CULTIVATION OF THE BEET. 9! 



" I. The formation of cane sugar in beets is only 

 favored by the proper concurrence of warmth and 

 rain. 



" 2. Continued drought induces acid juices. 



"3. The juices, during the period of storage in the 

 silos (pits), are converted into grape sugar, which is 

 uncrystallizable. 



"4. Beets in the year 1859 ( a verv dry season) 

 heated in the silos, and rotted sooner than those of the 

 preceding year. This was the result of the drought 

 and consequent formation of acid juices." 

 J. J.^Fiihling, a great Prussian cultivator, says, 



" My observations and inquiries satisfy me that in 

 a climate warm and moist in summer, most lands are 

 adapted to the beet ; that in a climate where the 

 summers are very hot and dry, a strong and retentive 

 soil is required ; and where they are colder and more 

 humid, fields light and permeable produce better re- 

 sults for the cultivator. 



u After planting is done, warm and moist weather 

 in May and June favor the early development of the 

 plant, which gives earnest of a good crop. 



" With July and early August dry and warm, the 

 production of good seed is probable. 



" Continued and abundant rains in July and August 

 insure a heavy crop. September dry produces beets 

 rich in sugar ; but September wet makes them watery, 

 and comparatively poor in saccharine matter, not 

 because the beets secrete their sugar in that month, 

 but because with dry weather the beet ripens and its 

 leaves begin to wither, while with continued rain the 

 plant is stimulated to produce a second crop of leaves 

 at the expense of the sugar contained in the root. 



