228 The Sugar-Beet in America 
is run over the canvas. The seed-cleaning machines may 
be purchased, or one may be made at home for about 
$100. A good machine will clean about a ton of seed in a 
day. 
By-products. 
After the seed crop is harvested, the beets and part of 
the stems and leaves still remain in the field. The beets 
contain considerable sugar, although much less than at 
first. They have, however, acquired a woody texture 
that renders them much less palatable to stock than the 
fresh beets. A number of cases have been reported of 
animals dying as a result of accumulated balls of this 
fibrous material in the digestive tract when fed too many 
of these beets. They have been used in many other cases 
without any apparent ill effects. The method of utiliz- 
ing these beets most economically is not known, but it 
is probable that the cheapest way is to have stock pasture 
on these old roots directly in the field similar to hogging- 
off corn. They can be used safely and economically in 
this way to supplement other feeds. 
Yields and profits. 
The amount of seed produced varies greatly under dif- 
ferent conditions. If all the plants give a normal yield, 
the amount of seed that would be expected theoretically 
would be several times the yield actually realized in 
practice. One of the chief causes for this is that a large 
number of the plants never send up seed-stalks, but 
throughout the summer merely develop a dense growth 
of leaves. 
