
bulletin. The amount of work that may be required in the prepara- 
tion of a good seed bed is governed to a certain extent by the char- 
acter of the soil. Very heavy land must be cultivated at the proper 
time if the minimum labor requirement is to be attained. 1 
Most of the records in the Los Angeles district were taken on two 
types of soil, Fresno fine sandy loam and Fresno sand. By far the 
1 In 1901 the Bureau of Soils, United States Department of Agriculture, made a survey 
of the Salinas Valley and the Ventura area, the latter including the Oxnard district. In 
1903 the Los Angeles area was surveyed, so that all three areas have been mapped hy the 
Bureau of Soils. (Soil Survey of the Los Angeles Area, California, by Louis Mesmer, 
1903. Soil Survey of the Ventura Area, California, by J. Garnett Holmes and Louis 
Mesmer, 1901. Soil Survey of the "Lower Salinas Valley, California, by Macy H. Lapham 
and W. H. Heileman, 1901.) 
