— 16 
The above results show that in these extreme cases, the smaller 
the beets the better the sugar and purity. Even here, however, the 
difference is not large, being, in both cases, about one per cent of 
sugar for doubling the size of the beet. The previous tests seem to 
indicate that, for sizes from three-quarters of a pound to a pound 
and a half, the size of the beet has but little influence on its quality. 
9. Different Dates of Thinning. 
Most rules for the culture of sugar beets say that the thinning 
should be done as early as possible. Four tests were made to note 
the effects on the quantity and quality of the crop of thinning at 
different dates. The earliest thinning was done when the plants 
were quite young, from 18 to 26 days after planting, while the last 
thinning was 29 to 40 days after planting. These are not very wide 
extremes, but they cover the time at which most of the thinning 
would be done in beets raised for a factory. 
No. of Test. 
Date of 
thinning. 
Days from 
planting 
to 
thinning. 
Number 
of 
beets 
per row. 
Weight of 
crop 
in tons 
per acre. 
Sugar 
in beet. 
Purity. 
Jane 6 
26 
260 
16.7 
15.90 
77.4 
2. 
“ 6 
26 
363 
19.0 
17.54 
83.1 
“ 8 
26 
385 
17.4 
17.22 
81.0 
4. 
“ 14 
18 
241 
17.1 
16.59 
85.4 
Average. 
24 
312 
17.5 
16.82 
81.7 
June 16 
36 
297 
17.0 
16.77 
81.8 
“ 16 
36 
283 
17.3 
17.08 
83.5 
3. 
“ 16 
34 
283 
16.4 
4.. 
“ 17 
21 
270 
20.3 
15.76 
75.0 
Average. 
32 
283 
17.7 
16.54 
80.1 
1. 
Jane 20 
40 
268 
16.8 
17.22 
85.3 
2. 
“ 20 
40 
305 
17.7 
18.43 
85.1 
3. 
“ 20 
38 
327 
15.5 
16.00 
78.0 
Tsm 
4. 
“ 25 
29 
288 
18.7 
17.31 
81.6 
Average. 
37 
297 
17.2 
17.24 
82.5 
The average results are closely alike for the different dates, and 
the individual records are so irregular as to indicate that these dif¬ 
ferent dates of thinning had little or no effect on either the quan¬ 
tity or the quality of the crop. 
As all the results are excellent, the tests would seem to stfiow 
that the work of thinning can be extended over a period of at least 
two weeks without injury to the crop. As one person can thin an 
