Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-12-08

7 half a bushel, IL taken and cleaned
nnd the calculation made as to how
much dirt there IL In the whole load.
The column headed Per cent. Of su-
gar In the beet represents the charac-
ter of the beet ut the time IL was an
alyzed. On the average this was
about three days after harvesting.
During this time, OF course, the beets
had been drying out, which would
tend to ra.tc tE" per cent. OF sugar In
the sample. The first two columns
therefore represent the gross weight
or bcets and dirt together and the
analysis of n partly dried sample. In
| both cases making the crops appar
emily better than they were. To on
set this. the column headed pure 81
gar per acre" is obtained by multiply
ing the other two together and dc.
ducting one-ifth for tarc and drying
out. 1t Is probable that this Is II
larger shrinkace than would have
been made had these crops been sent
to sugar factory but It was deemed
best to make sufficient reduction so
there could bc no possible appearance
of an attempt TO eXaggerate ColoradO's
sugar-beet crop. The figures, even af
ter the 20 per cent. reduction. show
magnificent crops and still more so
that we can look at them ns slight
underestimate.
The column headed "Coefiicient OF
purity" is the measure Of the factory
value OF the sugar that is In the beet
II n beet tests 80 per cent. purity" 1t
means that for every SO per cent. OF
pure sugar that the beet contains 1,
also contains 20 per cent. OF impuri-
ties that are not sugar. These impuri-
ties prevent the factory from saving
NIL the pure sugar and the greater
the amount OF impurity. the greater
the amount of pure sugar that will be
lost In the process Of manufacture.
The pure sugar per acre" multiplied
by the ''coefiicIent OF purity" will give
the available sugar per acre." or the
approximate amount OF sugar that
would have been produced from the
crops In an ordinary factory. 1t Is
considered that this measures the true
sugar value Of the crop and 1t is on
the figures OF this column that the or
der OF excellence Of the various crops
IL based.
In the table OF averages column is
Introduced headed Factory value per
acre" This is intended to represent
the amount that would be paid for
the crop ut a factory under present
prices. 1t is obtained by deducting
10 per cent. tare from the gross weight
OF the crop and multiplying the re-
maindcr by the price paid by factories
during 1898, where the price Is varied
according TO the quality of the beets.
The prices used are: Three dollars
and 10 cents per ton for beets testing
from 1900 per cent to lao per cent.
sugar and OF less than IS per cent.
purity: 81 per ton for the same per
|ccnt. of sugar and more than IS per
cent. purity: Si.25 per ton for tests
from 1850 to 1910 per cent. sugar:
SI.5O per ton for tests from 1850 TO
1G.40 per cent. sugar: S4.Ij per ton
for tests OF 1850 or higher per cent.
sugar.
In considering the foregoing tables
one Is struck Mt once with the high
average excellence of sugar bccts of
Colorado rs regards both quantity and
quality. In the districts of the United
States where beeis are raised for fac
tories, IL per cent. of sugar and IS
per cent. purity are considered stand
ards. and tho. one who has raised
ten to thirteen tons of bccts per acre
has done well. a fair estimate of the
cost of raising sugar beets is $50 per
acre. while the above table gives
S7G.GT as the average factory value
for the whole state. The difference
OF SiG.GI profit per acre will compare
well with any other kind Of farming
practiccd In Colorado. not even except
ing the famed cantaloupes of the Ar
kansas valley. the orchards of the
western slope or the lambs of the
, northern feeding districts.
In conclusion I want to express my
grateful appreciation of the aid that
the Denver chamber of commerce has
given in this work. The above tables
present the largest amount of the most
reliable reports that have ever been
collected concerning Colorado sugar
beets. and their collection was made
possible only through the generosity
and public spirit shown in the offer.
ing of the sugar beet prizes.
Respectfully submitted,
W. w. COOKE.
Professor of Agriculture.