200 Report of the Chemist of the 



1. Maturity. 



Unripe beets contain a large proportion of non-sugar solids 



and hence a lower coeflScient of purity than ripe beets. Such 



beets have, therefore, a smaller proportion of sugar that can be 



recovered. 



2. Fertilizers. 



The excessive application of stable-manure or other nitro- 



« 



genous fertilizers lowers the coefficient of purity. Soils contain- 

 ing a large amount of organic matter, like drained swamp lands, 

 and recently cleared forest lands, produce beets having a low co- 

 efficient of purity. 



3. Size. 



The size of beets is often closely associated with the amount of 

 nitrogenous plant-food employed. Excessive use of such manures 

 tends to produce a rapid, rank growth of beets, large in size but 

 poor in quality, especially in respect to coefficient of purity. Too 

 great distance between roots in soil also tends to promote growth 

 in size at the expense of quality. 



4. Portion of Root. 



The neck or crown of the beet root contains large amounts of 

 non-sugar solids. The entire portion of the beet growing above 

 ground is rich in those solids producing low coefficient of purity. 

 It is, therefore, important to have the root grow above ground as 

 little as possible. 



III. YIELD OF BEETS. 



A very important element to be considered by the farmer who 

 plans to raise sugar beets is the yield. However high in quality 

 sugar beets may be, it is necessary to secure a good yield of roots 

 in order to realize satisfactory money returns. Reliable data 

 appear to indicate that we may regard 20 tons of marketable 

 sugar beets of high quality as the largest yield an acre that can 

 be realized in commercial operations. Yields are often reported 

 exceeding 25 and 30 tons an acre, but such returns are open to 

 suspicion, so far as they represent commercial conditions. Mis- 

 leading yields are often obtained by weighing and counting the 



