Sugar Beets. 
45 
crop, is corroborated by the observations of the years 1898 and 
1899, i. e., that the alkali per se is not injurious in such quantities 
as it is present in any part of our plot. 
The effect of the manure upon the shape of the beets was 
noticeable the second season after its application, but it was less 
marked than it was the first season. But its effect upon the 
percentage of sugar and the coefficient of purity was almost as 
marked the second year after its application as it was the first year. 
The peculiar soil conditions are in part the cause of this, for they 
retard the rotting and complete incorporation of the manure with 
the soil. 
The marked increase in the percentage of sugar at the period 
of ripening, observed in 1897, was not observed in the years 1898 
and 1899. The difference in the manner of maturing is attributed 
to the difference in the seasons. It is possible, though not probable, 
that such increase had already taken place before we took our first 
samples, September 27. The beets did not show any signs of 
having ripened at this time. 
The beets from the Farm plots and our alkali ground showed 
no difference in this respect, corroborating the observation of 1897, 
that the alkali was without influence on the maturing of the beet. 
Cut straw was applied to one section in order to compare its 
effects with those of the manure, as a measure of the extent to 
which the manure might act as a mechanical agent. It benefited 
the soil greatly, its mechanical effect being nearly as great as that 
of the manure, but the effects of the manure were in other respects 
much greater. 
The percentage of dry matter in the beets of the years 1898 
and 1899 was higher than in 1897, due, probably, to seasonal 
differences. The average difference for beets from my plot was 4.9 
per cent, in 1898 and 3.8 per cent, in 1899. 
The average percentage of sugar in the crop for 1898 was, 
after making allowance for some drying out of the samples, 13.62 
per cent. The average of the crop grown on alkali soil was 13.65 
per cent. 
i 
Medium sized beets are apt to be better than either large or 
small beets, but the size is less determinative of the quality of the 
beets than the conditions under which they grow. Beets weighing 
two pounds and upwards are quite as rich as those weighing less 
than one pound, if they have been grown under the same 
conditions. 
