3o8 



BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



a tapering primary root which gives off a few red, fibrous 

 laterals. 



Types of Sugar Beets.^ — There are two well-known and 

 common types of sugar beets: Kleinwanzlebener and Vil- 

 morin. The Vilmorin beet is of French origin, and as com- 

 pared with the Kleinwanzlebener, a German beet, is more 

 circular in cross-section, smaller, has a lighter skin, and a 

 much smaller top of leaves. The secondary root lines are 

 straight in Vilmorin beets, and spiral in Kleinwanzlebener 

 beets. The percentages of sugar in the two types are about 

 the same. The tonnage of the Vilmorin is smaller. 



Composition of Sugar Beets.- 

 made by Headden.' 



-The following analyses of sugar beets were 



German | Michigan 

 beet, beet, 



grams i grams 



Colorado 

 beet, 

 grams 



Average weight trimmed 



Water 1 74.550 



Dry substance 25 450 



Sugar 16.600 



Total ash 1 o . 800 



Protein j o. 706 



813.000 

 78.000 

 22.000 



15-300 

 o . 701 

 0.769 



673.000 



75.800 



24. 200 



18.300 



0.820 



OS43 



Montana 

 beet, 

 grams 



479.300 

 74.603 



25-370 



18. 240 



2.680 



0.436 



Except in extreme cases, there seems to be little support for the statement 

 that the greater the weight the less the sugar content of the beet. The com- 

 position of the beet is affected by age, disease, fertilizers, insuificient food 

 supply, light, time of topping, rainfall, etc. The average sugar content of 

 American grown beets is about 15 per cent. Frequently, the yields are more 

 than 20 tons, and the sugar content 17 to 20 per cent. 



Maniifacture of Sugar. — The chief use of sugar beets is in 

 the manufacture of sugar. The beet sugar industry has made 

 very rapid development in this country. In the making of 

 beet sugar, the topped beets are first washed, and then cut by 



' Colorado Agri. Exp. Sta. Bull. 183. 



