FIELD CROPS. 143 



of culture experimeuts with sugar beets carried on at the station and 

 throughout the State, gives instructions for sugar-beet culture, discusses 

 other points of interest in this connection, such as the cost of produc- 

 tion of the beets and their manufacture into sugar, and points out how 

 Illinois is adapted to the production of beet sugar. The results of the 

 experiments, meteorological data from 1889 to 1897, inclusive, and sta- 

 tistics for various beet-sugar producing countries are given in tables. 



At the station the original Kleinwauzleben gave the best results. 

 The beets averaged over 1 lb. in weight and contained about 15 per 

 cent of sugar with a purity of 85. Improved Kleinwanzleben and Short 

 French gave satisfactory results, while Long French was medium in 

 quality. In no case did the sugar in the juice fall below 12 per cent or 

 the coefficient of purity below 80. Analyses made of beets harvested 

 weekly for a period of ten weeks, beginning September 14, showed that 

 in general there was an increase in the sugar content and the purity as 

 the season advanced. Plowing 8 and 10 in. deep showed no marked 

 difference in the results, but samples from land subsoiled 16 in. deep 

 were lower in purity than samples from unsubsoiled plats. Beets 

 grown in rows 15, 18, 22, 28, 36, and 44 in. apart decreased in sugar 

 content and purity as the distance between the rows increased. 



The sugar beet in Indiana, H. A. Huston and J. M. Barrett 

 (Indiana Sta. Bui. 68, pp. 32, Jigs. 13). — This bulletin discusses the 

 method of growing sugar beets, the necessary climatic conditions, the 

 factory requirements, and the results of cultural experiments made in 

 the State in 1897. Meteorological data and analyses of beets grown in 

 35 different counties are tabulated. The results of the analyses show 

 a wide range, but in every county from which more than one sample 

 was received, beets of a satisfactory character were produced. In very 

 many cases the work was not properly done and many samples were 

 received from parties who did not get their seed from the station and 

 who had no knowledge of the proper methods of sugar-beet culture. 

 "What has been accomplished already seems to indicate that, taking 

 everything into consideration, Indiana will be found admirably adapted 

 to the production of the sugar beet, but the fact is not yet proven." 



Sugar-beet investigations, J. L. Stone, L. A. Clinton, G. C. 

 Caldwell, G. W. Cavanaugh, et al. (Neiv York Cornell Sta. Bui. 143, 

 pp. 493-574, Jigs. 9). — This bulletin contains general remarks on sugar- 

 beet cultivation and reports of fertilizer experiments and cooperative 

 culture tests with sugar beets. Notes are given on the condition and 

 preparation of the soil, seeding, thinning, tillage and harvesting the 

 crop. 



Fertilizer experiments were made at the station to determine the 

 effect of different fertilizers on the yield and quality of sugar beets. 

 The plats, 14 in number, were 4 by 5 ft. in size, each surrounded by a 

 brick and cement wall to avoid the transportation of fertilizer material 

 from one plat to another. For three years previous the soil had been 

 4485— No. 2 4 



