206 The Sugar-Beet in America 



the sugar efficiently. This calls for beets of a high- 

 yielding strain, high in sugar and purity, and having a 

 desirable size and shape. 



The qualities of good beets are summarized by New- 

 lands 1 as follows (cf. Plate XXIV) : 



" 1. They have a regular pear-shaped form and smooth 

 skin. Long, tapering carrot-like roots are considered 

 inferior to pear-shaped Silesian beets. 



"2. They do not throw out forks, or fingers or toes. 



"3. They have white and firm flesh, delicate and uni- 

 form structure, and clean sugary flavor. Thick-skinned 

 roots are frequently spongy, and always more watery 

 than beets distinguished by a uniform firm and close 

 texture. 



"4. They weigh, on an average, one and one-half to 

 two and one-half pounds apiece. Neither very large nor 

 very small roots are profitable to the sugar manufacturer. 

 As a rule, beets weighing more than three and one-half 

 pounds are watery and poor in sugar; and very small 

 roots, weighing less than three-fourths of a pound, are 

 either unripe or too woody, and in either case yield com- 

 paratively little sugar. As the soil and season have a 

 great influence on the composition of the crop, it is quite 

 possible, in a favorable season, and with proper culti- 

 vation, to produce beets weighing over four pounds, which, 

 nevertheless, yield a good percentage of sugar. Speaking 

 generally, good beet roots in average seasons seldom ex- 

 ceed two and one-half pounds in weight. 



"5. Good beets show no tendency to become necky, 



1 Newlands, J. A. R. and B. E. R., " Sugar, a Handbook for 

 Planters and Refiners," p. 395. 



