SUPPLEMENT. 21 



It is well known, that, as a general rule, the various mineral 

 constituents of a plant arc indispensable to its growth, so that, 

 if any one is wanting, the rest are thereby rendered incapable 

 of supporting it. Oar whole system of manuring, and even of 

 rotation, rests upon this premise, and practical experience man- 

 ifestly confirms it. 



Tlic composition of the ash constituents of the highly cul- 

 tivated sugar-beet, compared with that of the wild beet, furnishes 

 us with a striking instance as- to what extent elements of a 

 similar chemical character, for instance, potassa and soda, 

 may be substituted for each other. We may also notice, how- 

 ever gradually such substitution may have been accomplished, 

 that it inevitably affects the normal physiological processes going 

 on in those plants which are subjected to such treatment. 

 Whatever favors abnormal growth in plants surely aids in 

 hastening on their premature unfitness for propagation, and 

 their final extinction. A comparative study of our garden 

 plants regarding their ash and otlier constituents, in their wild 

 and cultivated state, would furnish us most likely with numer- 

 ous instances of differences similar to those noticed in the case 

 of the sugar-beet, and investigations of that kind could not but 

 point out to us very important facts concerning the most advan- 

 tageous selection of special manures for the production of a 

 desired abnormal growth of our cultivated plants. Louis Vil- 

 morin, the celebrated French gardener and seedsman, states 

 that he raised, by proper selection, sugar-beets which contained 

 in their juice not less tiian 21 per cent, of sugar, thus surpass- 

 ing in sweetness the juice of the sugar-cane. 



Selection of Varieties of Beet. 

 The successful cultivation of the sugar-beet begins with the 

 selection of seed beets. Vilmorin's views on this subject are 

 considered of great weight ; a detailed exposition of his rules 

 may be found in the Journal d'Agriculture Pratique, No. 5, 

 1858. He advises the selection of healthy, well-shaped beet-roots 

 of from 11 to 2 pounds weight, those, which with a large yield, 

 show the most rings of leaf marks are preferred, — the specific 

 gravity of their juice ought not to be less than 1.05 ; those 

 whicii contain a juice of from 1.0(3 to 1.07 specific gravity are 

 of superior character ; seed-beets ought not to be taken from a 



