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Xlll. — On the Chemistry of Silesian Sugar-Beets. 
By Dr. Augustus Voelcker. 
The sugar-beet, like the common mangold-wurzel, is derived 
from the Beta cicla and Beta vuhjaris, biennial plants, which 
grow wild near the sea-shores of south-western Europe. 
There are numerous varieties of beets, differing from each other 
greatly as regards the shape and colour of their leaves and 
succulent roots, and to some extent also as regards their habits 
of growth. The roots of some varieties grow partly under- 
ground, partly above ground, whilst the bulbs of others are 
developed entirely below the soil. The latter varieties are most 
highly esteemed for their sugar-producing qualities. 
All the varieties of sugar-beet may be considered as belonging 
to one of the following five chief sorts : — 
1. The French or Belgian sugar-beet. 
2. The Quedlinburg (German) sugar-beet. 
3. The Silesian beet. 
4. The Siberian beet. 
5. The Imperial beet. 
A brief description of these five varieties of sugar-beet may 
not be out of place here. 
1. Tiie French or Belgian Sugar-beet. — This is a slender fusi- 
form white root, close in structure, and white in the flesh. 
It grows underground, with no tendency to become necky. It 
throws up, comparatively speaking, few and but small dark- 
green leaves, which lie flat upon the soil, and seldom spread 
over a space of more than six inches round the root. The leaves 
have but few whitish-green ribs, with here and there a reddish 
tint. The central leaves are dark-green, and generally red- 
ribbed. 
It is an excellent sugar-beet, and recommends itself by pro- 
ducing little waste, inasmuch as it does not throw out small 
fibrous roots, and is very small in the head, 
2. Quedlinburg ( German) Sugar-beet. — A spindle-shaped, smooth 
root, growing generally underground, with a bright red or rose- 
coloured skin, and fine white, or reddish and white, marbled 
flesh. Leaves dark-green, with red-coloured ribs, and short red 
and green-striped petioles. The leaves spread flat on the ground, 
and occupy but little space round the root. It is rich in sugar, 
and gets ripe about 14 days before any of the other sorts. 
3. Silesian Beet. — The Silesian beet is a pear-shaped root, 
white in the body, and light-green on the top, which grows 
above ground, and is very broail. Flesh greenish- white ; stronger 
in the tops than the preceding varieties. The leaves are green. 
