Vol. LXI. No 2741 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 9, 1902. 
$1 PER YEAR 
THE LAND OF THE SUGAR BEET. 
Great Changes in Colorado Farming. 
A flat, brown expanse of country stretches along 
the line of the Santa Fe railway in southwestern 
Colorado. Clumps of sagebrush stand out on the 
plains, and the prickly cactus sends up a modest 
growth. Scant herds of cattle graze over the range 
of short Buffalo grass, and the cheap frame ranch 
houses are far apart. No cultivated fields or green 
pastures show to relieve the somber landscape, but 
in the distance a fringe of trees marks the course of 
the Arkansas River, which rising far away in the 
mountains, is supplied through the dry season by the 
melting snows. Quickly the scene 
changes. From the car window we see 
luxuriant fields of Alfalfa, ready for 
cutting, and long ricks of the hay, built 
low and with flat tops, dot the _mead- 
ows; the first and second crops of the 
season have been harvested. Here is a 
10-acre plot of muskmelons and, just 
across the road, a field of low-growing, 
dark-green vegetation which a fellow 
passenger tells us is sugar beets. The 
country becomes more populous, the 
farm homes more attractive, and the 
towns assume a prosperous air. The 
train rushes over a culvert spanning a 
broad, deep canal, a main irrigating 
ditch from which the water supply is 
drawn to change a sterile plain into 
one of the most productive gardens of 
the world. For we are in the land of 
perpetual sunshine—the Valley of the 
Arkansas. To the town of Rocky Ford 
belongs the credit for the introduction 
of Iho two principal crops of the region, 
and it has been nearly 10 years since 
the outside world tasted a Netted Gem 
melon from this place and clamored for 
more. I ast season nearly a thousand 
carloads of this variety were shipped to 
all of the larger cities of the United 
States, every town along the line bene¬ 
fiting by the Rock Ford reputation. It 
is the dry, warm and sunny weather 
and the application of water just when 
needed that contribute to grow these 
melons of finest quality. 
In the Spring of 1900, after a series of 
experiments and growing of trial acre¬ 
ages, the American Beet Sugar Company 
began the erection of a great factory at 
Rocky Ford for the manufacture of 
sugar from beets, the cost of building 
being stated at $1,500,000, and in capac¬ 
ity the second largest factory in the 
world. From 800 to 1.000 tons of beets 
are consumed each 24 hours, resulting 
in a product of 150 tons or more of first- 
grade granulated sugar. The chemical 
processes of manufacture necessitate continuous work, 
and the factory operates day and night, two 12-hour 
“shifts” of men being employed. Fig. 217 shows a 
part of the factory proper, the boiler house, and in the 
foreground the lime house, where the lime rock in 
combination with coke is prepared for the carbonation 
of the beet juice. 
From the middle of March until April 1 the beet 
grower prepares his ground for the reception of the 
seed, and although some planting is done until the 
middle of May, the early-sown seed gives best results. 
The seed, which is imported from Germany, is fur¬ 
nished by the company at 10 cents per pound, and 20 
pounds per acre are usually sown. Some Colorado- 
grown se§d is being used this season, and it is hoped 
will prove satisfactory. The soil in this irrigated dis¬ 
trict is a black sand loam of no considerable depth or 
richness, and although as yet nothing has been done 
to improve the fertility of the soil, the beet company 
insists on a proper rotation of crops, and exercises a 
general supervision over the growing fields. If the 
grower has no drill the company charges 75 cents an 
acre for seeding. The rows are spaced 18 to 20 inches 
apart, and four rows are drilled at a through. In cul¬ 
tivating a single horse is used, the gangs of the plow 
taking two rows at a time. When the beet plants 
have grown to a height of three or four inches the 
A COLORADOlBEETpSUGAR FACTORY. Fig. 217. 
most tedious and expensive work of crop growing is 
at hand—the weeding and thinning of the rows. This 
is sometimes done by day labor, but usually by con¬ 
tract, and costs from $6 to $10 per acre, depending on 
the price of labor and foulness of the field. The ex¬ 
pense of cultivation and irrigating the crop is an 
average additional expense of $8. 
The harvesting is done late in September, and in 
the months of October and November. A four-horse 
team attached to a beet plow loosens the roots from 
the soil, and they are pulled and topped by hand 
labor. When outside help is employed this is usually 
done by Mexicans under a contract price of 60 cents 
per ton. Fig. 218 shows a Mexican family in the beet 
fields. If the beets are not hauled directly to the fac¬ 
tory or cars they are thrown into piles of two or four 
tons, and lightly covered with earth, and in case they 
are held into freezing weather five or six inches of 
earth is heaped over them. For this extra work of 
“siloing” the grower receives 20 cents per ton. The 
yield of beets varies, depending upon the nature and 
fertility of the soil and the skill of the grower. Some 
fields produce 18 tons or more per acre, while an 
average yield is eight to 12 tons. At the receiving 
stations the beets are weighed and a sample lot of 
beets from each load is taken to be sent to the com¬ 
pany’s laboratory for analysis. Payment is made on 
basis of the sugar content, $4 per ton for 
beets showing 15 per cent of sugar or 
under, and one-third of a dollar for each 
additional percentage. Some fields give 
a percentage of 20 to 24 per cent, but the 
average is lower. It may be said that 
the gross returns generally give $50 to 
$80 per acre, with an expense of $28 to 
$35 per acre. 
The factory at Rocky Ford consumes 
the beets from 10,000 acres. “Dumps” 
are built at every station along the line 
of railway for a hundred miles, and the 
roots are shipped to the factory in flat 
cars. A sealed sample sack of beets of 
each lot is sent to the laboratory by the 
station weigher. Other factories in Col¬ 
orado under various managements are 
located at Loveland, Sugar City and 
Grand Junction. A factory at Fort Col¬ 
lins and one at Longmont are contem¬ 
plated for this season. In climates and 
soils suited to the growing of beets this 
industry is capable ^extensive and pro¬ 
fitable development. In California, Colo¬ 
rado, Michigan and Utah especially can 
we expect rapid advancement. 
WALTER A. WITHROW. 
“KNOWING HOW.” 
The Boy Problem. 
Mr. Boardman’s article on page 479 
appealed to me strongly, because, for a 
year or more, I have occasionally acted 
the part of farm boy, and I have felt 
keenly the want of knowing how to do 
things. There is a difference In boys, 
and a difference in the men they work 
with. Once in a while there is a boy 
who has the “gumption” to think out 
for himself the best way to do a thing, 
but more often he lacks this quality, 
and if he has not a wise instructor he 
is likely to go through life handicapped, 
making extra work for himself and oth¬ 
ers, and doing things always wrong end 
to. Often men who have it in their power 
to help a boy are exasperating and unreasonable. They 
are perhaps impatient, and scold the boy for his awk¬ 
wardness, expecting him to know by instinct just how 
a thing should be done. A neighbor helped on our 
haying one day this year. I “stowed” the loads and 
“mowed away.” I was anxious to have him give me 
points, and I told him I did not know how to do the 
work very well. He did not give me a word of ad¬ 
vice, but wlien the work was done he criticised it 
rather ill-naturedly. Then there is the man who 
laughs at you and ridicules your work, but will not 
give you a bit of information as to the way you should 
do it Very rarely there is a man who has the talent 
