160' SUGAR BEET SKED. 



By Chemical Analyses. 



Laskowsk}^ a Russian, at Moscow, has tried to 

 demonstrate that the saccharine quality of beets is in 

 direct ratio to the fatty substances of the seed — that 

 large seed contain more fatty substances than small. 

 The mass of testimony of Briem, Strohmer, etc., does 

 not agree with that assertion, and shows that there is 

 no relation between the two. Furthermore, the Man- 

 gold Seed is very rich in fatty substance. Zaikiewitsch, 

 another Russian savant, determines the fatty substance, 

 phosphoric acid* and albumen in the seed. The phos- 

 phoric acid was estimated in the entire seed, and the 

 fatty substance and albumen in the seed proper, with- 

 out outer covering. These experiments were upon a 

 great variety of French, German and Russian seed; 

 in these analyses the percentage of albumen varied 

 from fourteen to twenty per cent; fatty substances, 

 eleven to fifteen per cent; phosphoric acid, 0.4 to 0.9 

 per cent, in beets testing an average of 15.5 per cent, 

 sugar. From such results it was concluded that no 

 constant relation exists between the composition of 

 the seed and the sugar percentage of beets. It is 

 interesting, however, to note that seeds from France 

 and Germany contains less albuminoids and fatty sub- 

 stances than do Russian seeds; on the other hand, the 

 latter are very much poorer in phosphorus. 



Other interesting discussions have been con- 

 tinued for a period of years to decide if the composi- 

 tion of the seed in general has not an influence on the 

 resulting roots. For if such should be the case, an 

 analysis of seed would settle a very important ques- 



*Asregai'cls thepliosplioricacid, M.Pngnoul, in France, oame also to 

 the eoaclusion that, tliere is not the sli^jlitest connection between it 

 and the sugar per cent, of tlie resulting root. 



