SUGAR BEETS. J|J7 



In Russia, beets have been raised upon good soil without any 

 use of fertilizers. This has produced a very rich but small beet, 

 and the yield has also been rather meagre : 12,000 to 20,000 kilo- 

 grammes per hectare. As a general thing, by judicious manuring a 

 so much larger quantity of roots is produced, that the slight reduc- 

 tion in saccharine richness of the beet is much more than com- 

 pensated by the increased yield. If our attention be paid to the 

 closeness of the roots in well manured lands, beets as small and 

 rich are produced as those grown on unmauured land, but "sepa- 

 rated by larger spaces. 



Sufficient care is not generally bestowed upon the subject of 

 spacing the beet, and that is one reason why the sugar percentage 

 falls so low sometimes, when land has been rather richly manured. 

 The influence of fertilizers on the quantity of beets produced and 

 their richness in sugar, may be gathered from the following ex- 

 periments of M. Pagnoul : 



Tears. Manured with Weight of Roots 



per hectare. 



' Farmyard manure, 64173 kilos. 



Complete fertilizer, 70172 



do. do. 64567 



Nothing, 61520 



1871-2. 



1873. 



1 



{ Nothing, 30358 



Complete fertilizer, 40525 

 Nitrate of soda, 43164 



Farmyard manure, 57876 



The roots were closely planted. 



Manuring to excess must of course be avoided ; it is, however, 

 a great auxiliary when carried on judiciously ; the nature and 

 condition of the soil being taken into consideration as well as the 

 closeness of the roots. 



It is the. purpose of the writer to present other reports upon 

 this important subject, but he hopes to have shown already that 

 many valuable experiments might be made in this State upon the 

 best methods of cultivation of the sugar beet, including all de- 

 tails, such as choice of seed, spacing of plants, application of 

 manures, etc. 



Report on the Sugar Beets grown on the Farm op Maine State 



College. 

 The plat upon which these beets were grown is a moist sandy 

 loam. The following is the history of the patch as given by Mr. 

 J. R. Farrington, Farm Superintendent: 

 12 



