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About Estacada progress. (Estacada, Or.) 1908-1916 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1915)
SUGAR BEETS FOR WESTERN OREGON Advantages and Obstacles Considered by Expert Agronomist MADE - IN - OREGON SUGAR S u g a r B eets Good Money Crop, F it in Rotation, Im prove soil Conditions and Keep Money a t Home. Some of the principal advantages, difficulties and conditions of sugar- beet grow ing in W estern Oregon are explained fo r the benefit of Oregon a g ric u ltu ra l and consum ing in te rests, by G. R. Hyslop, associate professor of soils and crops a t the A gricultural College, som ew hat as follow s: One of the chief advantages of es tablishing a successful su g a r beet in d u stry in Oregon is th a t the use of a n o th er m ade - in - O regon product would be achieved. S u g a r is an a r ticle th a t is used by everyone and not produced in the sta te . On the basis of the per c ap ita consum ption of 82 pounds annually by O regonians the to ta l yearly consum ption is 55,166,750 pounds, fo r which money is sent out of Oregon. K eeping th is money a t home would be a big a d v an tag e to the e n tire s ta te as well as to the locality in which fa cto rie s w ere located. This fund would be re d is trib u te d am ong fa rm e rs and o ther producers and again used in the various in d u stries and professions. A nother a d v an tag e of su g a r beet production would be the addition of a n o th er cultivated crop fo r W estern O regon fa rm s, which need an in te r tillag e crop w hen long farm ed to g ra in , as m any have been. Success ful su g a r beet cu ltu re m eans tillag e and th a t th e crops m u st be ro ta te d because su g a r beets grow n alone rapidly decline in yield, while on the o th er hand, various crops grow n in ro tatio n w ith su g a r beets, a re usually g re a tly benefited by th e careful cul tu re w hich m u st be given a p aying crop of beets. The fa c t th a t the land is carefully hoed and cultivated th ro u g h o u t the sum m er, th a t it is occupied by a very deep rooted plant, and th a t the soil is deeply stirre d in the fall in h a rv estin g the beets m akes th e crop a p a rtic u la rly desirable one to include in a rotation. S u g a r beets fit into ro tatio n s very well. S ystem s m ay be used, usually consisting of su g a r b eets one year, followed by a fall-sow n cereal, such a s w heat, oats, or barley on which clover is seeded in F e b ru a ry . The clover m ay be le ft one or, in some cases, tw o years and then plowed up and the field again p u t into su g a r beets. We need, in the W illam ette Valley, cultivated crops fo r our ro tatio n s; y et th ere are b u t few c u lti vated crops th a t can be grow n on an extensive basis th a t will yield cash and give desirable results. We have a few crops which are ord in arily cul tivated and these include corn, kale, m angels and potatoes. T here is only a lim iteil use fo r each o f these pro ducts, w ith the possible exception of the potatos. It is, therefo re, desirable to introduce some deep root crop ca pable of im proving the physical con dition of the soil and a t the sam e tim e giving a valuable cash re tu rn . A bout the best crop th a t p resen ts itself u n der these circum stances is the su g a r beet. As a plant, it is adapted to ra th e r w arm , sunny sections th a t a re well supplied w ith m oisture. It h a s long been known th a t the success of su g a r beet culture depends to a considerable extent upon the sunlight of the local ity and it is th ere fo re usually a good plan to grow su g a r beets in sections w here th ere is a la rg e am ount of sum m er sunshine. It is tru e th a t considerable am ounts of nitrogen and potash a re tak en aw ay by su g a r beets, but w ith the su g a r beet pulp b rought back from the fa c to ry and fed to the stock th ere is p ra c tically none of th is fe rtility lost. If su g a r beets a re grow n in a good ro ta tion w ith clover, it is very likely th a t the fe rtility conditions of the soil will im prove ra th e r th an run down a s a re su lt of the cu ltu re of this crop. The o th er and m ost desirable fe a tu re of the su g a r beet crop, aside from its being a cultivated one, is th a t it m eans a considerable cash r e tu rn fo r each ncre in beets if th a t acre is properly handled. The yield of beets v aries from ten tons p e r acre up to, in some cases, as much a s 16 to 20 or m ore tons, when grow n under very favorable conditions and if yields of 12 tons or b e tte r a re secured th ere is money in th e cu ltu re of su g a r beets. On th e o th er hand, th e re a re cer ta in obstacles to overcom e and cer tain fa c to rs which m ay a p p e a r to be d isadvantageous to th is industry. In the first place, it requires a consider able am ount of capital to build and to operate th e fa cto ry and to provide w orking capital fo r grow ers of the su g a r beets. T his larg e am ount of cap ital is in active /u se only fo r a relativ ely sh o rt season a s the su g a r m aking cam paign does not norm ally extend over from ninety to one h u n dred and tw en ty days. However, n u m erous fa cto rie s a t places w here beets a re produced successfully, have am ply d em onstrated th a t th e investm ent is a p aying one so the principal obstacle to be overcom e is th a t of securing a sufficient acreage of beets fo r a long enough period of tim e th a t the p lan t m ay be assu red of ra w m ate ria l on which to w ork. The difficulty is to secure enough fa rm e rs in terested in the cu ltu re of beets on a sm all scale who will bring up th e to ta l acreage to about five thousand or m ore acres fo r the facto ry . It is n o t advisable to have a few w ith ex trem ely larg e a c re ag es fo r the reason th a t the crop is one w ith which m ost fa rm e rs a re not fa m ilia r and one who has had no e x perience w ith the crop is in g re a t d a n g er of fa ilu re if a larg e acreage is u ndertaken. Five to ten a cres the first y e a r is enough while one is g a in ing experience. A fte r having learned the ins and out of su g a r beet culture the la rg e r acreag es m ay be safely tried. The crop is an intensive one re q u ir ing a considerable am ount o f careful hand labor and th is is a type o f w ork v/hich m any g rain and hay grow ers a re not accustom ed to. It will m ean the securing of a considerable am ount of tra n s ie n t labor for such periods as the thinning and hoeing and the d ig M a n g e ls g iv e n 6 5 i n c h e s o f w a te r a n d y ie ld e d 16.648 t o n s p e r a c re . ging and topping of th e beets. In ord er to grow the crop successfully and w ithout frictio n and labor troubles, it is necessary to have a considerable am ount of w orking cap ita l so th a t help m ay be paid off prom ptly. It costs usually from $35 up to, in some cases, $45 per acre to produce the beets and about $6 to $12 of th is m ust be paid out fo r thinning and hoeing some tim e before the h a r vest tim e fo r the crop. O ur clim atic conditions in general a re very favorable fo r th e cu ltu re of su g a r beets in th a t we m ay g et them seeded ra th e r e arly and we have ex- i client grow ing conditions fo r them du rin g the sum m er. I t is tru e th a t our long, dry periods on the u n irri gated soils will lim it to some e x ten t the yield of beets unless very good c u ltu ral m ethods a re practiced. How ever, in the fall, it will be necessary to g e t the beets dug m oderately early in order to avoid serious second grow th. The fa ll ra in s which come on EVERYONE BOOST FOR NATIONAL APPLE DAY OCTOBER 19 THE DAY Everybody m ay help boost fo r N a tional A pple Day, O ctober 19, accord ing to P ro fe sso r C. I. Lew is, chief of the O regon A g ric u ltu ral College H o r tic u ltu ra l d e p artm e n t, e ith e r by e a t ing, serving or donatin g apples fo r the occasion. N ot m erely individuals but associations as well m ay tak e p a rt profitably in prom oting apple in te r e sts on th a t day, benefiting both the in d u stry and th e ir own health. Public schools, com m ercial clubs, tra n s p o r tatio n com panies, hotels and m ercan tile establishm ents, a s well as grow e rs and m ark e t associations, m ay con trib u te to the general purpose of stim u la tin g the apple in d u stry by m aking a fu lle r use of th a t king of fru its. “ H igh schools,” said P ro fesso r Lew is, “m ay well devote assem bly hour on th e m orning of apple day to a dis cussion of the apple and its history, propagation, production and use. S tu dents having access to lib ra ry in fo r m ation m ay p rep are historical and scientific sketches of the apple, show ing the leading fa c ts in connections w ith its developm ent and use, while oth ers living in apple-grow ing com m unities m ay p re p a re lis ts o f v a rie tie s grow n in th e ir localities and a r- ange these v a rie tie s according to se a son and p a rtic u la r uses. In th is con nection th ey will find the O. A. C. bulletin on the cooking q ualities of apples, p rep ared by P ro fe sso r Milam, of the Home Econom ics School, a very convenient and reliable guide. They can secure copies by w ritin g to th e College. In o th er cases sp eak ers m ay be secured fo r the occasion, and it would be especially a p p ro p ria te to have physicians give addresses on the d ieta ry value of the apple as a re g u la to r o f the system in th e control of nervous disorders and sim ilar d if ficulties. “ Com m ercial clubs m ay join in the activities of apple day by having a p ples. cooked and uncooked, served d u r ing the day. A supply of good e atin g apples, well colored and grouped in- a re likely to s ta r t the second grow th of the b eets which will low er th e ir su g a r content and if th is is carried on to too g re a t an e x te n t it will m ake them less valuable for m an u fa ctu rin g purposes. How ever, it will be dis tinctly to the a d v an tag e of the fa rm er, as well a s th e m an u fa ctu re r, to have the beets dug reasonably early. O ur season by the middle of S eptem ber is cool enough th a t the beets will keep very sa tisfac to rily and if we leave them in the ground until it g ets muddy, it will add m ate ria lly to the cost of h a rv est. U nder o rd in ary con ditions, the beets should be harvested by the first to the middle of October not only from the standpoint of avoid ing serious second grow th but also to avoid the expensive d ig g in g in the mud. As f a r as clim atic and soil con ditions a re concerned. I believe v a r ious p a rts of the W illam ette Valley and the S outhern O regon section will successfully produce them , provided pro p er c u ltu ral m ethods a re used. vitingly on tables in th e halls and lobbies of th e ir club room s, will re su lt in m any an apple being eaten. The clubs can also have apples served a ttra c tiv e ly a t th e ir luncheons. In some instances they m u st see th a t o th er socieites and individuals do not neglect th e ir p a rts in the apple day p rogram . “ F a rm e rs and o th er grow ers m ay well donate apples to schools, church es and o th er in stitu tio n s w here some children m ay not have the apple to eat. T here a re m illions of children in the U nited S ta te s th a t have never taste d an apple and as f a r a s possible they should be provided. E very school child should have the op p o rtu n ity of e atin g an apple on th a t day. “H otels and re s ta u ra n ts m ay give th e ir g u e sts a bountiful supply of good apples, both fresh and cooked. W hile th ere a re m any good recipes th ere a re b u t few best, and one of these should be secured and m ade use of on apple day. I t will m ean the sa tisfac tio n and p leasure of the guest, valuable a sse ts in the ho stelry busi ness. “ M erchants can afford to be es pecially active fo r apple day sales. They m ay m ake a ttra c tiv e box offer ings w ith a view to encouraging the purchase o f apples by box ra th e r than by broken package. A good deal is said of dollar day barg ain s b u t apple day b a rg ain s would do b e tte r by building up a dem and th a t would have to be supplied th rough/ u t th e year. If consum ers can be shown some of the a d v an tag e s of buying by box or barrel th ey will consum e m ore fru it and purchase it in form m ost con venient fo r the dealer. “ And I can say to the general apple e atin g public,” concluded P ro fesso r Lewis, “th a t th ey m ay be do ing them selves a g re a te r fav o r th an they think by buying a box and e a t ing an apple on apple day. The apple crop is lig h t th is y e ar in O regon and when the local supply has been used up it is likely th a t p re tty stiff prices will have to be paid fo r the im ported article. It is quite certain th a t apples will be m uch h ig h er before th ey are low er again, and the consum ers m ay well secure not m erely one box, but several, provided th a t th ey have sa tisfac to ry places fo r sto rin g them for the w in ter.”