82 THE SUGAR BEET. 



to notice by Payen, Dubrunfaut, and others. The 

 most important are oxalate of potassa and soda and 

 small quantities of oxalate of ammonia. If oxalate of 

 lime exist or not we have not been fortunate enough to 

 decide, but consider in all probability that it does, as 

 all other plants of the same family as the beet (cheno- 

 podees) contain it. Decaisne asserts that it does not, 

 while Payen and others contend that it does. 



We must now say a few words regarding the min- 

 eral substances which have a most important effect upon 

 the final results. Fortunately, the greater portion of 

 these are to be found in the neck, which is sliced off^ 

 before working, and in this mamiei" many of the diffi- 

 culties of fabrication are gotten rid of. We do not 

 think we would be far from the truth in saying that 

 the- amount of sugar in the beet varied indirectly pro- 

 portional to the salts, as hundreds of experiments have 

 proven this statement. These minerals and other salts 

 seem also to affect the general form of the root, the 

 beet being a plant that absorbs a portion of each of 

 these in quantities that vary with the composition of 

 the soil and fertilizers^ made use of. Champignon and 

 Pellet consider that an absorption may in certain cases 

 take place without a combination. 



Saltpetre exists in quantity sufficient to cause much 

 harm. A series of sulphates also do considerable harm. 



' See "Harvesting." * See " Soils and Fertilizers," 



