SUGAR BEETS IN COLORADO IN 1898. 
By W. W. COOKE. 
\ 
For several years the Station has been carrying on experiments 
in Colorado on the adaptation of the sugar beet to the conditions of 
soil and climate found here. During 1898 these tests were con¬ 
ducted on a larger scale than ever before. It can be said in general 
that the results of the season of 1898 are so conclusive, that we may 
feel justified in saying that Colorado can raise as good sugar beets 
and as large crops of beets as any place in the world. We purpose 
now to consider this point as settled, and future experimental work 
with sugar beets will be directed toward some of the minor points of 
methods of irrigation, times and distances of planting, etc. 
The work of 1898 was distinguished from that of previous 
years in that it was done largely in connection with the Denver Cham¬ 
ber of Commerce, and cash prizes were offered for the bestcropsof sugar 
beets, thus affording an incentive to better care of the crop. It is 
believed that the inducement thus offered was a powerful factor in 
the good results obtained, yet the value of the prizes was as nothing 
compared with the value of the crop if raised for a factory. So that 
it is a fair presumption that what was done under the stimulation 
of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, prizes would be the common 
result under factory conditions. 
The work of the season of 1898 may be grouped under four 
headings: 
1. The experiments conducted on the College Farm at Fort 
Collins and on the sub-station at Rocky Ford, with reference to> 
methods of growing sugar beets. 
2. Experiments conducted at these two places and at about 
twenty other places in the State, with reference to the quantity and 
quality of sugar beets grown from seed raised in the United States 
as compared with seed grown in Europe. 
3. Competitive tests for the prizes offered by the Denver Cham¬ 
ber of Commerce in connection with the County Commissioners of 
various counties. 
4. General tests in the parts of the State above irrigation or in 
those irrigated sections that did not take interest enough in the 
matter to co operate in the matter of prizes. 
