CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 87 



to have made such rapid strides in advance as in this line of work, none 

 have given results more fruitful and of a character so well suited to 

 ameliorate the relations between the producer and manufacturer, and 

 at the same time be a source of profit to both. 



The initiatory steps in this work in France seem to have been taken 

 by Mons. Louis Yibnorin, the former head of the great house ot Yilmorin, 

 Andrieux & Co., of Paris, and his methods of working, followed by sim- 

 ilar results, are still being prosecuted with rare intelligence and skill by 

 bis son and successor, Mons. Henri Yilmorin, whose contributions to our 

 knowledge of this and other cultures have done so much to clear up the 

 many difficulties which surround and accompany the profitable manage- 

 ment of the several agricultural industries. 



Of the outward characteristics which aid in determining the richness 

 of beets, we have found the most important, as recognized in France, to 

 be size and form of the root, its density, the number and appearance of 

 the leaves, &c, and all these properties will be mentioned in the general 

 rules for selection. But thus far we have failed to notice the external 

 and internal characteristics of the seed, which have been found to have 

 an important bearing upon the character and value of the crop ; and, be- 

 fore proceeding to the effects of selection in securing desirable crops, we 

 shall call attention to the relation' of the character and composition 

 of the seed upon the quantity and quality of the roots produced from it. 

 In this connection we must again refer to the valuable little work of 

 Champion and Pellet, in which these authors and investigators take issue 

 with, or rather proceed further than, Yv'alkkoff, who advises selection of 

 the larger seeds for planting because they give more robust plants. 

 This is true as far as it goes, but the authors above mentioned, also find- 

 ing the relation of seed to the value of the crop to exist, find further that 

 while the larger seeds give roots of larger volume and weight, the smaller 

 seeds give smaller roots, which are richer in sugar. Thus taking two 

 lots of seeds produced by Simon Legrand, one lot having an average 

 weight of 3.2 grams per 100 seeds taken, and another lot having an 

 average weight of 0.425 grams per 100 seeds, the determination of 

 the weight of the roots produced and their saccharine richness gave the 

 following results : 



Average 

 Dates. -weight of 



four roots. 



bugar in 

 roots. 



11.8 



One large seed: Grams. Percent 



August 11 G6 



August 20 i 



August 31 K5 



September 16 3 1 5 



Two small seeds: 



August 11 30 



August 20 50 



August 31 , 7p 



September 16 233 



12.0 

 12. o 



