222 The Sugar-Beet in America 
finds very little use. In the standard method of selection 
the chemical analysis is used. 
The beet to be tested is cleaned and the sample to be 
analyzed is obtained by boring a hole diagonally through 
the beet near the thickest point in such a way that the 
various zones of high and low sugar will be represented. 
A given weight of the pulp obtained from the boring is 
placed in a dish and the sugar extracted by any one of a 
number of methods. The solution containing the sugar 
is then placed in a tube which is inserted in a polariscope 
by aid of which the percentage is read directly. The 
process is not difficult, but it requires skill in laboratory 
manipulation and is not adapted to use by the average 
farmer. Removing the core does not interfere with the 
growth of the beet if it is stored properly. 
Steps in selection. 
It is not safe to save all beets that are high in sugar 
without making further tests to see which ones transmit 
this quality. The individual beet may be high in sugar 
because of its environment and may not be of a high- 
producing strain. For this reason, several years of selec- 
tion are required before one can be sure of quality of 
seed that will be produced. It is not the mother beet 
with high sugar-content that is desired, but the mother 
whose progeny will be high in sugar. In testing strains, 
it is a good plan to have for comparison standard seed 
for growing in different parts of the test field. 
The procedure usually carried out is somewhat as 
follows: The first year a great many beets of desirable 
size and shape are analyzed for sugar. The better in- 
