REPORT OF THE CHEMIST 



147 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



INFLUENCE OF INHERITED QUALITIES. 



The composition of roots is influenced by various factors, cliief among -wliich are 

 the character of the season as regards rainfall and temperature, and the relative rich- 

 ness of the soil. Quality in roots, ho-wever, as evidenced by the percentage of ' dry 

 matter ' and sugar is in part inherited. For the past six years -we have analysed t-wo 

 varieties, the Gate Post and Giant Yello-w Globe grown side by side, on land of the 

 same character and, necessarily, under the same climatic conditions, and the results 

 indicate that ' breed ' in mangels is a factor of considerable importance. 



Dry Matter and Sugar in Gate Post and Yellow Globe Mangels. 



Though the data for neither of these roots sho-w great regularity or uniformity, 

 due chiefly, I believe, to varying seasonal conditions, a well marked and always pre- 

 sent difference is to be observed between these mangels as regards their percentages of 

 dry matter and sugar. We have already observed that the past season at Ottawa was 

 not one favourable to sugar production, and this, I think, may account for the fact 

 that both varieties have given low returns this year. However, this does not affect in 

 any way the general results or the conclusions drawn from pre-dous years' work in 

 this matter, viz., that the Gate Post is the richer of the two, both as to dry matter and 

 sugar. The difference between these varieties, as far as it can be ascertained by 

 chemical analysis, shows that weight for weight the Gate Post should be worth be- 

 tween one-third and one-fourth more than the Giant Yellow Globe for feeding pur- 

 poses. 



SUGAR BEETS, EOR EACTOPvY PURPOSES. 



The three varieties of sugar beets principally used for sugar extraction, Vilmorin's 

 Improved, Klein Wanzleben and Tres Riche (French ' Very Rich ') as grown on the 

 Dominion Experimental Farms during tlie past season have been analysed. By re- 

 ference to the reports of this Division it will be seen that this investigation has been 

 carried on, practically, since the establishment of the Farms, so that now we have on 

 record considerable evidence as to the richness and purity of sugar beets as gro-wn in 

 Canada under varying climatic or seasonal conditions. 



16— lOJ 



