OCR Text |
Show Ll the sugar beet i 2s the best crop the .farmer can raise. 1 ', how it is donI.' " , Morgan "Woodhouse has his say I JR about it. .... M - 1- v rar "What do think of tho beet industry as .sr tCDmpared with the raising of other orops? I think it ink great doal ahead of anything else in the line of farming, more especially upon tho small .forms. I If a man has 10 acrea of good land he j can make a living for his family, where at ias to mako a livelihood by raising grain or most othor farm products ho must ' , -havo a larger farm. There is much , ixnore work in proportion to the land I . vnsedTin raising beets than in the pre -ductton of any other crop. "What kind of land is tho most sui stable? That depends a great deal upon j circumstances. If you have plenty of - water a aandy loam ia the beet. Beets 'raised on this kind of land are usually s. ready to dig when the factory first starts ' 'in the fall, which proves to me that this kind of soil raises the best quality of 'beets. This kind of land has, I think, tbeen proven to produce the best results. 71i you have not plenty of water you will -have better results on clayey land. In ithe dry season, the beets raised on the t rsandy loam of which I apeak, do not ' amount to much. In regard to tho -' ijnatter of raising beets, however, under i :th -present condition of things the '' 'farmer is placed at a great disadvantage. fetrj He.aever knows whothor he is produc- O ing the best results or not, aa all know- Wi Hedge of the results of the analyses of f'-ti -. vhis beets ia kept from him, and he '.? ,"' "knows nothing of the amount of f' '"" -aaccarine matter they may' -contain nor jjVifr'"5' rthe dcorce:of,purity For my part, if! jBk! 'knew my neighbor wits raising Wetter, , T 'beets than I, I would try to learn how to '.improve the quality of my own crop. How would you prepare the land? I :am in favor of fall plowing; plowing as tsoon 'after the beets aro off tho land aB ! possible j Would this bo tho beat on all kinds of A ,, Hand? Yes. I do not think there is - . tany kind of land that fall plowing will 1 , . not help, and inoro especially If it is S '" . 'weedy. I do not think fall plowing is 4 ' " .any benefit if not 'done boforo the f jground becomes wot. If plowed dry . .you can get much better results in tho ( (matter of pulverising tho soil, etc. than 4 "it nlowcd wet. '- "What is your idea of irrigating beeta? My idea is to lot tliein go atflohg in tno ) spring without water as you dare, say until the bottom loaves wilt down and .' ( .tho tops begin to change from a light or S,.'; - yellowiah green to a dark green. After ",' r .the first watering theyy should bo kept . -wot. Iwould not be in favor of going ', 1 -to an extreme, but I would not alkw . . vthem to got dry if I could help it. Tho y .length of timo between waterings should l,i vary according to tho land from 8 to 14 I days. Tho last watering should be about tho last of August or tho first of September. ,: j .., , What dp yorf "think bf-ctoring the " 'beets? That is something I havo never if, ;" .donoany of until tlilfaHll; I'tloob ,' r 'fe . 'think there will be any troublo. about .( keeping thorn, but it will entail an ox- i , ' jponse. I think they can be stored for -about 50c per ton, mtrely'ehough to pay , dor tho extra handling No espeoial "place will br, iii myi opinion, necessary s Jor keeping tiiem. What do you think of alkali lands for beota? Alkali land is all right for boots, -that is if it is not to,q strong wjUiJliq, , mineral, If tlio mini'ral in notf'io strorig .-as to kill grr in it will do'for boetp. The ' iirat crop might not bo of stiillcient V ,,..'' purity to bo accepted by ' tho factory, but after that they would bo all right, .and tho inoro beets you raieo on tiii . . hiaiX of land tho bettor it will get. If I , j,, . I Quad land that would not produce any , i, ,l '' . other crop I would raise beots on it to ( take out the alkali. How would you prepare it? Iwould prepare it the samo aB any other kind of land. By all means plew it in the fall, because you cannot get on it in time in tho spring. Pall plowing enables one to get on this kind of land earlier in the spring and it insures a better stand. What is youridea alioutuVanuring the land? My idea is to put plenty of. manure on it, I manure mine every year with a light coat. Bay from 8 to 10 loads of manure to the aero. When the land is so that it will raise 15 to liO tors to tho acre, it should nol. be inade.richer, thit is'to insure a sure crop, I, mean a crop that will be accepted by tho'Sugar Company. |