171 



Pi'olific, Longfellow and Thoroughbred White Flint are excellent for many localities. 

 There are, however, other sorts which yield good results. Care should be taken to 

 ascertain before purchasing seed it the variety is a heavy cropper and will come to 

 maturity in the climate of the grower. 



4. Begin cultivating early and keep the crop free from weeds. As the plants 

 grow, restrict the cultivating more and more to the centre of the rows, otherwise 

 there is a danger of cutting the principal roots which feed the plant. 



5. Harvesting should be commenced when the kernel begins to glaze. The 

 stalks at this time are beginning to turn yellow near fhe ground. If allowed to 

 remain standing after this period the digestibility of the fodder may be impaired. 

 If intended for the silo, and the weather permits, it should be left to wilt for two or 

 three days after cutting. Sweeter ensilage results as a rule by this method than by 

 at once drawing in and filling the silo. 



SUGAR BEETS. 



Sixty-four samples of sugar beets have been examined and are now reported on. 

 Forty-five of these were grown on the Central Experimental Farm and nineteen were 

 received for analysis from various localities in the Dominion. 



The analyses of twenty-one samples grown on the Experimental Farm, Ottawa, 

 from seed supplied by Wilfrid Skaife, Esq., of Montreal, afford the following aver- 

 ages : — 



Percentage of sugar in juice 14'0 per cent. 



Coefl&cient of purity 83-3 do 



Average weight of one root 14 oz. 



The seed is a cross between the varieties Klein Wanzleben and Vilmorin's Im- 

 proved, and is known as " Krxiger's " seed. 



The ground had been well prepared and the roots were kept earthed up. The 

 season was not a very good one for this crop, being too dry during the early part of 

 the summer and too wet when the beets were ripening^ Taking this into considera- 

 tion, the average of 14 per cent of sugar is not low, and compares well with that 

 obtained in the western States, where the crop is grown for manufacturing purposes. 

 The coefficient of purity (or percentage of sugar in the solid matter) stands suffi- 

 ciently high to make extraction of the sugar easy. The variation between the samples 

 in sugar content is on the whole very slight. 



JSxperiments with " Earthing." — The second series of experiments with sugar 

 beets consisted in the analysis of 24 samples, including 12 well-known varieties. As 

 explained in the following table, twelve samples (one of each variety) were kept 

 thoroughly earthed while growing, while the remaining twelve were allowed to 

 protrude above the surface of the ground. The averages of these show that the 

 earthed samples were in every way superior to those unearthed, containing over 

 two per cent more sugar, a higher coefficient of purity and a smaller weight. 

 These results point to the value of the suggestions made last year for the culture of 

 this crop. In eleven instances out of the twelve, the earthed roots gave a greater per- 

 centage of sugar than the unearthed. The analysis in each case was made from at 

 least six roots. The maximum percentage of sugar was 16'3 and the minimum 5*5, 

 and the average of the 24 samples was 12 per cent. Other data are given in detail 

 in tabular form. 



