III. CONDITIONS REQUIKED FOR THE SUC- 

 CESSFUL GROWTH OF SUGAR BEETS* 



L. L. VAN SLYKE. 



SUMMARY. 



The following elements determine whether sugar beets can be 

 grown at a profit : (1) Richness in sugar; (2) purity of solids; (3) 

 yield of beets; (4) cost of crop; (5) market price. 



(1) Richness in sugar. Analyses of about 140 samples of beets 

 grown in different parts of New York State during 1897 show a 

 v,n iation of sugar in the beets from below 12 tO' over 18.5 per cent, 

 with a general average of 15.3 per cent. This average is some- 

 what higher than shown by other states. 



The following conditions exercise a marked influence upon the 

 development of sugar in beets: Climate; variety of beet; qual- 

 ity of seed; kind and quantity of j)lant food; soil; methods 

 of cultivation; size of beets; and time of planting and harvest- 



ing- 



(2) Purity of solids. The coefficient of purity is the propor- 

 tion or percentage which the sugar constitutes of the total solids 

 in the juice, and is found by dividing the per cent of sugar in 

 juice by the per cent of total solids in juice. The higher the co- 

 efficient of purity, the larger will be the proportion of sugar crjs- 

 talllzed out in manufacture. The purity is influenced b}' ma- 

 turity of beet, kind of fertilizers used;, size of beet and portion 

 of root. Immature beets contain sugar of low purity, also beets 

 grown with excess of highly nitrogenous manures. The sugar 

 in large beets has a lower coefficient of purity than in smaller 

 beets. The portion of beet growing above surface of soil has 



* Partial reprint of Bulletin No. 135. 



Note.— For the most comprehensive treatise published, the reader is referred to 

 Farmers' Bulletin No. 52 on " The Sugar Beet," by H. W. Wiley, Chief of the Division 

 of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



