EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



207 



Some very late planted beets, however, averaged but one diseased beet in two hundred. 

 It is very seldom that two beets adjacent to each other in the row are affected. The 

 leaves on the crown of the beet seem to have entirely died, but the new growth of curled 

 leaves grew in numerous heads, each resmbling a crown of leaves of a small beet, while 

 in some cases there is but one central leaf bunch. In the more advanced stage there are 

 many small bunches numbering as high as thirty on a single beet and varying in size 

 from a tiny four leaf head to one inch in diameter. These bunches of leaves are easily 

 broken off. Where there is a single cluster of leaves the crown is considerably elongated, 

 and as a ride the crown covered with small clusters of leaves is abnormally developed. 

 In either case it is evident that the development of the plant has been directed to the 

 repair of an injury caused by some insect or bacterial or fungous enemy rather than to 

 the storing up of sugar in its root. Several tests of diseased beets were made. In every 

 ease the analysis showed a very low per cent of sugar ranging from 5 to 7%, per cent. 

 While this disease is not of sufficient prominence to cause any serious alarm, it is evident 

 that the presence of one or two beets thus affected as in the sample analyzed, might 

 seriously lower the percentage of sugar in the sample. The cut on page 206 shows three 

 diseased beets above and three healthy beets below. In each case a healthy beet was 

 taken beside a diseased beet in the same row. It is barely possible that it might be wise 

 to discard all beets affected with this disease. 



THE INFLUENCE OF SIZE OF BEETS ON SUGAR CONTENT. 



As illustrating the influence of the size of beets upon the sugar content, the cuts on 

 pages 208 and 209 represent the beets, analyses of which are in the following- 

 table. It will be seen in this table that in every case except one the percentage of 

 sugar in each variety increases as the size decreases. While the average difference 

 between a 32 ounce and 8 ounce beet is two per cent, the 16 ounce beet being richer in 

 sugar by nearly two- thirds of a per cent than the 32 ounce beets. 



Analyses of beets of different shes. 



Variety. 



No. 5,771 



No. 5,772 



No. 6,359 



Austrian 15. A.. . 

 Austrian B. (r. V 

 Russian W. A. C 

 Wohanka E. R.. 

 Wobanka Z. R.. 



Average — 



Large, 32 ounce. 



rer cent| 

 sugar. I 



Purity. 



12.42 

 14.19 

 11.45 

 14.53 

 13.88 

 12.40 

 11.91 

 11.11 



12.74 



76.3 

 79. tl 

 77 3 

 80.50 

 80.8 

 77.0 

 77.4 

 76.6 



78.2 



Medium, 10 ounce, 



Per cent 

 sugar, 



12.83 

 13.49 

 12.08 

 15.80 

 14.14 

 13 10 

 13.97 

 12.35 



13.37 



Purity. 



75.8 

 79.9 

 78 9 

 80.0 

 78.5 

 80.2 

 80.0 

 77.6 



78.9 



Small, 8 ounce. 



Per cent 

 sugar. 



14.63 

 16.10 

 14.70 

 15.27 

 15.70 

 13.57 

 14.81 

 14.01 



14.85 



Puritv. 



80.3 

 83 6 

 82.5 

 83.0 

 83 8 

 78.5 

 83. 9 

 81.7 



82.2 



These averages somewhat contradict the conclusions of Headden in Colorado Experi- 

 ment Station Bulletin No. 58 where he concludes that ''Medium sized beets are apt to be 

 better than either large or small beets, but the size is less determinative of the quality of 

 the beets than the conditions under which they grow. Beets weighing two pounds and 

 upwards are quite as rich as those weighing less than one pound, if they have been grown 

 under the same conditions." 



