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Show SUGAR BEETS SUGAR BEET AS A ROTATOR. The following is from a bulletin recently re-cently issued by Mr. R. L. Adams, chief in charge of the sugar factory experiment station at Sprcckcls, Cal.: When a farmer smiles a "you-can't-stuflf-mc" smile when the suggestion is mode that he raise sugar beets not only to help out his income but to prolong the life of his farm, one often wonders how this farmer accounts fot so many European countries producing produc-ing their own sugar at a cost greater than to import it. Probably he doesn't try to account for it. But the fact remains that Europe learned long ago that even with her cheapest help she couldn't compete with the peon labor of the tropical countries. Holland Hol-land owns the Island of Java, but she buys almost no sugar there, notwithstanding notwith-standing that it produces 1,000,000 tons. France gives only the slightest reduction to colonial sugars. But Europe didn't -give up making it because be-cause she could buy it cheaper. Duty put on imported sugar to protect the home trade not to insure an income to the few men directly connected with the industry, but because of the great good done to the land a bene fit which covers a long period of time. This means a slight increase in cost to the consumer of the sugar, but lessens les-sens hiscxpenditurcs very materially on other products. By protecting her sugar industries Europe has given opportunity for the investing of $500,000,000 an amount which returns to the people $400,000,-000 $400,000,-000 annually, a sum which would otherwise oth-erwise be paid out to foreign countries. coun-tries. In addition to this $150,000,000 is derived from the surplus which is exported. But the principal reason for encouraging en-couraging the home raising of the sugar beet is as a crop rotator. -Used in this way it has reclaimed much worthless land and made good land much more valuable for crop producing produc-ing purposes. This argument has often of-ten been advanced, but most everyone seems to think it untenable. However, How-ever, in Germany, wheat, barley, rye, potatoes and peas were grown on land just following beets and the yields per acre were increased in the following follow-ing percentage: Wheat, 24 per cent; barley, 25 per cent; rye, 15 per cent; potatoes 102 per ct., peas 86 per ct The item of potatoes is a very suggestive sug-gestive one and indicates the future possibilities of the Salinas Valley. Land constantly grown to one crop soon deteriorates. If Blanco, Chualar and all sections primarily interested in potato raising would rest their land by a two-years' rotation with the sug- K ar beet the next few crops, after a re- turn to potatoes would be astonishing. There is nothing supernatural about I this. Thorough cultivation of the land I affects not only the growing crop but those the following year or two. To grow beets the land is plowed deep I and careful, and thorough cultivation is given during the growing season. The plowing is deeper than ordinary by five to ten inclvcs and just so much more land becomes available for future fu-ture plants, as most crops can derive moisture and nutriment only to the depth of plowing. Repeated plowings to one depth leaves n. hard-pan through which it is almost impossible for roots to penetrate. This is broken up by the plowing for the beets. In the case of the sugar beet num crous small fibrous roots will penetrate pene-trate many feet down and to the sides, breaking a way through hard, I resistant soils. When the beets arc dug these roots arc broken off and by rapidly decay-ing decay-ing replace humus to the soil, and the humus is the life of the land. In the i same way the tops also contribute I humus. H The holes made by the tiny root- Jr. lets arc left and the roots of future W. crops' will follow these paths, thus ft reaching increased stores of available m food. So there is nothing miraculous 1 or difficult to understand in regard 1 to the way the beet improves the soil. K Qnc more reason, of a more general E nature, showing the value of the sug- 1 ar beet is in remote sections partial- H larly arid regions where long hauls and heavy freight rates prohibit the H shipping of low-priced, bulky com- jK modities. Here the 'bulky beets can 8 he turned into sugar and the $5 per M ton is turned into $100 and shipped to a market consuming hundreds of K thousands of tons of sugar and cap- M able of handling a vast amount more. B Verily, the United States can and M should be her own Sugar Bowl. W |