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lent, in weight, of the compounds already stored in the beet, and 
whose rapid change into sugar takes place at the maturation of the 
beet. There is only one other explanation which suggests itself to 
me ; that is, that the ash constituents are either eliminated from the 
beet, or migrate to the leaves. This, however, is not the case. For- 
tunately, the answer is of such a character, that it matters not what 
the movement of the ash constituents in the plant may be, or 
whether elimination be taking place or not. The answer is simply 
this : The percentage of ash in the dry matter of the mature beet is 
not less than in the green beet, and the amount of ash in the beets 
on October 13, was greater than on September 22, which the follow- 
ing examples will show : On September 22 an average beet of the 
Kleinwanzlebener variety, contained 71.74 grams dry matter, not 
sugar, of this 9.92 grams was ash ; on October 13 an average beet, 
weighing more than on the previous date, contained only 41.50 
grams of dry matter, other than sugar, and of this 10.97 grams was 
ash. In the case of the other varieties, the amount of ash present 
on October 13 was either greater or practically equal to the amount 
present on September the 22nd ; so the suggestion of elimination of 
ash has no weight. The weight of the leaves, per beet, is actually 
less on the ripe beet than on the green one. For instance, I found 
their weight about 120 grams per beet less, on October 13, than they 
were on September 22. This corresponds to an actual loss of dry 
matter, as the percentage of dry matter in the leaves is the same 
for the two dates, and the same is true for the percentage of ash ; so 
there was an absorption of dry matter and ash constituents by the 
root during this period. The loss of weight in the leaves, green 
weight, is very nearly equal to the gain in weight in the beets. This 
may, in this case, be an accident, but, as it is the average of 105 
beets, it is suggestive. 
As I have not, up to the present time, examined the leaves for 
sugar, it is an open question whether this corresponds to the elab- 
oration of sugar by the leaves. But, in consideration of the actual 
disappearance of dry matter from the beet, accompanied by an in- 
crease of the ash and sugar, I believe it points to the elaboration 
of formative compounds which pass into the beet, and are there 
transformed into sugar. The observations of Dr. Maxwell, on the 
deportment of soaked beets, would be easily explicable if this were 
the manner in which the sugar is formed, but otherwise one must 
subscribe to the doubt expressed by Dr. Wiley when he says : “ The 
whole science of vegetable physiology and chemistry teaches that 
sugar is elaborated in the leaves of the beet plant by the condensa- 
tion of formylaldehyde, which is produced by the action of the 
chlorophyl cell upon carbon dioxid and water. The beet itself has 
always been regarded simply as a storehouse, in which the elabor- 
ated sugar is conserved for the future use of the plant.” 
