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Show Prije Essay on the Sugar Meet : U Hi ? (By Miss Letttt'Jtom). :,.,; Y;,;' After ihq-;faH'of the Roman empire the barbarian's carried back to Bohemia Bo-hemia a scrubby r little foci."' The botanical bo-tanical name of this plant growing wild in southern Europe is beta vulgaris. vul-garis. It was naturally an annual plant, but when carried north it became be-came a biennial. This change caused sugar to e stored In the root. In 170o Oliver De Serre found sugar In this plant. Fifty years later, Marg-graf Marg-graf extracted the first sugar, and one of his nuplls constructed the first factory. fac-tory. During the Napoleonic wars vhen the British deprived France of ! sugar aud the price had rlso?i to one dollar per pound, Napoleon appropriated appropri-ated $200,000 towards the sugar Industry, In-dustry, and I" 1810 sugar was produced produc-ed at thirty cents per pound. A few men tried to Introduce sugar culture Into tho United States In 1S35, but failed. Dr McMnrtrle was sent to Paris In 1878 to Investigate the sugar beet Industry. He made a very elaborate elab-orate report which resulted In a considerable con-siderable sum being invested In the New England states and Delaware. Two or three factories wore built, but failed solely from the agricultural side. At the same time there was a factory of eighty tons capacity built In California; beet culture was successful suc-cessful and the new Industry thrived. By 1890 it had passed the "experimental "experimen-tal stage. k Its ditTlCT)Ities iwill diminish aud .the less Its advice will be needed. One thing that- is Impressive is the -won-derful influence beet culture is having on that class of farmers, tenants and laborers who may be properly termed beet growers. It is generally improving improv-ing the productiveness of the soil and the features of greatest importance la the tendency to methodical production produc-tion of all crops. A sugar factory not only Intensifies the farmlu, but makes the land support a larger population. pop-ulation. In sugar beet districts the number of Inhabitants deriving their living from farming is Increased many 'times, The factory becomes tho nucleus of settlement The growth of the community leads to tho Indus-1 trial prosperity and general advancement. advance-ment. At the time the American Beet Sugar company built the factory at Rocky Ford, the yearly returns of the railroad were $'.i7.000; two years later they were $L'Oo,(ioO. The population popu-lation of ihe town hus increased sixty six-ty per cent, or 1,000 people The labor problem is one of the most difficult In general agriculture. The development of the factories aud mines and tho demands of commerce have tended to attract labor away from the farm by offering higher wages and better opportunities. The sugar factory, unlike other factories, does not need the advantages nor the Ou accou.it of the enlarged tap root, the sugar beet can be raised in the driest parts of the country. This gives an adiuntage to the western farmers. The crop being valuable, repays re-pays for careful cultivation. The land must be plowed deeper than for other crops. Grain crops absorb substance from the surface of tho ground, while beets send roots as deep as four-feet four-feet Into the soil. The small roots are left and help to fertilize the land. Sugar Su-gar becte are usually considered Injurious In-jurious to the ground, but every botanist bot-anist knows tbat sugar is made in the leaves from wator and carbon dioxide gas. reautring no nourishment from the soli whatever. Tt uses the lower part of the root for a store house. If the tops, pulp and molasses were returned to the la id, the soil would Increase In fertility. The law of Germany requires this to be done. Some of her farmers have raised beets on the some ground for twenty years In succession and the soil Is now more fertile tnan when the first crop was planted Germnny exports over a million tons of sugar annually. Every ounce of this was made from water, air and sunlight. We export tons of Indian corn and wheal and with It almost os many tons of fertilized fer-tilized elements. If any ordinary crop is grown for several years in succession on a piece of ground, the land will become valueless. When a crop of beets is raised and harvested. It leaves the RTOund in excellent condition con-dition for any other crops that farmers farm-ers wish to grow next year. When a factory comes Into a district. dis-trict. It assumes the responsibility of agi (cultural prosuerity. Unless the factory receives a sufficient amount of beets of the required quality, it caa-noi caa-noi succeed. This forces the factory to take an active part in the production produc-tion of beets. In looklnc to the future fu-ture of their own welfare they Insist In-sist on the general advancement of sclentille agriculture. The Inexperienced Inexper-ienced giowers are not left to their own resources in producing this new crop. The contracts with the farmers farm-ers makes it Incumbent on them to produce leets In accordance with certain cer-tain stipulations, under the direction of a representative of the factory. The men chosen are experienced agriculturists ag-riculturists They have corps of assistants as-sistants constajtly moving about among the beet growers, seeing that thoy use the easiest and most approved ap-proved methods for producing tho best beets. The factory's superintendent of agriculture Is In constant touch with the beet growers, advising them with conditions of a largo city, but may be located where its material Is produced. pro-duced. Many of these factories are built in small country villages, but still the management must deal with labor problems. The first difficulty when a farmer 6tarts to grow beets Is that there will be a shortage of laborers la-borers for this intensive culture and the factory is compelled to make arrangements ar-rangements to counteract this. The effect Is that employment Is given to men and boys that otherwise would have been Idle In some congested city. The management, transports these sometimes In train loads to the fresh, invigorating air of the cou-itry. The wort is greatly varied, employing men of different grades from the farm-re's farm-re's son to the unskilled Jap. In old communiiles. the farm hand usually becomes the skilled factory laborer during the winter months. Thus the Industry gives employment practically the year around the crowded season fitting nicely with other agricultural work. Fifteen years ago there were no beets grown lu Ihe Arkansas Valley. Cattle raising was the only industry. The fanners sold their hay to the stockmen, but did not raise enough other produce to supply the home markets. mar-kets. The value of the land at that time was ten dollars per acre. Since the introduction of beet culture, it has risen to seventy-five to ono hundred hun-dred and fifty dollars per acre. Tho local railroad revenues have Increased many hurdred per cent. The population popula-tion hus increased greatlv. The community com-munity has grown, railroads have been bull!, and free mail delivery has been established. The farming has mostly changed from the old extravagant extrava-gant way to the most scientific methods. meth-ods. The pulp, one of the by-products of beets, has made stock feeding a very good business There lu no place on earth where the beet Industry Indus-try has advanced a community so greatly as in this valley. There are about a million acres In the Arkansas volley suitable for raising sugar beets. If is the best for their culture because of the bright sunshine anil the excellent excel-lent system of irrigation. There are six factories in this valley at present If properly cultivated, sulliclen beets could be produced to supply fifty factories fac-tories of a thousand tons capacity. Fifty factories would increase the population pop-ulation and the value of land eight limes as many as six did. The advancement ad-vancement of the Koneral social and industrial prosperity In this community commun-ity is due to the systematic culture of sugar beets. reference to all the details of preparing prepar-ing the land, cultivating the plants, aud harvesting the crop. While their instruction is given with reference to beet culture, they are constantly advising ad-vising as to the production of all crops. The advisers representing the sugar factory fully uuderstand that a plant cosilng hundreds of thousands Is no temporary affair. They appreciate appreci-ate the fact that the br-et plant will be cultivated more than one year. While thev are striving to bring the best results from a crop ot bets planted each year, they are also en-deavoiing en-deavoiing to best prepare the land od the farming community to serve the lulerests which they represent for a long period of time. They kaow whether or not a tract of land should grow beets more thau one year. They know It should go Into other crops In a cycle or rotation, eventually to produce pro-duce beets again. They look forward to the cultivation of additional land each year, and for this reason they must advise Ii regards to drainage, rotation, fertilization, the selection of the beet seed, and everything that has to do with the success of every crop and the progress of the entire community. The factory knows that It must improve the methods of the agricultural community. It appreciates appreci-ates the fact that the longer the factory fac-tory has been established, the more |