802 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 11 
5% cents per 100 pounds of roots, which amounts to 
about 50 cents per 100 pounds of sugar. This farm 
was devoted largely to the production of sugar-beets, 
the other principal crops being potatoes, wheat, 
barley and Alfalfa. Under the conditions thus out¬ 
lined, I was informed, there was very little, if any, 
chance for profit. The conditions of this farm were, 
to a greater extent than is usual, even in Germany, 
favorable to success, and in order to help the agri¬ 
cultural classes, as you are well aware, the German 
government pays a bounty on all sugar exported. 
We have on this farm the land and taxes higher 
than in New York; but on the other hand, we have 
the fertilizers, the labor, and the fuel cheaper, and a 
more favorable climate. American farmers, in the 
older States, at least, will find it impossible to com¬ 
pete with Germany and other European countries in 
which the conditions are similar to those existing- in 
Germany, on equal terms. Under our political sys¬ 
tem, the length of time during which tariffs and 
bounties will continue to be paid is always uncertain. 
This introduces a great element of risk, which would 
cause me to hesitate, were I a capitalist, before em¬ 
barking in the beet-sugar industry. 
I am convinced that beet-sugar manufacturers can¬ 
not afford to pay for the roots prices which would 
m*ke their production profitable in Massachusetts, 
with our intense summer heat and occasional droughts. 
The crop here is often light, so light that the return 
per acre would be small, while the labor cost of pro¬ 
ducing the crop is always high. There are other 
crops which can be produced here which can safely 
be depended upon, almost invariably, to afford a 
larger profit. I would suppose that the conditions 
existing in New York must be somewhat similar, 
although some of your farmers do not have so good 
markets for hay, dairy products, vegetables, and 
fruits as are within reach of most of ours. In the 
West, land and taxes are cheaper, the soil has greater 
natural fertility, while the prices obtained for their 
produce are low. I should, therefore, suppose that it 
would be unwise for New York to attempt competing 
with the West in the production of sugar from the 
beet. wm p. BROOKS. 
Massachusetts Experiment Station. 
Prof. Roberts Believes in Western New York. 
I have studied this question most carefully, and have 
been saying for years that it was a suicidal policy for 
us to send all the wheat and flour we could spare 
from the entire country, and $35,000,000 of gold to 
foreign countries to pay our sugar bill. There should 
be some way out of this. As I look over the map of 
the United States, and as I bring to mind the products 
grown in the various districts, I am fully persuaded 
that much of western New York is well adapted to 
the growth of the sugar beet; in fact, our investiga¬ 
tions this year indicate that we have the best sugar- 
beet district in the United States, and that it is only 
a matter of time when this district will be developed. 
I wish you would make a list of the products grown 
in western New York and see if everything outside of 
the tropics or semi-tropics cannot be grown in the 
Empire State with the greatest success. Or in other 
words, the possibilities of the district I have men¬ 
tioned are beyond those of any other district which I 
have ever visited. If we can grow grapes till we glut 
the markets, of a quality above 
the average in saccharine mat¬ 
ter, why should we not grow 
beets equally sweet ? If we can 
grow mangels, 40 to 60 tons per 
acre, may we not grow sugar 
beets which yield from 13 to 15 
tons per acre ? If our mangels 
analyze from seven to eight per 
cent of sugar, I conclude that 
we may grow sugar beets that 
will analyze from 13 to 18 per 
cent. 
Two things will be necessary 
to make the production of sugar 
from sugar beets profitable and 
successful. The farmer must 
take hold of the problem with 
earnestness, and must cooperate 
in every possible way with the 
capitalist. True, he must learn better and more 
painstaking methods, but this will come with the 
years. I have before me a table which gives the 
average per cent of sugar, the average per cent of 
purity, and the average yield per acre of several hun¬ 
dred plots of beets grown in New York State this 
year. All of these averages are far above those 
secured in California, Utah, Nebraska and Wisconsin, 
and I think that they are above the averages of Wash¬ 
ington. This leads me again to conclude that the 
garden of the United States, the place of all other 
places for raising sugar beets, is in central and west¬ 
ern New \ ork. I can come to no other conclusion. 
The next thing to consider is, Has the present year 
been an unusual one ? An inspection of the tables 
kept by our Weather Bureau shows that there was a 
slight deficiency of sunshine in June and July, and a 
slight excess in August and September ; but this de¬ 
ficiency and excess were so slight as to play no im¬ 
portant part in the yield or quality of the sugar beet. 
I may conclude, then, that, in the future as in the 
past, we shall have seasons which approximate very 
closely to the one just passed. We may, also, con¬ 
clude that, when we learn how to raise sugar beets, 
how to fertilize them, and what variety gives the best 
results, we shall be able to raise beets which contain 
LAUREL-LEAF WILLOW. Fig. 338. 
See Ruralisms, Page 806. 
a higher per cent of sugar, and of greater purity, than 
at present. So I am forced to the conclusion, drawn 
from facts, that it is wise for us to establish, as soon 
as possible, many sugar-beet factories in the district 
which I have roughly outlined. 
I believe that an acre of beets can be well grown for 
from $30 to $35 per acre, that the yield will vary, 
under ordinarily good conditions, from 13 to 15 tons 
per acre, and if these can be sold for from $4 to $5 per 
ton, I see in it a profit to the farmer for his expendi¬ 
ture of about 100 per cent. True, there will be some 
farmers who will get 20 to 25 tons per acre, there will 
be others who will raise the beets for $15 or less per 
acre, and there will be others who will get but 8 or 
10 tons per acre, and the cost of production may be 
greater than the amount that can be realized from 
the beets. It will be a weeding-out process, and the 
fittest will survive. The contracts at Batavia were 
for one year, with a minimum price of $4 per ton. If 
now we compare the results as outlined with the re¬ 
sults reached in raising wheat and other cereals, in 
the growing of potatoes, or in the production of milk, 
it is seen that sugar-beet growing offers greater in¬ 
ducements at the present time than any other branch 
of agriculture. 
Cornell Experiment Station. 
R. N.-Y.—We are informed that the Batavia sugar 
factory will, undoubtedly, be started, since nearly all 
of the 3,000 acres desired have been contracted for. 
It seems to us that Prof. Roberts is quite enthusiastic 
in seeing a profit of 100 per cent. One thing is un¬ 
doubtedly true—if New York State be first in the 
field with well-equipped sugar factories, her farmers 
will have a decided advantage. Possession of the 
markets will prove a good many points of the law. 
Prof. Roberts’s praise of western New York is merited. 
THE JERSEY COW AND HER BROTHERS. 
The pictures on our first page, from photographs 
taken by Vernon Royle, tell a story of farm life 
among the mountains of northern New Jersey. 
Farm operations there are small, and all members 
of the family are expected to contribute a share of 
their labor. A glimpse of the rock-bound pastures 
and the clear, cool spring, is shown in one picture. 
The Jersey cow is watering her milk in the best pos¬ 
sible way. There are few disease germs or bacteria 
in this pure, sparkling water. It would be an ideal 
location for a dairy if there were cleared land enough 
to grow corn for ensilage. Here and there in the val¬ 
leys a stretch of land suitable for a meadow or a long 
furrow is found. 
The picture shows how two little brothers of Mrs. 
Jersey are used to pay for their board while they are 
growing into beef. One thing about the Jersey cow, 
the Black Minorca pullet, and most other specialized 
females is, that they must be good enough to half¬ 
support their brothers besides paying a profit on their 
own food. The dairy steer is usually an insignificant 
little fellow—hardly large enough to provide a good- 
sized roast of beef. The Black Minorca cockerel 
gets a black eye, in value, whenever his black legs ap¬ 
pear in the market. The cow and the hen are called 
upon to do more than their share in order to provide 
a living for their male relatives. It is greatly to their 
credit that they rise to the occasion and do their duty 
just as thousands of their human sisters have done 
since civilization began. 
The farmer, shown in the picture, does not purpose 
to keep any drones around his hive. The Jersey 
steers are expected to work for their board. If there 
is anything in theory, this honest labor will make 
better and “ stronger ” beef than idleness in a rich 
pasture could ever produce. Only on such hills, how¬ 
ever, could Jersey oxen be made profitable. Far 
better veal the Jersey bull in infancy than reveal his 
uselessness as a three-year-old steer. One thing about 
these mountain-bred Jerseys is remarkable, and that 
is their ability to climb steep hills and clamber over 
rocks. A cow bred and reared on rich, level pasture 
land would drop in discouragement at the daily task 
of a mountain Jersey. “ They seem to have grown 
claws on their feet.” Western readers with thousands 
of beef cattle and hundreds of level acres under cul¬ 
tivation may consider this mountain farming very 
small business. Well, this is a wide country. We 
cannot all farm alike. Our friend may use his Jersey 
steers to pull together a happy home. What more 
have you done ? What more can any one do ? 
AN ELECTRIC MOTOR WITHOUT TRACKS. 
Ever since electricity came to be used for carrying 
passengers and freight, scientific men have talked 
about the possibilities of this force on country roads. 
Up to date, most of the trolley lines are serviceable 
chiefly for town and city people ; but efforts are now 
being made to extend the service back into the 
country, so that this power may be used on country 
roads without steel tracks. The Scientific American 
recently illustrated a device which has been used in 
Nevada with some success. Fig. 340 shows the man¬ 
ner in which the electric power is applied. Poles are 
set along the road at intervals of 125 feet, and two 
wires are strung on them, the 
running wheels being arranged 
so that they cannot run off the 
wire. What are known as “lazy 
tongs ” hold the two sets of 
wheels in such a position that 
they adjust themselves to the 
distance between the wires. At 
each pole, are two supports or 
“pass-bys” which enable wagons 
going in opposite directions to 
pass, on much the same prin¬ 
ciple that trolley switches are 
used in passing on a single track. 
In this case, however, only the 
wheels on the wires leave the 
main track. The current is sup¬ 
plied to the wagon from the wires 
by cable, which runs on an auto¬ 
matic reel set on the wagon. This 
reel allows the cable to run out 200 feet if necessary, 
or will wind up to a short length. In this way, the 
wagon can run from one side of the road to the other 
and turn completely around or dodge out of the way 
of any passing vehicle. Our picture shows the way 
in which the wagon is constructed. It is said that, 
on a trial trip, a speed of 15 miles an hour was reached 
with a load of 2,500 pounds. It will be noticed that 
the apparatus for steering or controlling the current, 
and for winding up the reel, is all within easy reach 
of the driver. A system of this sort ought to become 
useful with certain modifications. It will be most 
useful in localities where there is a good waterfall, 
CUMBERLAND BLACKCAP COMPARED WITH MEDIUM-SIZED BLACKBERRY. Fig. 339. 
