122 BEET-ROOT SUGAR AND 



gravity. But as the saline and alkaline properties are, 

 to a certain extent, developed under different circum- 

 stances from those which produce the highest saccha- 

 rine qualities, and as it is well known under what 

 circumstances the one or the other properties are most 

 fully developed, it is necessary to choose good seed- 

 beets from those growing under conditions most fa- 

 vorable for the production of sugar, and from these to 

 select those having the greatest specific gravity. 



A soil rather sandy, and not too highly manured 

 with stable manure, although it does not yield such 

 heavy crops as one more fertile, nevertheless produces 

 a beet that not only ripens earlier, but is also richer 

 in sugar, comparatively free from saline and alkaline 

 elements, and well suited for seed. 



The salts in stable manure are readily absorbed by 

 the beet ; consequently the best course to take, in order 

 to secure good seed-beets, is to sow the seed the pre- 

 ceding year on a part of the field that has not been 

 manured for two or three years, and is best adapted 

 by nature to the purpose. Bone-dust, however, may 

 be used with advantage in the drill as a fertilizer. 

 From the time the plant first makes its appearance, 

 the cultivation should be most thorough. When the 

 beets are ripening, select those having the qualities 

 described, and mark them to be dug when fully ripe. 

 When this period arrives, the roots are very carefully 

 taken up, the extreme end of the tap-root removed, 

 the leaves cut off with a sharp knife to within an inch 

 of the crown, instead of close, as in the case of those 

 to be used in the factory. A trench in a dry, well- 

 drained soil, and in a sheltered spot, is then dug two 



