EXPERIMENTS WITH SUGAR BEETS. 
21 
The filtering and reducing of metallic copper involves 
a loss of time overbalancing, in our judgment, the in¬ 
creased accuracy. The accuracy was greater in using an 
alkaline copper solution freshly mixed than one which 
had stood some time; the length of time the solution is 
boiled influences the result. Prolonged boiling increases 
the per cent, of starch. The analysis of potatoes by the 
Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station is given by 
way of comparison : Bulletin Ho. 9, page 9. Highest 
yield (Empire State), 15.48 per cent.; lowest yield (Da¬ 
kota Red), 12.05 per cent, of starch. 
SUGAR BEETS. 
Seeds of four varieties of sugar beets were received 
from the Department of Agriculture, and were sown 
April 15, on 1-4 of an acre of ground. The planting was 
in rows three feet apart, the seeds being sown with a 
drill. The soil was a clay loam which had been in clover 
sod for three years previous, and was broken in the fall of 
1887. The plants were irrigated four times, cultivated 
six times and hoed twice. The estimated yield per acre 
is based upon the product of an average row of each kind 
450 feet long. 
DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 
Lane’s Imperial —Roots very smooth, skin white, 
shading to red above—growing well below ground; 
yield per acre, 80.45 tons. 
Excelsior Sugar —Roots smooth, skin dull white, grow¬ 
ing under ground; yield per acre, 29.04 tons. 
Vilmorin Sugar —Roots smooth, skin white with a pur¬ 
plish tinge, somewhat wrinkled—growing below ground ; 
yield per acre, 25.09 tons. 
Improved Imperial Sugar —Roots rough, skin dull 
orange, growing one-half above the surface of the soil; 
yield per acre, 24.15 tons. 
