ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 7 



plant breeding, an increased tendency to revert appears, 

 the invariably discouraging results secured from breed- 

 ing these extraordinarily high sugar content beets 

 have led many to believe that, so far as Europe is con- 

 cerned, the limit of perfection has been reached in 

 breeding sugar-beet seed by methods heretofore used 

 and that the most that can be accomplished by these 

 methods is to reach and maintain the high standard 

 which has been reached by the leading growers. 



Some seed growers have attempted to produce a 

 different seed for each character of soil, as well as for 

 different climates, but except where the difference in 

 soil or climate is marked, these efforts have not met 

 with success. 



At one time, claims were made that certain seeds would 

 mature a month earlier than other seeds; these claims 

 were found to be fallacious. Some leading seed growers 

 of the world market three varieties of seed: one which 

 is high in sugar and low in tonnage, one which is high 

 in tonnage and low in sugar, and one which is moderately 

 high in both sugar and tonnage. But so closely do 

 all the brands of any grower approximate his other 

 brands that when the supply of one runs short, it is 

 surmised that orders for it are filled by substituting 

 his other brands. 



