— 25 — 
them stand much longer before thinning than I desired, owing to the 
attack of insects, and to the dry weather. The beets, in the mean- 
while, had grown so large that it was found impossible to pull the 
plants without serious injury to the ones we wished to leave, so we 
thinned them by cutting them out to the desired distance apart. 
The beets were harvested on October 14, and gave the following 
yields : 
YIELD PER ACRE. 
Tons Beets 
Variety. per Acre. 
Kleiawanziebener 7.9 
Vilmorin 8.6 
Lioq lirand 8.1 
Lane’s Imperial 15.9 
Imperial 11.8 
Tons Tops 
per Acre , 
6.2 
7.9 
7.0 
7'.1 
10.6 
I learn from Prof. Cooke, in charge of the Department of Agri- 
culture, that the yield of the College plots varied from eight to 
twelve tons per acre. It is clear that the yield from my plot does 
not vary enough from that of the other plots to justify the inference 
that the alkali had any influence upon the yield. The gross results, 
however, are not altogether conclusive, for the stand on the Farm 
plots was seriously affected by a spell of bad weather at planting 
time. My plot was sown at about the same time, and the stand was, 
on an average, poor enough, but other factors entered so largely into 
the question, that it is doubtful whether I would have had any 
better stand if the weather had been more favorable. The beets 
from the Farm plots were, as a rule, much finer beets, in shape and 
general appearance, than mine. I think that the coincidence, in the 
yields of the different plots, is accidental. The fact that they were 
grown under the same conditions, as to the weather, does not make 
them fully comparable. 
RATIO OF BEETS TO TOPS. 
Ware, in “ The Sugar Beet,” p. 93, says : “As a general thing, 
it is admitted that the weight of the leaves, in a given crop, is about 
equal to one half that of the roots, and one fourth to one third for 
beets containing 8 to 9 per cent, of sugar.” Wiley, quoting 
from McMurtrie’s Report, says : “ Coren winder and Contamine And 
that there is a relation between the size of the leaves and the rich- 
ness of the roots ; that roots wliich bear leaves of broad surface, are 
generally more rich in sugar than those having small leaves upon a 
contracted top, and these facts are confirmed by an analysis of sub- 
jects taken from the same field.” At the same time, Deherain con- 
cludes, from his researches, that the weight of leaves of small beets 
is relatively greater than is produced by larger ones. 
