By-Products 159 



and maturity of the crop ; but under ordinary conditions 

 about one-third of the total weight of the crop is left as 

 tops. This would mean eight tons of tops for sixteen, 

 tons of beets. The green weight varies much more than 

 the dry weight. Between one and two tons of dry mat- 

 ter to the acre in the beet tops can be depended on from 

 an average yield of beets, or to put it more definitely, 10 

 to 15 per cent of the net weight of the roots. 



Much more has been done to utilize beet pulp than tops ; 

 but the tops furnish a cheaper feed than the farmer can 

 obtain from any other source. The reason for careless- 

 ness in utilizing the tops is probably due to the fact that 

 they are a by-product and their true value has been 

 underestimated. When dried in the field, beet tops 

 contain about the same amount of nutrients as an equal 

 weight of alfalfa hay; their feeding value is about the 

 same except that they are lower in nitrogen and con- 

 tain a comparatively large amount of potash and organic 

 acids, which cause animals to scour when they have un- 

 limited access to the tops. 



Composition of the tops. 



The composition of tops is shown in Table V. The 

 ash consists of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, 

 chlorine, sulfuric acid, silica, and phosphoric acid, which 

 are valuable fertilizers and should not be taken from the 

 land. The tops consist of two to three parts of leaves 

 containing about 2.2 per cent ash, to one part of crowns 

 containing 5.6 per cent ash. Because of the high ash- 

 content of the tops, it is often advocated that they be 

 plowed under just as they are topped in order not to 



