FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 101 



suspect that the sample was taken from a mangold rather than a sugar 

 beet. It must be remembered that sugar beets are biennials; they 

 complete the growth of the root the first year, and as soon thereafter as 

 conditions favor regrowth the initial steps incident to sending up the 

 seed stalks begin. In this process the sugar stored up in the root is 

 taken up in the making of fibre. While the other constituents remain 

 the same, therefore, the relative proportion of sugar is lessened. 



The beets should, of course, be properly trimmed when they are de- 

 livered to the factory. If they are not properly trimmed this fact must 

 be recognized by the tare man, who will cut off the crown down to the 

 point where it should have been removed in the field, this means down 

 to a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis of the beet below the 

 base of the bottom leaves. The crown of the beet corresponds to the 

 stem or trunk of the tree, and contains salts that prevent the sugar 

 crystallizing. It is fair to the factory, therefore, that the tops should 

 be cut off below the base of the lower leaves; if this is not done in the 

 field then it must be done by the tare man. 



In answering a question. Dr. Wiley said that he had never heard of 

 cutting off the lower end of the root below where it is three-quarters 

 of an inch in diameter or less, nor could he see any reason for so 

 doing. It was true that in the distribution of sugar through the beet 

 some experiments have shown that the middle portion may be richer 

 in sugar than either the top or the bottom part, the variation is too 

 slight to be recognized in this way. 



The method of using a kind of buzz saw, cutting through the center of 

 the beet, does no injustice to the farmer. In selecting mother beets for 

 seed growing still another method is used, that of taking out a small 

 core running diagonally through "the beet. This core is pulped and 

 tested. Where the per cent of sugar found is high enough above the 

 standard the beet is safe to set out to grow seed, and the removal of the 

 small core does not injure it for that purpose. 



The coefficient of purity is an important element. Where that co- 

 efficient is high the amount of sugar which a factory can secure from 

 a ton of beets is proportionately greater than when it is low. The co- 

 efficient of purity is influenced by many factors of the environment of the 

 growing beet, usually black soils rich in organic matter produce beets 

 with a low co-efficient of purity. On the other hand, sandy soils or 

 sandy loams yield beets with a high per cent of purity. 

 ■ The kind and amount of fertilizers used and the methods of applica- 

 tion have much to do both with the quantity of the yield and the purity. 

 In the first place, farm yard manure should be applied fully a year 

 before beet seed is sown. It must be thoroughly incorporated in the 

 soil and quite fully decomposed. The application of superphosphates 

 and potash salts is also to be recommended. Two or three applications 

 of nitrate of soda at the rate of 100 pounds per acre for each applica- 

 tion is to be recommended. Hard wood ashes is also a good fertilizer. 

 Lime is to be recommended for both sand and clay. It flocculates the 

 clay and makes it more friable. On the other hand, it binds together 

 the sand and makes it less leachy. Two sources of lime suggest them- 

 selves to the IMichigan farmer — one. marl, is widespread over the State, 

 and is a good source of lime, although the marl requires intelligent 



