BULLETIISr 199, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTJEE. 



Table VII. — Analyses of sugar beets made by the sugar laboratory of the Bureau of 



Chemistry. 





Weight of sam 



pie. 



Per- 

 cent- 

 age 

 of 

 loss. 



Percentage of sucrose. 



Sample No. 



Before 

 boring. 



After 

 boring, 



plliS 



stoppers. 



After 

 drying, 



plus 

 stoppers. 



Before 

 drying. 



After 

 drying. 



In- 

 crease 

 found. 



After 

 drying 

 (calcu- 

 lated). 



Calcu- 

 lated 

 in- 

 crease. 



1 



Grams. 

 865.6 

 603.0 

 853.6 



1,082.7 

 634.7 

 566.6 

 540.9 

 864.7 



Grams. 

 851.2 

 600.1 

 845.3 



1,066.0 

 625.8 

 562.3 

 532.9 

 851.9 



Grams. 

 784.7 

 554.7 

 804.1 

 979.4 

 569.7 

 513.4 

 478.5 

 800.9 



7.81 

 7.57 

 4.87 

 8.12 

 8.96 

 8.70 

 10.21 

 5.99 



15.20 

 16.35 



18.80 

 10.85 

 12.45 

 13.90 

 15.55 

 12.05 



16.55 

 17.00 

 19.15 

 11.05 

 13.80 

 14.35 

 16.65 

 12.50 



1.35 

 .65 

 .35 

 .20 



1.35 

 .45 



1.10 

 .45 



16.49 

 17.69 

 19.76 

 11.81 

 13.68 

 15.22 

 17.32 

 12.82 



-0.06 



2 



+ .69 



3 



-f- .61 



4 



+ .76 



51 



- .12 



62 



4- .87 



73 



+ .67 



ga 



+ .32 









751.4 



741.9 



685.6 



7.58 



14.40 



15.13 



.74 



15.60 



+ .47 







I No. 5 contained decayed spots. 

 » The tips of Nos. 6 and 8 were decayed. 



3 One of the stoppers of No. 7 was missing when received by the sugar laboratory, 

 greater evaporation indicated for this beet. 



This explains the 



Table VII shows distinctly that the percentage of sucrose in- 

 creases as the water is withdrawn by evaporation. It also indicates 

 that some inversion and decomposition take place even during 

 so short a period as about 30 hours, the time covered in this series 

 of tests. This inversion would become quite significant if the beets 

 were exposed for several weeks or months, but in its appHcation to 

 the losses that might be sustained by the beet grower by delaying 

 the dehvery of his beets after they had been dug and topped for one, 

 two, or three days, it is beheved this inversion can be ignored. It 

 will readily be seen, however, that when the farmer is instructed to 

 silo his beets for weeks or months this factor should receive con- 

 sideration. 



THE DRYING OF SUGAR BEETS IN VERY LARGE OPEN PILES. 



Sometimes the delivery of beets is too great for the shed capacity 

 of the factory. Farmers are then instructed to store the remainder 

 of their beets until further notice, which may be deferred for several 

 weeks or months. Should the weather not be severe, the farmer may 

 simply pile his beets in large pyramidal heaps in the open field; he 

 may cover them with beet tops or in very cold weather with soil. 

 Commonly he receives from 25 to 50 cents additional per ton for 

 such beets. This, however, scarcely pays for the extra labor in- 

 volved and takes no account of shrinkage through evaporation and 

 inversion. 



An experiment was conducted to ascertain the extent to which 

 evaporation might take place among large piles of beets when the 

 prevailmg temperature is comparatively low, as would be expected 

 subsequent to the usual time for harvesting beets. 



