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The weather was raw and cold during the following days, and the harvesting was 

 postponed as long as practicable, so as to give the beets a chance to mature. Other 

 farm work and the uncertainty of the advanced season rendered it necessary, how- 

 ever, to begin the harvest on October 18. At that time the beets looked as if they 

 were still growing; but few dead leaves were observed, and the general appearance 

 of the beets was green and thrifty. The beets on the western half of the plat looked 

 much better than those on the eastern half. 



A bushel basket of beets was taken from each load hauled off the field (1 to 

 2 bushels of each variety). The samples thus secured were washed to determine 

 shrinkage from adhering dirt. This amounted to 8.8 per cent for some of the differ- 

 ent varieties, and on the average to 5 per cent. The results obtained at harvest 

 were a.s follows: 



Kst iniate< 1 yield per acre tons. . 9. 9 



Sugar in the beets per cent.. 10.9 



The low results obtained during the past season with the university farm beets 

 were somewhat of a surprise to us, although we did not expect much this year from 

 the adverse conditions under which the beets grew throughout the season, the most 

 important of which was the late date of planting. The peculiar climatic conditions, 

 together witli the short growing period which the beets had, fully explain the 

 results, and also show that soils which in ordinary seasons will produce rich beets, 

 higher in sugar than the common factory standard by at least several per cent, as 

 has been generally the case on our university farm soil, may with the same kind of 

 careful culture under exceptionally unfavorable circumstances produce beets that 

 would not be accepted at a sugar factory. 



The results of the analyses of beets grown by Wisconsin farmers during this 

 season show that similar conditions did not prevail in all portions of the State. 

 From three to four weeks after the beets were harvested the weather was most favor- 

 able to the maturing of beets, being sunshiny and quite warm, and, if the harvesting 

 could have been postponed to this period, there can he no doubt that the results 

 would have been nearly up to the standard set by earlier work in this line done at 

 onr experiment station. This would, however, have brought the harvest nearly a 

 month and a half later than usual, which under ordinary fall conditions would be 

 impracticable or at least quite inconvenient. The possible improvement of beets 

 during the weeks following the harvest is suggested both by comparison with analyses 

 of beets received from outside points befo re and after the time of our beet harvest 

 and from what we know of the relations of weather conditions to the quality of the 

 beets irrown. 



THE SOILS. 



For the first time in the study of the offoct of environment on the 

 composition of the beet we have collected and examined a number of 

 the soils on which the, experiments were conducted. Unfortunately 

 data on SOUK- soils are wanting, owing" to the failure of the collaborat- 

 ing station to forward samples. The following data are therefore 

 jivrn tentatively, and in so far as possible the influence of the soil 

 on the composition of the beets and the magnitude of the crop has 

 been studied. The notes descriptive of the soils received from the 

 stations follow *MI the next page. 





