74 



CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 



Tig. 2.— Imperial Beet. 



colored, curly, and approaching the ground; the Electoral, of the same origin, more 

 (gonflee) swollen, larger, and more productive, but slightly less rich than the Imperial. 



The green-top sugar beet, a French race (Fig. 



3), is in much less fa- 

 vor to-day than it 



■was fifteen years ago. 



It is, however, an 



excellent race, larg- 

 er, better formed, 



and smoother than i 



the Silesian beet. 



The top, which pro- 

 trudes from the earth 



a few centimeters (a 



couple of inches) 



only, is colored 



green; the root is 



long, smooth, and 



white. This variety 



may give as high as 



25 tons per acre, con- 

 taining from 11 to 14 



per cent, of sugar. 



Manufacturers who 



have continued to 



cultivate it have had riG - ^- ^en-top Beet. 

 reason to be satisfied with it. We have known its yield in sugar to be as high as 3.69 

 tons of 2,000 pounds per acre. 



The French pink-top beet (Fig. 4) is that which has been most 

 generally grown for years. 

 The favor accorded it is jus- 

 tified by a collection of 

 qualities which seem to 

 make the race the most ad- 

 vantageous of all, in the 

 ordinary conditions of the 

 culture of our couutry. In 

 fact it unites great vigor, 

 which admits of its yield- 

 ing 28 to 30 tons per acre, 

 with a generally regular 

 form and a very satisfactory 

 richness, which varies from 

 10 to 13 per cent, of sugar; 

 it is at the same time capa- 

 ble of easy preservation. 

 The foliage is vigorous and 

 abundant, and the top pro- 

 trudes slightly from the 

 grouud in such a way as to 

 facilitate pulling without 

 diminishing the saccharine 

 quality of the root. The 

 largest yields per acre we have ever known have been obtained with this variety. 

 We have known a production of 3.95 tons of sugar per acre. 

 The gray-top beet or the pinkish gray beet of the North (Fig. 5), is of all others the 



Fig. 4.— Pink-top Beet. 



Fig. 5. — Gray-top Beet. 



