60 SUGAR BEET SEED. 



percentage of beets seems to increase with the num- 

 ber of leaf-circles. Eight to ten is considered a good 

 indication. The wrinkles of the leaves seem also to be 

 a quality characteristic; the greater the number of 

 wrinkles, the higher the saccharine percentage of the 

 root. In normal beets, when the leaves are of an 

 oblong shape rather than round, so to speak, the roots 

 are richest in svigar. 



When the leaves are very pointed the beets 

 to which they belong are never very rich in sugar, 

 and in some cases denote a certain malady of the 

 root. Very few of such beets are ever noticed on 

 the field. While a luxuriant vegetation and a 

 fine green surface seem essential for sugar elabora- 

 tion, practical experience shows that the soil and 

 excessive use of a nitric fertilizer have important influ- 

 ences and would, in most cases, be very misleading. 

 Iron, for example, is said to influence the intensity of 

 the green coloring. Beets with outspread leaves, cov- 

 ering considerable area, are generally richer in sugar 

 than those roots with upright leaves, where the sun has 

 great difficulty in penetrating. 



However, on this question experts very much dif- 

 fer, and the rhistake they frequently make is, that the 

 samples they select for comparison are not alike; for 

 care should be given that the beets compared be at the 

 same distance from adjoining beets in rows. 



JMarek's analyses on thirty beets gave the follow- 

 ing result : 



Av. weight of beet.. 



Density 



Dry Substance 



Polarization 



Noti sngrar 



Purity CoefE 



Proportional value. 



The quality of beets seems to increase with the 

 number of leaf-circles. In this respect Pellet has made 



