338 
S'Ufjar-Beet Cultivation in A^lstr^a, 
as having been published in this Journal in 18G9, he thus 
defines the characteristics of a good sugar-beet ; and though 
improvement has steadily progressed in the plant since he 
wrote, his words still hold good : 
1. Good sugar-beets have a regular pear-shaped form. 
2. They do not throw out many fibrous-branched roots or forks. Forked 
roots are difficult to clean, and not so readily pulped as -well-grown sym- 
metrical pear-shaped roots. 
3. They have a white, firm, and dense flesh, and clean sugary taste. 
Soft and spongy thick-skinned roots are always more watery than beets of 
a uniformly firm, hard, and close texture. 
4. They should generally weigh from l^J^ to 2 lb. Very small or very large 
roots are not usually well suited for the manufacture of sugar. Koots weigh- 
ing under f lb. are frequently woody, and besides sugar contain too large a 
proportion of other constituents, which prevent in a large measure the ex- 
traction of crystallised sugar from the juice, whilst roots weighing more 
than 2i lb. are generally too watery and too poor in sugar. 
6. They should always have small tops, and no tendency to become 
necky. 
G. Such roots do not show much above ground, but grow almost entirely 
in the ground. Roots, the tops of Avhich grow above ground, do not yield 
so much sugar as others that bury themselves better in the soil, for the 
heads of the roots, being exposed to light, turn greenish, and yield less 
crystallisable 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 manufactory. 
7. Generally speaking, the higher the specific gravity of a beet root, the 
more it is esteemed for its sugar-producing qualities. Good roots are con- 
siderably more dense than water, and rapidly sink to the bottom of a vessel 
filled with water.' 
8. Tlie expressed juice of good beet-roots has a clean, sweet taste, and a 
specific gravity of from I'OGO to 1'070. "When very rich in sugar, the 
specific gravity of the juice rises above r070, reaching occa.sionally 1075 
to 1 078.- 
Beet Roots for Seed. 
The production of seed is one of the most important opera- 
tions connected with the sugar-beet industry. On the care and 
skill which are displayed in this process depend the mainte- 
nance and improvement of the sugar-producing qualities of the 
beet. The beets which are to be preserved for seed are called 
" mothers," and are carefully stored in the manner explained 
afterwards. They are selected at the time of harvesting from 
specially grown beet, or from fields of beet which have shown 
' Tlie fact that a root does not sink in a liquid of given density is, however, 
no s\ire proof of its bad quality, since in most roots a cavity in the neck exists 
which is full of air and of extremely variable size. It may cause very ricli 
roots to float when they would sink if solid. 
-' In consequence of the increased richness in sugar, the specific gi'avity is . 
now at its best, 1-080 to l-OUO. 
