DESCRIPTION OF THE GROWING OF SUGAR BEETS AND OF THE 
MANUFACTURE OF BEET SUGAR 
The sugar beet is one of the most important of the sugar-producing 
plants. Although many plants store up starch in the seed which, 
during the period of germination, is converted into sugars, only sugar 
cane, sorghum, sugar beet, and sugar maple are commercially of im- 
portance in sugar production. The term “sugar” technically includes 
a number of carbohydrates having the general formula C. (H,0),. 
Household sugar, sucrose, may be either cane or beet sugar, and 1s 
designated by the formula (C,;H,0). The sugar beet, second in 
importance to sugar cane in sugar. production, is one of the varieties 
of Beta vulgaris which is grown for the beet root, the raw material 
used in the production of beet sugar. The roots are medium in size 
as compared with other root crops and are nearly always whitish in 
color. 
The sugar beet is one of the most intensively cultivated of the Ameri- 
ran field crops, requiring much more than the average amount of 
labor to the acre. On the sugar-beet farms in this country the crop 
is usually one of several on the same farm. In the older agricultural 
regions where beets are grown, it has an important place in the 
rotation system. In the newer sections, however, less attention is 
ziven to the rotation of crops and oftentimes beets are planted on 
the same ground for a number of years. Though grown under a 
wide variety of soil and climatic conditions, the crop thrives best 
in regions where the soil is rich, the temperature moderate, and the 
moisture adequate, either in the form of precipitation or irrigation. 
Sugar beet seed is produced the second season, the root being grown 
the first year and planted out the following spring for seed oo 
The production of sugar-beet seed is adapted to European methods of 
gg and practically all of the seed used in this country comes 
fm the large beet-seed companies in Europe. Imports of sugar- 
beet seed, mostly from Germany and Denmark, amounted, in 1926 
to 10,790,000 pounds, with a value of over $1,000,000. 
In so far as physical conditions are concerned, it is quite possible 
to produce good sugar-beet seed in the United States. In fact, 
during the World War, when it was impossible to obtain an adequate 
supply of imported seed; a considerable amount was produced here, 
but since the war most of it has again been imported. 
A good seed bed is the first essential to a successful sugar-beet crop, 
and consequently the farmers take great care in the preparation for 
planting. The available manure is usually spread on the beet land, 
which is then worked down to a fine, smooth seed bed by disking, 
harrowing, leveling, dragging, and rolling. The farm practice in 
sugar-beet culture on the farms studied is shown in Tables 58-63. 
Detailed information is given there concerning the kinds of operations. 
In Michigan and in the Rocky Mountain sections the beet seed is 
planted in April and May, and in California in February and March. 
The seed is drilled in rows 16 to 24 inches apart. 
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