124 THE SUGAR BEET. 



pei'fect manure, so-called, is one that contains all the 

 elements a plant requires for its development. What 

 these exactly are we do not know, but are obliged from 

 that fact to admit theories advanced by the agronomists 

 of the period. In analyzing the crops harvested we 

 know exactly what has been absorbed, and what con- 

 sequently must be returned. Apparently the use of 

 the barnyard manure resulting from the cattle that 

 have been fed upon the crops would come nearer to a 

 solution of the problem than any other, but unfortu- 

 nately these cattle are not in sufficient number (in a 

 majority of cases) to entirely consume the same, and, 

 admitting that this system of fertilization were perfect, 

 this manure is seldom, if ever, in sufficient quantities to 

 supply the demand. On the other hand, if we remember 

 that in the manufacture of sugar from the beet, or growth 

 of the grain (wheat, rye, etc.), or the fattening of live 

 stock, etc., we produce elements that are sold, and we 

 therefore take from the land principles that should re- 

 main. If these had again been returned nothing would 

 have been lost to the soil, but it would have necessi- 

 tated the killing and utilization of every portion of these 

 products, which would have been practicably impossible. 

 In the case of beet culture, as already stated, the necks 

 and the leaves return a large portion of what has been 

 extracted, but there still remain elements requisite 

 for a perfect fertility. On the other hand, we may 

 consider that soils may have a too high or too low 

 percentage of a given chemical, and to render beet 



