About twenty varieties are catalogued by seedsmen, many of which are
but strains of the same kind, bearing the name of the grower, who by
careful cultivation has endeavored to improve it. Classified by form
they come under three classes, viz.:--the long, the round and the
ovoid or intermediate varieties. Classified by color we have the red
or scarlet, the pink, the yellow or orange, and the white varieties.
=The Long Varieties.=--Among the more prominent of these are the
Ox Horn, the common Long Red, Norbition Giant, Carter’s Orange
Globe, and the Silesian varieties of Sugar Beet. The Ox Horn is a
very crooked growing variety, as its name would imply, with a small
diameter in proportion to its great length. Growing almost wholly out
of ground it curves about so in the row as to be decidedly in the
way, is apt to break when pulled and in addition to these defects,
storing very badly, it is not in any way desirable. The Norbiton
Giant, Long Red, Gate Post, and Tankard are improvements over the
common Long Red in a greater uniformity in their habit of growth,
their size, and a less liability to grow hollow at the top at the
advanced stage of growth.
[Illustration: LONG RED MANGOLD.]
=The Round Varieties.=--In these are included the common Red and
Yellow Globe, Gate Post and Tankard, with some of the underground
varieties of the Sugar Beet.
=Ovoid= are either red or yellow in color and are intermediate in
form between the long and the round kinds.
=What Kinds to Grow.=--In this country the Long Red are the most
popular, particularly the Norbiton Giant variety. While travelling
in England, Ireland and France, for inquiry and observation, I found
that the round and ovoid varieties were more generally cultivated
than the long sorts. In my experience the ovoid varieties incline to
grow smoother than the long kinds and hence are likely to bring up
less earth with them, which on heavy soil is a matter of some moment.
I think of the two kinds the yellow, under the same circumstances,
makes the larger root. The long varieties pile better in the cellar,
while the round or ovoids cut up rather more readily, appear less
inclined to rot at the top, and are firmer fleshed. The globe and
ovoid varieties appear to be best adapted to hard and shallow soils,
and of these the Yellow Globe and Ovoid are especially valuable, as
they are better keepers than most sorts and remain sound, without
sprouting, until late into the spring, and with special care may be
kept even into the summer season.
[Illustration: OVOID MANGOLD.]
The long Silesian varieties of Sugar Beet vary from each other only
in the color of the part exposed above ground,--being green, grey
or red. The kind introduced to the American public a few years
ago, under the name of Lane’s Improved American Sugar Beet, is a
strain of Long White Mangold. The improved varieties of Germany and
France yield about double the percentage of sugar that is found in
the common Mangold, in some crops the proportion being as high as
sixteen per cent. This would make the Sugar Beets of double the
value of Mangolds for stock, but unfortunately, the roots under like
conditions of cultivation, average but half the weight of Mangolds.
[Illustration: GLOBE MANGOLD.]
The average percentage of sugar found in analysis of beets grown in
this country is exceptionably high. Having land free from alkalies,
of unbounded fertility, readily accessible, and attainable at almost
nominal cost, it is a serious question why we do not follow the
example of other countries and raise our own sugar rather than import
it. Our inducement is the home market that the sugar factory would
afford for unlimited areas of beets, while the refuse pulp would
enable farmers to increase greatly the number of their neat stock,
to the advantage of the manure pile and enlargement of their area
of tillage. The great draw back is the price of labor in our own
prosperous country.