104 IvEPOKT OF THE ChEMIST OF THE 



Sunshwc. — An abundance of snushine also is essential to the 

 largest development of sugar in beets. 



Most of tli(^ tillable portions of New York practically fulfil the 

 climatic conditions required for a satisfactory development of 



sugar in beets. 



2. Variety of Beet. 



The amount of sugar present in a beet varies, to some extent, 

 with the variety of beet grown. Taking standaird varieties, we 

 find greater differences in the sugar content of the same variety 

 grown under different conditions than we do of different varieties 

 grown under uniform conditions. The varieties most commonly 

 grown the past year in this State have been Vilmorin Improved 

 and Klein Wanzlebener. Several other varieties have been 

 grown at this Station. We give below a tabulated statement 

 showing the per cent of sugar contained in different varieties of 

 beets grown during the season of 1897. 



Sugar in Different Varieties of Beet, 



Average 



amount of 



sugar in beef. 



Variety. Per cent. 



Klein Wanzlebener 15.3 



Vilmorin Improved 15.3 



Klein Wanzlebener (grown at Geneva) 15.7 



Vilmorin Improved (grown at Geneva) 15.5 



Demesmay (grown at Geneva) 12. 2 



Vilmorin Elite (grown at Geneva) 14.5 



Vilmorin's La Plus Riclie (grown at Geneva) 16.6 



3. Quality of Seed. 



The importance of using only highly bred seed cannot be over- 

 estimated. In Europe the production of sugar-beet seed has 

 become a separate branch of industry. Carefully selected and 

 tested beets containing from 16 to 18 per cent of sugar and of 

 high purity are used for this pui-pose. 



4. Plant Food. 

 Kinds and amounts. — It is safe to assume that sugar bpets can- 

 not be successfully grown on many farms in this state for any 

 considerable length of time without the application of plant-food. 



