4 
EXPERIMENTS WITH SUGAR BEETS. 
In the countries of Continental Europe, the effort is 
to grow beets that shall weigh from two and one-lialf to 
four pounds, as by experiment, these give the greater per 
cent, of sugar. The same authority also states that the 
formation of sugar is favored by dry weather and 
unclouded sky in autumn. Here again is a condition 
which is found in perfection in Colorado, and should give 
us a high per cent, of sugar in our beets, provided all 
other conditions and circumstances are carefully noted. 
In general for Colorado: 
1. Prepare a deep and well-pulverized seed bed. 
2. Sow in drills about eighteen to twenty inches 
apart, so as to admit of horse culture between the rows, 
using from seven to eight pounds of good seed per acre. 
3. Irrigate judiciously and keep clear of weeds. 
Cultivate thoroughly during their early growth. 
4. When well up, thin so that there shall be one 
thrifty plant every six or eight inches (some say ten to 
twelve), and take care not to injure the plants in this 
process. 
5. In cultivation take care to preserve the leaves 
and to throw some earth to the plants' each time. The 
portion of the beet which grows above ground does 
not contain much sugar. 
6. Harvest when ripe, and preserve free from frost. 
Every person who secures a good stand should have no 
difficulty in producing at the rate of twenty-five tons per 
acre. (The average for Europe is said to be twenty-three 
tons). Indeed, the effort must be to produce twenty-five 
rather than forty tons. 
In practice, sugar has been extracted in various 
ways: 
