CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 91 



Having thus determined the specific gravity of the juices of the vari- 

 ous beets under examination, those considered worthy of propagation 

 are preserved and the others rejected. The surfaces of the wounds pro- 

 duced in the beets examined by the removal of the sample is covered 

 with charcoal dust, which effectually prevents any decay or deteriora- 

 tion in consequence of the treatment to which the roots have been sub- 

 mitted. 



This method was employed in the development of the race of beets 

 known as Yilmorin's Improved, and it is this method or modifications 

 of it, or some additional operations carried on in connection with it, that 

 is employed to-day by the most intelligent and responsible producers of 

 improved seed in France. 



Mr. Henri Yilmorin, who has succeeded his father in the work, com- 

 bines the method with examination of the sample of juice, after the deter- 

 mination of its specific gravity, by means of the polariscope, while others 

 employ, as supplementary to the method, estimation of the sugar by 

 means of the copper test. 



But notwithstanding the unfavorable conclusions concerning the 

 method of selection, based upon the density of the roots as determined 

 by immersing them in solutions of molasses or salt of differing but 

 known strengths, it is still used by many of the leading seed-growers in 

 the North of France. M. Demiatte, in an article on the subject of selec- 

 tion of seed-bearers, states* that he proceeds as follows, according to 

 Brabant's method: Select subjects weighing at least 700 grams (1£ 

 pounds). For determination of their density they are thrown into a 

 vat partly filled with a solution of molasses, having a density of 2.5 de- 

 grees by the densimeter; those roots which float are rejected; those 

 which partly sink are preserved for the production of seed called No. 3. 

 Those which sink completely are thrown into a second vat containing a 

 solution similar to that just described, but having a density of 3.5 de- 

 grees. Those which float here are preserved for production of seed 

 known as No. 2. Those which sink to the bottom are of course of the 

 best quality, and are used for production of seed No 1. 



We have seen that the generally adopted opinion concerning the best 

 form of beet to be chosen for production of high yields of sugar is to 

 the effect that the long, tapering ones are the most valuable; but this 

 opinion is likely to be subject to modification in consequence of the re- 

 sults of later observations upon the constitution of the improved varie- 

 ties and their power to resist the deteriorating influences to which they 

 may be subject in the varyiug conditions of soil and culture. The taper- 

 ing, richer, improved races, descended from German stock, have been 

 found more subject to disease in France than the poorer races of the 

 country, and M. Decrombecque, at Lens, conceived the idea of incorpo- 

 rating within the latter the sugar-producing qualities of the former, and 



'Journal des Fabricants de Sucre, 1879, February 19. 



