THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IX 1920. 9 
pan. If the hardpan is level it may hold too much moisture in the 
surface soil, thereby rendering the conditions unfavorable for sugar- 
beet production without artificial drainage. If the hardpan is sev- 
eral feet below the surface and has slope sufficient to carry off the 
excess water, no unfavorable condition will result from it. 
Porous soil. — The reverse of the preceding condition is sometimes 
found in sugar-beet sections in which the subsoil is of such a nature 
and of such a depth that it is very difficult to keep the soil supplied 
with moisture during the growing season. Kain or irrigation water 
passes rapidly through porous subsoils, and is soon out of reach 
of the growing plant. If the porous subsoil is very deep and ex- 
tremely porous the ground is unsuited for sugar-beet culture. Fre- 
quently this condition can be relieved somewhat by proper cultiva- 
tion and by supplying the surface soil with sufficient humus to en- 
able it to retain enough moisture to produce a fair crop. A heavy 
crop of beets can not be expected on a thin surface soil underlain by 
an extremely porous subsoil. 
TOPOGRAPHY. 
The unfavorable topography of an area is frequently the limiting 
factor in the production of sugar beets. Mountainous areas can not 
be utilized for the development of the beet-sugar industry unless 
the valleys are sufficiently large to support a mill or are favorably 
located with reference to an existing mill and are composed of 
sufficient fertile, tillable soil so that beets of proper quality and in 
sufficient quantity can be produced at a reasonable cost. Many small 
valleys, especially in the western United States, might be utilized in 
the growing of sugar beets were it not for the fact that they are 
too small to support a sugar mill and too far from existing mills to 
permit the beet roots to be transported at a sufficiently low cost. 
This problem may be solved by utilizing some practical means of 
drying the beet roots. It is possible to slice and dry the roots, 
thereby reducing the weight of the beets by about 75 per cent without 
changing the quality or lessening the quantity of sugar present. If 
this can be done with sufficient rapidity and at a sufficiently low cost 
it will be possible to handle to advantage the product of many small 
valleys and other limited areas. A sugar mill should be able to 
handle not less than 500 tons of beet roots per day of 24 hours, and 
it can not be financially successful under normal conditions unless 
it is supplied with a sufficient quantity of raw material to produce 
a run of approximately 100 days each year. It is desirable that a 
considerable part of the supply be within wagon haul of the mill. 
Any factor which reduces the working capacity or the operating time 
of a sugar mill increases the cost of production of the sugar. The 
