8 
EXPERIMENTS WITH SUGAR BEETS. 
Loss on Dressing —Is the loss occasioned by cutting 
off the part of the beet grown above ground. The per 
cent, of sugar increases from the top of the beet to the 
bottom. 
The part above ground contains relatively more salts 
of potash, lime, etc., than the rest of the beet, and these 
salts increase the specific gravity, lessen the coefficient of 
purity, and interfere with the extraction of the sugar 
present. It is for these reasons that it is removed. The 
sugar in the juice of the sugar beet consists mostly of 
cane sugar, with a small per cent. (one or two-tenths) of 
grape sugar. The methods of analysis may be briefly 
sketched. Average beets are taken, washed, dried and 
weighed. The part grown above ground (crown) and 
small rootlets are removed, and again weighed, and the 
loss carefully noted. The beets are quartered parallel to 
the axis, and successive slices made lengthwise from each 
quarter of the different beets selected. These slices are 
grated on an ordinary tin grater, and the whole well 
mixed. A weighed quantity is taken, the sugar 
extracted, the coloring matter precipitated with basic 
lead acetate, and the amount of sugar determined by a 
saccharimeter. 
The per cent, of sugar in the sugar beets depends 
upon, (1) the kind of beets, and (2) upon the cultivation. 
Many of the beets sent to the Station for analysis 
were very large, and poor in sugar. They were sent with 
the mistaken idea that a large, overgrown beet of 
immense size and weight (11 pounds) was a good sugar 
beet. The following analyses show that the size of the 
beet is in inverse ratio to its sugar content. It must fol¬ 
low from this that as the beets increase in size and 
weight, say above 3 pounds, the per cent, of water 
increases and the sugar decreases. The following beets 
