i9o6.] 



Experiments with Sugar-Beet. 



45 



been prepared for mangel, and no special preparation was made 

 for the sugar-beet, the whole field being subject to the same 

 tillage operations. 



Sugar-beets have been encouraged by many years' selection 

 to grow tap-rooted and to bury themselves deeply in the ground, 

 and it became evident as the season advanced that many of the 

 beets were showing a tendency to fork, and that deeper cultiva- 

 tion was necessary if shapely roots were to be obtained. In sugar- 

 beet growing countries every effort is made to secure a deep and 

 mellow tilth for the seed-bed, and in Essex good shaped beets 

 were obtained where special cultural methods were followed. 



A point which would become of importance to farmers 

 growing the crop on a large scale is the difficulty of lifting 

 it. This was variously estimated at the different centres at from 

 £2 2s, to ^5 per acre, but in actual practice the cost of lifting 

 would probably not exceed £2 los. per acre. 



The cost of growing at the five Essex centres, exclusive of 

 rent and taxes, but including chemical manures, was returned 

 as follows : — 



£ s. d. 



Chelmsford ioi8 o 



St. Osyth 10 3 2 



Great Yeldham ... ... ... ... ... ... ii 3 i 



Maplestead ... ... ... ... ... ... 9 3 0 



Great Stambridge ... ... ... ... ... 11 17 6 



Average ... £\Q 12 11^ 



The cost per acre would probably be less if the crop was 

 grown on a large scale instead of on several small experimental 

 plots, but there seems to be a general agreement that an acre 

 of sugar-beet yielding 18 to 20 tons cannot be grown under 

 £\o, and any calculation based on their production in Essex at 

 a lower figure would be risky. It is impossible, of course, to 

 say the exact price the English farmer could expect to get for 

 his roots, but it would probably be from 17s. to 20s. per ton of 

 trimmed roots delivered at the factory. 



In considering the results of the experiments it should be 

 remembered that the value of the beet depends on two things, 

 (i) percentage of sugar in roots, (2) purity of the juice. The 

 purity of the juice largely determines the price which the sugar 

 manufacturer will be able to give for the roots, and it represents 

 to him a measure of the cost of obtaining the sugar in a 

 crystalline form. 



