532 Transactions of tee American Institute. 



speaking, watery and poor in sugar. On the other hand, the less 

 luxuriant and smaller tops of well-grovm, moderate sized beets will 

 be found to correspond with concentric layers of cells of smaller 

 dimensions, to be filled with a denser sap, richer in sugar than we 

 find it in roots with large tops. The best roots for the manufacture 

 of sugar are those in which the size of these concentric layers of cells 

 does not exceed one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch, and, as a gene- 

 ral rule, such roots do not weigh more than two pounds each. The 

 walls of the cells are composed of cellulose, and upon this is deposited 

 a gelatinous matter called pectose, which occurs in all bulbous roots, 

 and in fruits from which jelly can be obtained. Beside cellulose and 

 pectose constituting the bulk of the expressed pulp of the beet root, 

 the latter contains small quantities of soluble albuminous compound 

 and insoluble mineral matters, chiefly composed of insoluble salts of 

 lime. The liquid contents of the cells, or beet-root juice, contain in 

 addition to the sugar, their chief constituent, an appreciable amount of 

 vegetable casein and analogus nitrogenous compounds, a little green 

 coloring matter, oil, a peculiar acrid-tasting substance which has not yet 

 been satisfactorily isolated, citric and probably other organic acids, and 

 a number of saline compounds which constitutes the soluble portion 

 of the ash of beet root. Dr. Yoelcker gives seventy-eight analyses 

 of Silesian beets, from which we find the average amount of crystalli- 

 zable sugar is between eight and nine per cent of their weight. The 

 highest per centage was 13.19, and, what is remarkable, the lowest 

 per centage, 2.22, was obtained from a very large root, to force the 

 growth of which more than the usual quantity of common manure 

 had been applied. Like other green crops, the sugar-beet, though 

 not equally well adapted for every kind of soil, is nevertheless grown 

 on land varying greatly as regards depth, texture, and general physi- 

 cal and chemical properties. It may, however, be observed at once 

 that all soils incapable of being cultivated to a depth of at least six- 

 teen inches, are unsuited for the growth of the sugar-beet, which, 

 unlike the yellow globe mangold, grows almost entirely under ground, 

 and therefore cannot be cultivated with advantage on very shallow 

 soils. Peaty soils are not suited for beets, nor still clay soils, and, 

 more or less, all soils in a bad condition are unsuitable for its cultiva- 

 tion. The chief requisites in soil upon which this crop is intended 

 to be raised, are a sufficient depth and ready penetrability by the 

 plant. A good friable deep turnip loam, and all soils on which pota- 

 toes grow to perfection, are perhaps the most eligible of all for growth 



