79 



PART II. 



THE BEET AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



THE beet is a half-hardy, biennial plant ; its roots 

 attain their full size the first year, but will not survive 

 our winters in the open ground. Seeds are produced 

 from transplanted roots, after which the plant dies. 



Analysis of the Beet, according to Professor Pay en. 



Per cent. 



Water, 83.5 



Sugar in solution, 10.5 



Cellulose and pectose, 8 



Albumen, caseine, and nitrogenous matters, . . 1.5 

 Malic acid ; pectine ; gummy substances ; fatty, 

 aromatic, and coloring matters ; essential oil ; 

 chlorophylle ; asparamide ; oxalate and phos- 

 phate of lime ; phosphate of magnesia ; silicate, 

 nitrate, sulphate, and oxalate of potash ; ox- 

 alate of soda ; chloride of sodium and potassi- 

 um ; pectate of lime, potash, and soda ; sulphur, 

 silica, and oxide of iron, 3.7 



100. 



