672 



(2) A careful account of the work done in planting and cultivating the plats of 

 sugar-beets grovru showed that it cost from 84 cents to $1.38 to grow a ton of beets. 

 This does not include the cost of harvesting and delivery, which may be considered 

 as about equal to that of growing the crop. 



(3) The beet culture at five substations gave beets whose sugar content ranged 

 from 12.81 to 17.14 per cent of sugar in the juice, while the beets would have yielded 

 from 4 tons at the St. Croix County station, where wet, cold weather in June caused 

 the beets to rot and greatly reduced the yield, to nearly 39 tons per acre. The latter 

 heavy yield was estimated from the plats grown at the Waukesha County station. 



(4) Seventy farmers in twenty-nine counties of the State sent samples of sugar- 

 beets grown by them to this station for analysis. The results of the analj^ses showed 

 a very wide range, according to the kind of seed used, the manner of growing, skill 

 of the grower, etc. The lowest of all analyses showed 6.48 per cent and the highest 

 18.79 per cent of sugar in the juice. The latter result was obtained from beets grown 

 near New Holsteiu, Calumet County, from which locality also other samples were 

 obtained containing a very high percentage of sugar, indicating that this section may 

 l^rove particularly well adapted to sugar-beet culture. Of other sections that seem 

 well suited to this crop may be mentioned the counties of Kewaunee, Washington, 

 Roclc, Jefferson, Waukesha, Milwaukee, in short the whole eastern and southeastern 

 portion of our State. Upon further trial we hope to report the western portion of 

 the State also adapted to this plant; there seems no cause in soil or climate to pre- 

 vent good beets being produced there. 



(5) Beet associations should be formed and each member should pledge himself to 

 grow from 2 to 3 acres of beets in order to test the capacity and adaptability of the 

 soil in different localities. Common sugar-beet seed may be used for most of the 

 planting [for experiments in the cultivation of beets and for a crop for feeding to 

 stock]. Parts of a few rows should be from genuine imported sugar-beet seed [in 

 order to obtain beets which may be analyzed for their sugar content]. 



(6) The results of our sugar-beet investigations for the year past are very satis- 

 factory and encourage tbe belief that Wisconsin is well adapted to sugar-beet cul- 

 ture. Our people are urged to continue their interest in the matter, to move forward 

 with caution, and in no case to enter upon the constructioli of beet-sugar factories? 

 until there is jiositive assurance that the farmers will grow sufBeient beet* to keep 

 the factory running for the whole working season, and that the soil of the particular 

 locality is adapted to the crop. 



