IMPROVEMENT OF THE SEED. 185 



The saccharine changes that take place daring the 

 second year are most strange. The sugar seems to 

 diminish as soon as the root gives signs of life, and 

 shortly after this remains approximately the same until 

 the seed commence to show themselves, and then 

 almost entirely disappears. One might conclude from 

 this fact that the seed had absorbed the sugar, but this 

 is not the case, as it has been proved that a large 

 amount of the latter passes into the smiU side roots,' 

 which in all cases show themselves adhering to the 

 outer surface of the mother beet. Evidently, the 

 functions these have to fulfil are to exhaust the maxi- 

 mum elements from the surrounding soil. 



The Chinese have for years past understood the im- 

 portance of this, and for that reason, when biannual 

 plants are grown, small slices are made in the same, 

 these facilitating the growth of the small adhesive roots. 



The mother having been planted some inches beneath 

 the surface, the neck in growing will pass through the 

 earth, and in this manner it will be sufficiently sup- 

 poi'ted to resist the general variations of the weather. 



During the first few days of August the flowers 

 commence to appear, and should be pinched off", as 

 they will yield a seed of a poor quality, as a general 

 thing. By this means those to come will be somewhat 

 strengthened. We give a drawing of the flower (see 



' The opinions of scientists greatly differ as to these. Peligot concludes that 

 they exhaust the mother root. 

 13 



