On the Chemistry of Silesidu Sugar-Beets. 319 
4. Good sugar-beets generally weigh from 1 J lb. to 2 lbs. 
Very small or very large roots are not usually well suited for 
the manufacture of sugar. Roots weighing under | lb. are fre- 
quently woody, and besides sugar contain too large a proportion of 
other constituents, which prevent in a large measure the extrac- 
tion of crystallized sugar from the juice, whilst roots weigh- 
ing more than 2^ lbs. are generally too watery and too poor in 
sugar. 
5. Good sugar-beets always have small tops, and no tendency 
to become necky. 
6. Such roots do not show much above ground, but grow 
almost entirely in the ground. Roots, the tops of which grow 
above ground, do not yield so much sugar as others that bury 
themselves better in the soil, for the heads of thq roots, being 
exposed to light, turn greenish, and yield less crystallizable 
sugar than the parts covered by the soil. Manufacturers of sugar 
cut off the greenish-coloured heads of the roots before they are 
pulped, and hence much waste takes place when beet-roots 
grown in a large measure above ground are sent to the manu- 
factory. 
7. Generally speaking, the higher the specific gravity of a 
beet-root the more it is esteemed for its sugar-producing quali- 
ties. Good roots are considerably more dense than water, and 
rapidly sink to the bottom of a vessel filled with water. 
8. The expressed juice of good beet-roots has a clean sweet 
taste, and a specific gravity of from 1"060 to 1*070. When very 
rich in sugar, the specific gravity of the juice rises above 1'070, 
reaching occasionally 1'075 to 1'078. 
Selection, of Seed. — Experience has shown that beet-roots rich 
in sugar produce seed from which roots, also rich in sugar, may 
be raised, whilst all seed from roots poor in sugar, as a rule, fur- 
nishes again inferior roots. 
It is therefore of much importance to the beet-root grower to 
start with good seed. Great attention is paid on the Continent, 
especially in the north of Germany, to the growing of true and 
superior beet-root seed. Perhaps nowhere are beets richer in 
sugar grown than in the neighbourhood of Magdeburg, in Prussia ; 
and, for this reason we would strongly advise English agricul- 
turists purposing to cultivate sugar-beets to procure their seed 
from that locality. 
Time of Sowing, and Distance of Planting. — The season for 
sowing beet-roots extends from the beginning of April to the 
first week in May. Generally speaking, it is undesirable to sow 
earlier than the first week in April, nor is it well to delay it 
longer, if possible, than the fiist week in May. Sown too early in 
spring, the roots are very apt to run to seed during growth. 
