6 
The susceptibility of root crops to such operations is very 
great, and the laws of heredity are most accommodating. 
Particular habits of life and growth can be developed in the 
vegetable kingdom as in the animal kingdom. Let US illustrate 
this. For instance, analysis has brought to light a relationship 
between the development of the leaf and of the root respectively, 
and the compounds which build up both, and it has been made 
abundantly manifest that it would not be difficult to superinduce 
upon the plant the habit of developing leaves if that were the 
object, and the fittest for such a purpose could be easily 
perpetuated. Again, the natural product of the Turnip plant is 
oil from its seed, and it would be the simplest matter possible to 
so cultivate this article that the life of the plant would be thrown 
into the production of oil. If the maximum quantity is to be 
produced, the natural disposition of the plant for appropriating 
the necessary ingredients of the soil and manures for these 
particular purposes would have to be studied. But the Turnip 
has been converted into a crop for a totally different product, and 
if success is to attend the efforts of those who cultivate it, its 
powers of assimilating the particular compounds which go to 
build up the nutritive root rather than to produce leaves or to 
produce oil in the seed, must be studied, stimulated, and in- 
creased. Associated with Mangels is a very pertinent illustration 
— the question has been asked us time and again how to prevent 
our roots from running to seed instead of bulbing. It is not an 
uncommon sight to see a field of Mangel roots with quite a 
percentage of “ runners ” which have bolted to seed instead of 
forming bulbs. Varieties of Mangel differ very much in their 
tendency to this weakness. Our success in keeping this to 
a minimum is due to our system of saving our stock seed from 
bulbed plants, instead of from ordinary sized plants as grown in 
a seed bed. Any which are disposed to bolt are thus discovered 
and discarded, whereas the system of not allowing the plants 
for stock purposes to bulb, precludes the possibility of this sifting 
process ; those with the inherent tendency to bolt are planted 
with the rest, and the tendency confirmed and perpetuated. 
Experiments have shown us the reverse of the picture, which 
is very instructive. By saving the seed from the “runners” 
in a field of Mangel, and sowing this seed, the runners were 
materially increased the first year, and by repeating this process 
to the fourth generation they had increased from 4 per cent, to 
upwards of 90 per cent. By looking at the matter thus con- 
versely we can see by implication what has been corroborated 
by actual experience, that the best way to eliminate the runners 
is to so grow the plants that these may show themselves and be 
removed each year. Again, if it could be imagined that fibrous- 
rooted Mangels, Swedes, and Turnips could be required for any 
possible purpose, they could be so cultivated as to produce very 
little besides water and indigestible fibre. In fact, the tendency 
of many plants, especially the Brassica family, is to revert to their 
original natural type, and it is the directing and controlling hand 
of the grower which prevents the operation of this natural law, 
which of itself would cause stocks to degenerate into ill-shapen, 
undersized roots of impoverished quality. 
Other illustrations could be given to show that our assertion 
on this matter of susceptibility of the roots to the control of the 
expert grower is simply in accordance with an actual and obvious 
fact, while we would recall the well-known fact that the origin 
of our present day Turnips is to be traced to the time when 
they produced no bulb whatever. Unfortunately, the prevailing 
method of raising plants for seed purposes, even by houses of 
repute, is one which precludes all possibility of studying these 
matters. Every farmer knows that there is no natural product 
more imperious in its demands for suitable soil, situation, and 
time of sowing, if fully developed successful roots are to be 
realised, than are our cultivated bulb-forming Turnips, Swedes, 
and Mangels, and yet this fact is totally ignored by the majority 
of seed growers. Indeed, many sow the seed beds for seed 
producing purposes at a time of the year when it is absolutely 
impossible for the bulb to form itself, so that any good qualities 
there may be in it are not brought out and never enter into the 
life of the plant. Furthermore, they go out of their way to 
select a piece of ground, which, by its nature and formation, 
shall hold back the plants in their young and undeveloped 
stage. The system we advocate is to sow crops for stock seed 
purposes under conditions which are most favourable for pro- 
ducing well-developed roots, in order that their best qualities 
may be brought into being; test them, and by rejecting all 
that are comparatively inferior raise the average quality of each 
successive generation. 
The crucial test has been to devise the means 
of applying this method of eliminating the weak 
and increasing the strong at the time of planting 
the roots for Seed. 
TESTING APPARATUS. 
In the first place we apply ourselves to reducing the quantity 
of water, and we have adopted a method by which we can 
ascertain the relative proportion of this, and can reject all those 
roots which contain the largest quantity, reserving for planting only 
those which contain the smaller percentage. This we confirm by 
determining the specific gravity (specific gravity of the whole 
root=keeping qualities). We then bring into use an ingeniously 
constructed instrument, which enables us to take from the root 
a small proportion of the flesh in such a manner as to represent 
exactly the entire root without injuring it for planting purposes, 
and in the laboratory we can determine precisely the specific 
gravity of the juice (specific gravity of the juice = feeding 
qualities). We thus reject all those which do not combine 
a high degree of density in the juice with a high degree in 
the root as a whole. The next process is to ascertain the 
percentage of sugar compounds. For this purpose we have 
installed apparatus with a combination which has never pre- 
viously been tried, and have availed ourselves of the most highly 
finished and perfect scientific instruments obtainable, either in 
this country or on the continent. By means of these we arc 
able to make laboratory analyses of the reserved roots — which 
we call “mother roots”— and thus ascertain the total of 
saccharine matter and the allied compounds of each root, with- 
out destroying it for planting purposes. This, combined with 
the double test of specific gravity, as above described, forms 
a comprehensive and thorough test, which gives to those roots 
surviving the ordeal a standard of quality unapproachable by 
those selected by any other conceivable method. 
CARTERS' 237 238, & 97, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON.— 1901. 
