SUGAR-BEET SEED 



Its History and Development 



OBJECTIVES AND PROBLEMS 



Beta Vulgaris is one of many hundred varieties of 

 the family to which the sugar beet belongs and it is 

 identified botanically with the ordinary garden beet. 

 It is known to have existed and to have been used 

 for food since the time of the Romans, but through 

 special selection and culture during recent years, various 

 characteristics, such as shape, size, color, texture, and 

 the character of the foliage have become fixed. 



No special interest was centered in the beet until 

 the publication in 1747 of Marggraf's pamphlet, in 

 which he set forth his discovery that the beet contained 

 a small quantity of true cane sugar, of which he had 

 succeeded in recovering a quantity of crystals. 



In 1799, Achard, a pupil of Marggraf, presented to 



