Sugar Beet Investigations for 1898. 451 



of the hydrometer, or Brix spindle ; this spindle lies against the press with 

 its base at the bottom of the glass cylinder. 



The next step is to put a definite amount of the beet juice into the 100 

 cubic centimeter flask. This flask with a long slender neck and wide mouth 

 is just at the left of the bottle marked " poison." This definite amount of 

 juice is measured out by the large pipette which is just at the left of the 

 bottle and leans against the polariscope. The juice is very dark colored 

 and the coloring matter must be removed. A little of the sub-acetate of lead 

 in the bottle, added to the measured juice in the flask will cause the coloring 

 matter and impurities to coagulate and settle. In front of the lamp is a 

 funnel holding a folded filter paper. The juice is poured into this filter and 

 the clear filtrate is caught in the flask which supports the funnel, whilst the 

 impurities and coloring matter are held back on the filter paper. The juice 

 which runs through the filter paper is just as clear as water and is now ready 

 for analysis (polarization). 



In front of the sub-acetate bottle is a glass tube about eight inches long 

 with glass caps on either end that can be screwed on. One of the glass 

 caps is removed, the tube is filled with the clear juice and the cap is 

 replaced so that one can look through the tube endwise. At the extreme 

 right is the saccharimeter, a very costly piece of apparatus. The tube full 

 of juice is put into this saccharimeter in a dark room and the lamp is lighted 

 and placed just in front of the instrument. On looking through the tele- 

 scope one can see the light of the lamp ; the line of vision passes endwise 

 through the tube full of the clear beet juice. By carefully noting how any 

 particular beet juice in the tube affects the rays of light passing through 

 it, we can tell immediately what per cent of sugar there is in that particular 

 juice. 



In front of the press is a flask called a wash bottle, containing pure water. 

 Such a bottle is needed always in chemical work. 



At the extreme right of the cut is a pile of white filter papers used in 

 filtering juices. 



The samples of beets were analyzed as soon as received, or as 



soon after as possible and in each case a franked report blank^ 

 was filled out giving the analysis of the sample. This report 

 was sent back to the farmer who had sent in the sample for 

 analysis. In this way each experimenter quickly learned the 

 quality of his beets. 



The results of the season's work have been carefully tabulated, 



*These report blanks are the size and shape of ordinary postal cards. On 

 the face they have the mark of the U. S. Government which exempts them 

 from postage ; on the opposite side is the blank form ready to be filled in 

 with the results of the analysis. These blanks were kindly supplied to the 

 Station by Dr. H. W. Wiley, Chemist of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



