CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 



81 



But the quantities of alkalies absorbed by the root seem never to ex- 

 ceed a certain limit, as shown by Peligot, Corenwinder, Pagnoul, and 

 Leloup, and it is by no means proportional to the quantities supplied by 

 the soil, and the quantity of sulphuric acid necessary to saturate or 

 combine with the alkalies contained in the ashes of beets will not vary 

 much from 58.5 per cent, their weight. This latter relation has been 

 fully established by the work of Dubrunfaut, Corinwinder, Eagot, 

 Champion and Pellet, and others. 



yot only is the quantity of alkalies that may be absorbed by beets 

 thus limited, but Champion and Pellet have found that the alkalies and 

 alkaline earths, in the absence of those best suited to the plant, may sub- 

 stitute each other in the proportion of their respective chemical equiva- 

 lents, a fact of importance in the study of the chemistry of soils and 

 fertilizers. 



Of all the qualities of the root, there is none that would afford as 

 ready and easily applicable a means of separating beets of different 

 quality as the density, and this has long been and still is considered by 

 many growers a strong indication of the saccharine value, but the best 

 authorities seem to consider it a doubtful one. Dubrunfaut finds this 

 relation to be materially modified by the presence of air or gases in the 

 root. This view is also held by Champonnois, who, in examining roots 

 produced in the campaign of 1874 to 1875, found that a beet having a 

 density of 1.010 may give a juice having a density of 1.050. The fig- 

 ures given by Champion and Pellet are also adverse to the idea. Ex- 

 amination of 12 beets gave the following : 



Having now studied the internal structure and characters of the beet, 

 and the conditions residing within the root itself, we come to the con- 

 sideration of the juice, the quantity that may be extracted, and its 

 composition and value. I do not propose to discuss the complete analyses 

 of the juices, but to call attention to some of the later facts that have 

 been worked out concerning the qualities which may affect the value or 

 6 SB 



