Sugar 17.3 per cent Marc or pulp 4.4 ” Ash and organic non-sugar .7 ” Water 77.6 ” The value of the beet to a factory depends on the amount and purity of the sugar content. Factories as a rule decline to purchase beets containing less than twelve per cent of sucrose, as it is unprofitable to handle them. In order to induce the farmer to devote particular care and attention to the culture of his fields and thus increase the sugar content, the factories pay a premium for beets containing over fifteen per cent of sugar. The premium is usually twenty-five cents per ton of beets for each additional one per cent of sugar. Encouraged by this bonus, the California grower has improved the quality of his beets, until today they contain on an average about eighteen per cent of sugar of a purity from eighty to eighty-four. [Illustration: _By permission of Truman G. Palmer, Esq._ PLOUGHING WITH CATERPILLAR ENGINE] [Illustration: _By permission of Truman G. Palmer, Esq._ PLANTING BEET SEED] SELECTION OF THE SOIL The sugar beet, like sugar cane, needs a peculiar soil and climate for its successful cultivation. The most important requirement is that the soil shall contain a large supply of plant food, be rich in humus and have the property of retaining a great deal of moisture. A certain amount of alkali is not necessarily detrimental, as sugar beets are not especially susceptible to injury from this salt. The ground should be fairly level and well drained, especially where irrigation is practiced. While the physical character is of secondary importance, as generous crops are grown in sandy soil as well as in heavy loams, still the ideal soil is a sandy loam, _i. e._, a mixture of organic matter, clay and sand. A subsoil of gravel, or the presence of hard-pan, is not desirable, as cultivation to a depth of from twelve to fifteen inches is necessary to produce the best results.