294 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



plest means which can be employed for this purpose is a salt bath, into 

 which the beets are plunged, and their density ascertained. The sweet- 

 est beets sink to the bottom, and are preserved for seed. By careful 

 selection in this way M. Villenorman has obtained plants which contain 

 fourteen or fifteen per cent, of sugar. The richness in sugar is ordi- 

 narily in inverse ratio to the size of the beet, and in direct ratio to the 

 density. 



Grant considers the white Silesian variety to unite most of the desira- 

 ble qualities for manufacturers. He says: "For the use of sugar 

 manufacturers the kind of beet that can be cultivated with the most 

 advantage is that which is richest in sugar and contains the smallest 

 amount of alkaline salts. It is distinguished by the following character- 

 istics : 



" First — Its roots must neither have the form of a carrot, nor of a 

 tuber, but be shaped more like a Bartlett pear. It must be long and 

 slender, gradually tapering, and free from large lateral roots. 



" Second — It must not grow above the surface of the soil. 



" Third — It must have a smooth white surface, and the flesh be white 

 and hard. 



" Fourth — Its size must not be too large, and its weight not exceeding- 

 five to eight pounds. 



" The white Silesian beet, which is the one in general cultivation for 

 manufacturers, unites most of these qualities; and of other kinds those 

 are most preferred whose foliage is not upright, but broad, spreading, 

 and lying upon the surface of the ground The roots of beets pu-sessing 

 this peculiarity grow entirely beneath the surface." 



SOILS ADAPTED TO THE CULTIVATION OF THE BEET. 



The most productive soils are those composed of clay and sand, being 

 at the same time somewhat calcareous, deep and easily ploughed. 

 Sandy soils which contain clay and carbonate of lime also yield good 

 crops, if they do not suffer from prolonged drought. On soils almost 

 entirely argillaceous or calcareous the beet root attains but moderate 

 size, and is liable to suffer from drought as well as from wet. Argilla- 

 ceous soils, in order to be fitted for the cultivation of the beet, must be 

 improved by draining. It is impossible to raise a good crop on gravelly 

 soil, whatever may be its chemical constituents, inasmuch as the roots 

 bifurcate and divide into several smaller roots, which are apt to retain 

 gravel and small stones, which are afterwards very injurious to the 

 machinery when the roots are cut. 



Grant, in his treatise before quoted, says: "Ground that is mellow, 

 warm and fertile, free from saline and alkaline constituents, not sour, 

 and of a nature little liable to suffer from drought, easy to work late in 

 autumn and early in spring, with a comparatively permeable subsoil, 

 penetrable by the tap-root of the beet, that affords natural drainage so 

 that it may be worked soon after rains, is suitable for the crop in 

 question." 



Count Chaptal, a great cultivator as avcII as a sugar manufacturer, 

 says : " All grain fields are more or less suitable for beets, but especially 

 those having a depth of twelve or fifteen inches of rich vegetable mould. 

 Fine, sandy alluvial bottom lands, overflowed in the winter or early 

 spring, are favorable for the beet, and they need no artificial manure, as 



