168 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



They were planted rather late in the season. 



100 large seeds weighed 3 2 grammes. 



100 small seed weighed. 0.425 grammes. 



(I gramme = 15.43 grains.) 



Dates. Average Weight of 4 Roots. Sugar in 100 Grammes. 



f Aug. 11, 66 grammes. 



Large Seeds. \ f"^" f' .^ ^°- ^^-^ grammes. 



^ Aug. 31, 125 do, 



Sept. 16, 375 do. 11.8 grammes. 



Aug. 11, 30 grammes. 



Small Seeds. 4 f "^- f' ^^ ^«- ^^.O grammes. 



j Aug. 31, 75 do. 



[ Sept. 16, 233 do. 12.5 grammes. 



A more extended series of experiments upon this subject would 

 seem useful. 



Walkhoff says it is best to take the large seeds because they 

 give more robust roots. 



It is a noticeable fact that small seeds generally contain a some- 

 what greater percentage of nitrogen than ()o large ones, as shown 

 by the following table : 



Vilmorin Seeds. Weight of 100 Seeds. Per cent, of Water. Nitrogen. Ash. 



Large, 4.130 grammes. 10.9 2.66 5.4 



Small, 0.546 do. 11.0 3.07 5.3 



The difference is not as great in the other varieties of beet seed 

 as in the Vilmorin, averaging about .34 per cent, more of nitrogen 

 in the small than in the large. The richest beets are produced 

 from those seeds which contain most nitrogen and least ash. 



It has been recommended to soak the seeds in water some 

 hours, and to use them some time after they had been removed 

 from the water. The following experiment will give an idea of 

 the utility of such a treatment :* 



Roots pulled up Average Weight of Roots. Per ct. of Sugar. 



iAug. 81, 400 grammes. 16 4 



Sept. 16, 460 ao. 13.4 



Sept. 29, 580 do. 17.0 



(Aug. 31, 16.9 



Soaked Seed. -] Sept. 16, 500 grammes. 14.9 



(Sept. 29, 580 do. 17.2 



The blanks in the soaked seed patch were few, while there were 

 many in the patch in which the unsoaked seed had been sowed. 



Some of the soaked seed showed signs of germination after 

 having been sown from six to seven days, although the soil was of 



* De la Betterave; p. 33. 



