2CO THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The mechanical condition of the soil is another important fac- 

 tor in the cultivation of the sugar-beet. From the closeness of 

 its texture, a stiff clay retains water, and does not readily admit 

 heat or air among its particles ; it also opposes much resistance to 

 the fibrous roots making their way through it. By preventing 

 the free growth of the roots downward, clay is especially unfa- 

 vorable to the sugar-beet crop ; for the beet, instead of produc- 

 ing the long, slim root which is necessary for the proper secre- 

 tion of saccharine material in the sugar-cells, grows round, tur- 

 nip-like roots, which are of no value for sugar-making. Sand 

 is the opposite of clay, and, from the looseness of its texture, ad- 

 mits heat too freely, and is not capable of retaining a sufficient 

 amount of moisture for the needs of vegetation. In sand, also, 

 the particles of plant food are washed down by the rains below 

 the reach of the roots, or are vaporized by heat and escape 

 into the air. Plants grow best in loam, which is a mixture of 

 these soils of opposite character, in such proportion that the faults 

 of both are corrected. The depth of the soil and the nature of the 

 underlying stratum are also important ; for if the richest soil is 

 only seven or eight inches deep, and lies on a cold, wet clay or on 

 rock, it will not be as fruitful as a leaner soil that lies on gravel, 

 for instance, which is perhaps the best subsoil. The best soil for 

 the cultivation of the sugar-beet root is a mellow, sandy loam, 

 with a free and permeable subsoil, such as would be called by 

 the German agriculturist a first-class barley soil. It should be 

 ten to sixteen inches deep — the deeper the better — rich in well- 

 decomposed organic matter and minerals. 



Ordinary land can not be planted with the same crop year after 

 year without a gradual diminution of product. This is owing to 

 the fact that the specific food of the particular plant is exhausted 

 from the soil by the constant drafts upon it. But if the land is 

 planted one or more years with a vegetable which takes a differ- 

 ent kind of nourishment from the soil, time is allowed for the 

 chemical changes constantly going on in the ground to produce a 

 supply of the food required by the first kind of crop. In the cul- 

 tivation of the beet-root for sugar-producing, it must follow the 

 cereals, such as wheat, rye, and barley, but, to be profitable, not 

 oftener than every third year. 



The advantages of correct fertilization in the cultivation of 

 the beet-root are shown by the experiments of Lawes and Gilbert. 

 On one acre of ground, cultivated without manure, 302 bushels of 

 beets were grown. On another acre adjoining and possessing the 

 same characteristics of soil, enriched with 550 pounds of nitrate 

 of soda or Chilian saltpeter, 886 bushels of roots were obtained. 

 The beets grown without manure contained 2,115£ pounds of 

 sugar per acre ; the beets grown with the mineral nitrogen con- 



