460 Canadian Record of Science. 
until finally the proper beet for the particular country is 
got at. It is remarkable, indeed, to note how the roots have 
increased in richness in the past twenty years. Then six 
to eight per cent. was common in Germany, but now 
they will not have anything under 15 per cent. with an 
ordinary crop, and plant seed beets which contain over 
20 per cent. The man to whom the honour of this im- 
provement is due is Vilmorin, of Paris. He took the old 
Silesian beet and by long and careful cultivation produced 
a small beet containing a great deal of sugar, and also very 
pure. Every year the German, Austrian and Russian seed 
growers buy from him at whatever price he likes to ask, and 
keep improving their stock until now they export seed back 
to France, for all this time the Frenchman could not appre- 
ciate their countryman’s efforts, and continued to grow the 
old cattle beet until the Germans got so far ahead that they 
exported sugar into France. In 1884 came a terrible crisis, 
and all turned their eyes to Germany to find that they were 
far behind, and all on account of bad seed. 
The nature of the soil has a double effect on the beet. It 
affects the size of the crop and also its quality. Beets may 
be considered as consisting of five to six per cent. of what is 
called mark or insoluble fibrous matter, and 94 to 95 per 
cent. of juice. In this juice the sugar is dissolved and 
also, unfortunately, a number of other substances, which are 
salts of lime and potash joined to organic acids, and various 
complicated gummy matters. The presence of these is the 
cause of molasses. That is to say, the more of them, the 
more molasses, and the less pure sugar results from the 
process of manufacture. It is, therefore, of great impor- 
tance that there be as little as possible of them, and their 
presence is determined greatly by the nature of the soil and 
the manure which is used. It is practically true that the 
only substances a plant derives from the soil, are phosphoric 
acid, nitrogen, and potash, and, therefore, manures are only 
of value inasmuch as they contain these substances. Of 
these, the one we wish most to avoid is potash, and it is a fact 
that this is a substance for which a beet has a most unrea- 
