70 Elementary Species 



erect to ascending, and the name patula indi- 

 cates stems which are densely branching from 

 the base with widely spreading branches 

 throughout. Mr. Em. von Proskowetz of Kwas- 

 sitz, Austria, kindly sent me seeds of this Beta 

 patula, the variability of which was so great in 

 my cultures as to range from nearly typical 

 sugar-beets to the thin woody type of Buk- 

 harest. 



Broad and narrow leaves are considered to be 

 differentiating marks between Beta vulgaris 

 and Beta patula, but even here a wide range of 

 forms seem to occur. 



Rimpau, Proskowetz, Schindler and others 

 have made cultures of beets from wild localities 

 in order to discover a hypothetical common an- 

 cestor of all the present cultivated types. 

 These researches point to the B. patula as the 

 probable ancestor, but of course they were not 

 made to decide the question as to whether the 

 origination of the several now existing types 

 had taken place before or during culture. 

 From a general point of view the variability of 

 the wild species is parallel to that of the 

 cultivated forms to such a degree as to suggest 

 the multiple origin of the former. But a close 

 investigation into this highly important prob- 

 lem has still to be made. 



The varieties of the cultivated beets are com- 



