FIELD CROPS. 



743 



station. A number of varieties of high-grade beets were grown at each 

 station and analyzed, and samples were also sent to the Department 

 laboratory for analysis. The most satisfactory results were obtained at 

 the New York State Station. The classification of the beets of each 

 variety based on the sugar content is given in the following table: 



Classification of sugar beets of different varieties grown at the New York Station at Geneva. 



Variety. 



Number of beets having contents of 

 sugar from — 



15 to 1G 

 per cent. 



16 to 17 

 per cent. 



17 to 18 

 per cent. 



18 per 



cent and 



above. 



Maximum 

 polariza- 

 tions of in- 

 dividual 

 beets. 



Minimum 

 polariza- 

 tions of in- 

 dividual 

 beets. 



White Improved Imperial Elite . . . 



Vilmorin La Plus Riche 



Vilmorin Improved, Schuyler Seed. 



Demesmay 



Vilmorin ' Improved Elite (Dippe 



Bros.) 



High Grade Commercial Kleinwan- 



zlebener 



Kleinwanzlebener (Holland) 



Kleinwanzlebener Elite 



4 



94 

 3 



40 



47 



107 



50 



165 



Per cent. 

 19.6 

 23.4 

 18.8 

 22 



21.6 



22 



22.2 



22 



Per cent. 

 11.6 

 13.4 

 12.4 

 9.6 



10.6 



13.6 

 18.4 

 14.6 



The work of the experiment stations reviewed in this publication has 

 been abstracted from the bulletins of the respective stations. 



Report of the special agent, C. F. Baylor (pp. 161-240). — This is a com- 

 prehensive presentation of the conditions of the sugar-beet industry in 

 the United States in 1897, the methods in vogue to aid its growth, and 

 the natural resources and commercial advantages and opportunities 

 which exist and tend to make it a profitable field for labor and capital. 

 The author discusses in a popular way the experiments in growing 

 sugar beets in 1897, the region adapted to the culture of the sugar beet, 

 and the factory requirements with reference to the quality of the beets 

 and the materials used in the manufacture of beet sugar. General sug- 

 gestions are given on the various operations connected with the grow- 

 ing of sugar beets, and statistics are presented on the consumption of 

 sugar in the United States and leading European countries and the 

 beet-sugar industry in Germany for the years 1892 to 1895. The expe- 

 riences and observations of factory officials and operators and successful 

 sugar-beet growers, obtained through a series of questions concerning 

 their work, are reported. The cost of growing sugar beets and the cost 

 and running expenses of factories are estimated in detail. Notes are 

 given on the by-products of beet-sugar manufacture. 



A soil study of sugar beets, W. P. Headden {Colorado Sta. Bui 

 46, pp. 63). — This bulletin presents the results of a study of the effects 

 of alkali on the composition of the sugar beet. The experiments were 

 made to determine the effects of the accumulation of various salts on 

 or near the surface of low or poorly drained lands under irrigation. 

 The soil on which they were conducted varies from a gravelly loam to 

 a fine alluvium with a calcareous subsoil, being very retentive of water 

 16130— No. 8 4 



