SUGAR HKET IN SOUTH AFRICA. I "I 



of growth of the plant is during which its niaxiniuni sugar con- 

 tent is attained, and whether there is an optinnun sowing time 

 if we would reach the maxima for both curves of increase simul- 

 taneously, are all ])oints which still remain to he investigated, 

 as well as the possil)ility of their being more marked in some 

 districts than in others. 



The average composition of mangolds has been recorded as 

 follows* : — 



Large Medium Small 



roots. roots. roots. 



Water % 89.5 88.0 86.5 



Ash % 1.4 1 . 1 .9 



Fat % .1 .1 .1 



Crude Fibre % i.o .9 .8 



Proteins % r.3 1.2 i.i 



Carbohydrates, excluding 



Crude Fibre % 6.7 8.7 10.6 



Large roots are more watery, richer in nitrogenous sidj- 

 stance and crude fibre than small ones. ( )ne half of the ash 

 constituents of mangolds consist of ]:)Otash — that is to say, from 

 .5 to .7 per cent, of each fresh mangold root is .i)ure potash, so 

 that a harvest of 10 tons per acre removes from the soil from 

 100 to 140 lb. of potash per acre. This reasoning may also be 

 applied to sugar beet. Moreover, aljout one-seventh of the ash 

 constituents of mangolds consist of soda,t sd that a to ton 

 harvest on an acre of soil needs about 30 to 40 lb. of soda for 

 its development. In this connection one may note wdth interest 

 that mangolds are " one of the few crops which are benefited by 

 applications of common salt to the soil, and, perhaps for this 

 reason, grow well on land near the coasts. "t They yield very 

 heavy crops on a deep, somewhat loamy, soil, with abundant 

 nitrogenous manuring. C^n the other hand, the same author 

 points out§ that for sugar beet " Nitrogenous manuring must 

 be only sparingly done, or the roots become watery and deficient 

 in sugar." 



It remains to record the results of some experiments in 

 sugar beet culture carried out, under the auspices of the De])art- 

 ment of Mines and Industries, by Mr. E. T. L. Edmeades, of 

 Pinehurst, (Judtshoorn. during the 1915-16 season, in the west- 

 ern coast belt districts of the Cape Province. These experi- 

 ments are still in their initial stage, but it is hoped that they 

 may develop into the investigation recommended by me in my 

 earlier papers on the subject. During 1915 Mr. Edmeades im- 

 I)orted different varieties of sugar beet seed from the well-known 

 firm of Vilmorin. of Paris. He distributed this seed amongst 

 about a dozen farmers in the Division^ of George, Mossel Bay, 



*Thorpe: "Diet, of Applied Chemistry" (19T2), 3. 397. 

 fKonig: " Chemic der menschlichen Nahrungsmittel " (1903^. 1- 

 751. 



t H. Ingle, in Thorpe's " dictionary of .\pplied Chemistry," 398. 



§ Thorpe, op cit., 1. 435- 



