304 



BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



sumed from this that it would be possible to iind conspicuous 

 dififerences in the anatomical structure of beets varying i or 

 2 per cent, in sugar. Furthermore, a certain microscopical 

 appearance is not to be associated with a given sugar content. 

 Distribution of Sugar in the Beet. — Fig. 121 shows that 

 the beet root is divided into various zones differing as to their 



Fig. 121. — Diagram show- 

 ing distribution of sugar in an 

 average sugar beet. (After 

 Molinari.) 



Fig. 122. — Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). 



A, flowers grouped in the axil of a bract; 



B, cluster of flowers which fuse to form a 

 multiple germ beet "seed." 



sugar content. The sugar content decreases from a point 

 below the broadest portion of the root fo the crown and tip. 

 Crossing of Vascular Bundles in Croivn. — In a longitudinal 

 section of a beet, it will be seen that there is a crossing of the 

 vascular bundles in the stem. The oldest part of the beet is 



