35 



excellent satisfaction. In connection with the co-operative experimental 

 work throughout Ontario in 1904, the Yellow Leviathan also gave the 

 greatest yield of roots per acre, and, of the three varieties distributed, 

 it was the most popular among the experimenters. The seed of this 

 variety was obtained from D. M. Ferry, Windsor, Ontario. Within 

 ti e past fifteen years, we have grown upwards of twenty-five different 

 strains of the long red mangel, all of which have been surpassed by 

 Yellow Leviathan intermediate variety. 



In 1904, thirty-two varieties of mangels were under test. Among 

 the newer kinds, the following produced the greatest yield per acre : 

 Griewener, 29.9 tons; Giant Eckendorf, 28.1 tons; and Rennie's Gold- 

 en Giant, 24.6 tons. 



Soaking Seed Before Planting. For three years, an experiment 

 has been conducted in which mangel seed has been soaked twelve, 

 twenty-four, and thirty -^^ix hours before sowing in comparison with 

 mangel seed which was sown without being soaked. The average re- 

 sults of the three years' tests show that the mangel seed which was 

 soaked twelve hours gave the highest yield of roots per acre, the aver- 

 age being 22.9 tons, as compared with 20.1 tons produced from the 

 unsoaked seed. It is quite probable that the condition of the land at 

 the time of sowing has much to do with the comparative results from 

 soaked and unsoaked seed. 



Sugar Beets. 



The total area devoted to the growing of sugar beets in Ontario 

 is still quite limited. A considerable amount of interest, however, 

 has been taken in this crop during the past few years, both for feed- 

 ing purposes and for the manufacture of sugar. Usually those var- 

 ieties which give a large yield per acre, are easily harvested, and contain 

 an average of about ten per cent, of sugar, are the ones used for feeding 

 purposes ; and those varieties which grow mostly underground and 

 furnish about 15 per cent, of sugar are the ones sown for sugar pro- 

 duction. 



Varieties. In our experimental work, we have made a compara- 

 tive test of thirty-two varieties of sugar beets within the past five years. 

 These include some of the leading varieties as grown for feeding pur- 

 poses, and also some of the leading kinds which have been specially 

 bred in Germany for many years for the produf^tion of sur>-qr. In igoo 

 and in 1901, the sugar beet seed was planted in rows 26 inches apart, 

 and the plants were thinned to a distance of 7.9 inches apart in the 

 rows. In 1902, 1903, and again in 1904, however, all the varieties 

 were planted in rows 21 inches apart, and a distance of seven inches 

 was left between the plants. The thinning took place when the plants 

 were quite small. Level cultivation was practised throughout. The 

 following table gives the average yield per acre of duplicate 

 experiments conducted with nineteen varieties in 1900, twenty-one 



