SUGAR-BEET 



SUGAR-BEET 



591 



Fig. 817. Longitudinal (dia- 

 grammatic) section of beet 

 flower, d, glands: &, bract; 

 k, tissue surrounding un- 

 developed seed. 



tain as many germs as there were flowers in the 

 cluster. Occasionally a flower stands by itself and 

 develops a single seed ; in other instances, one or 

 more of the flowers, either singly or in groups, 

 fails to produce seed, 

 thus reducing the num- 

 ber of seeds, or the num- 

 ber of germs, in the 

 seed-ball. The flowers 

 are five-parted ; that is, 

 there are five Stamens 

 and five parts to the 

 corolla. The petals are 

 wanting and the pistil is 

 three-parted. Fig. 817 

 shows the construction 

 of the beet flower as 

 seen in longitudinal sec- 

 tion. The sepals persist 

 and form a part of the 

 seed-coat, giving to the 

 single - germ seeds the 

 form of a five-pointed 

 star. The individual 

 seeds in the seed-balls 

 are made up in the same way, but the star-shape 

 is not so apparent when the seeds are welded to- 

 gether in the form of balls. Seed plants are shown 

 in Figs. 818, 819. 



Beet plants are biennial, that is, they produce 

 seed the second season. In those countries where 

 the beet is indigenous, the winters are warm 

 enough so that the plants will live over from the 

 first to the second season ; but in most of our com- 

 mercial sugar-beet sections it is necessary to pro- 

 tect them from frost during the winter. This is 

 usually done by placing them in some form of a 

 silo or pit. One of the common and most satisfac- 

 tory methods of pitting consists in piling the beets 

 in the form of a cone or a pyramid on the surface 

 of the ground, having selected for the purpose a 

 well-drained spot. The piles are then covered with 

 straw, which, in turn, is covered with earth; as the 

 temperature falls with the advance of winter, more 

 earth is added to keep the frost from reaching the 

 beets. (Fig. 820.) As soon as the danger of kill- 

 ing frosts is over in the spring, the beets are taken 

 from the silo, tested for sugar if they were not 

 tested before pitting, and, if up to the standard or 

 above, are planted for seed production; but if 

 below the standard, they are discarded. 



The sugar test is considered necessary in order 

 to keep the descendants of the seed of the parent 

 beets from deteriorating in quality for successful 

 sugar-making. Fifteen per cent of sugar is usually 

 taken as the standard, although many of the beets 

 planted for seed test much higher. Many other 

 factors enter in to influence the quality, so that 

 from roots possessing a given sugar content there 

 are often secured beets much richer as well as 

 much poorer than the original seed. Beets possess- 

 ing a minimum amount of certain salts are also 

 desired for seed, since such salts taken up by the 

 beets are dissolved with the sugar and prevent a 

 part of the sugar from crystallizing in the process 



of sugar-making. This quality, like the sugar con- 

 tent, is influenced by other factors than the quality 

 of the parent. 



Having selected the beets that are up to the 

 standard in quality, they are planted in the early 

 spring in rows three feet apart, the beets standing 

 two to three feet apart in the row. Each acre thus 

 contains approximately 5,000 to 7,000 beets. 



The seed-stalks vary within wide limits both in 

 regard to number and size. Some beets produce 

 but a single stalk, others will send up several 

 dozen. Sometimes the stalks are large and upright, 

 while others are small and spreading. (Figs. 818, 

 819.) The flowers usually open in June and the 

 seed is ripe in August, when the stalks are cut off 

 near the ground and left to cure. As soon as it is 

 thoroughly dry, the seed is removed by some con- 

 venient method ; frequently, an ordinary threshing 

 machine is used. It is then put through the cleaner, 

 which removes all leaves, stems and other foreign 

 matter, and is then sacked for shipment. The aver- 

 age seed yield per acre varies from season to season, 

 but is usually 1,200 to 1,500 pounds. 



The sixty-four factories now in operation in the 

 United States require for the use of their growers 



Fig. 818. Beet seed-stalk, with flowers growing singly 

 and in clusters. 



more than 5,000,000 pounds of sugar-beet seed 

 annually. Less than 2 per cent of this amount is 

 produced in this country at present. However, the 

 possibility of growing and maturing sugar-beet 

 seed in several of the western states has been 



