15 (J THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



per acre. Director Armsby of the state experiment station at State College, Center 

 county, reports for this work the following gratifying exhibit: 



1898 1897 



No. of farmers in the state who grew beets in an 



experimental way, about 1000 



No. of samples received at station from crop 



grown in 495 



No. analyses embraced in following figures 492 



Highest and lowest sugar in beet, per cent 17.4-77 



Average sugar in beet, per cent 12.3 



Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 98-66 94-60 



Purity, average, per cent 81.7 79.7 



In Ohio, t'ue interest in sugar beets continues very keen. In spite of the extraordi- 

 narily unfavorable season of 1898, the tests made by the Ohio experiment station (A. D. 

 Selby, chemist) showed a range of from over 8 to 15 per cent, sugar, with an average of 

 11.4, compared to 13.3 in '97 for the entire state. The leaf spot fungus, Percosporabetlcola, 

 injured beets greatly in '98. About 400 farmers have grown beets in an experimental way 

 in both years, with results that are thus summarized in a forthcoming bulletin from the 

 state experiment station at Wooster: 



Av. Weight Sugar in 



Number of beets beets, Purity Co- 



samples ozs. per cent. efficient 



Section, etc. 1897 189S 1897 1898 3897 1898 1897 1898 



Southern section 67 50 31.4 18.4 12.2 10.9 75.3 76.9 



Middle section 132 153 32.6 19.6 13.2 11.1 78.0 76.9 



Northern section 355 295 29.2 25.0 13.6 11.6 79.4 78.7 



Entire state 554 498 30.6 22.7 13.3 11.4 78.7 77.9 



Indiana is certainly a sugar beet state, and the encouraging prospect there a few 

 years ago is now more than confirmed. Efforts to secure factories are being made in 

 various parts of the state and seem likely to succeed soon at Fort Wayne and North 

 Judson. Prof. C. S. Plumb, director of the Indiana experiment station, writes us: 



"The lower results of 1898 crop are due to a very warm, moist summer and fall, 

 which did not permit the beets to properly ripen in many cases. In certain sections of 

 northern Indiana, however, in spite of these adverse conditions, many fine results were 

 secured, grading considerably above manufacturers' requirements." 



In the following table, no averages are given. In view of the fact that many growers 

 do not follow directions for growing the beet, so that the crop over the state is more or 

 less improperly grown, we regard average figures as unfair and misleading: 



1898 1897 

 No. of farmers in the state who grew beets in an 



experimental way, about 1173 500 



No. of samples received at station from crop 



grown in 425 307 



No. of analyses embraced in following figures 425 307 



Highest and lowest sugar in juice, per cent 17.2-6.4 22.9-6.3 



Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 96.8-64 96.4-57 



Illinois has an enterprising state sugar beet growers' association. In co-operation 

 with it, farmers in various parts of the state have conducted experiments with the 

 assistance of the experiment station connected with the University of Illinois at Cham- 

 paign. During '98, the local organizations at 10 or 12 points each grew from five to 10 

 acres of beets for commercial purposes under direction of an expert. The tonnage was 

 exceedingly high, but the sugar content somewhat lower than in '97. Prof. Davenport, 

 director of the station, concludes that the results are upon the whole quite promising. 



