ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 41 



have not been infrequent. In Monthly Consular 

 Report No. 218, November, 1898, American Consul, 

 Henry W. Diedrich, then stationed at Magdeburg, 

 Germany, said in part: 



" If I may express an opinion, based on my personal observation, 

 it is that some of our beet growers should insist more than they 

 have upon getting none but the best of seed, no matter what the 

 price may be. * * * The first-class sugar factories of Europe 

 buy none but the very best seed, grown from high-grade indi- 

 vidual 'mother' beets, to distribute among the beet growers; 

 thus not only maintaining the standard of their sugar beets 

 as to quality and quantity, but also putting themselves in a 

 position to compete in all markets of the world. This first-class 

 seed is sold and delivered by the growers on board cars in the 

 Prussian province of Saxony at from 8 to 10 cents per pound, 

 which is a moderate price, considering the fact that it takes at 

 least four years to get it into the market. 



" There is also a second-class seed offered for sale in this country 

 at from 5 to 6 cents per pound. This is commonly called the 

 'nachzuchtsamen,' being a seed produced not from the mother 

 beets, but from the first-class seed mentioned above. This 

 inferior grade, however, is not used by first-class sugar men 

 in Germany, France, Holland, and Belgium, but most of it goes 

 to Austria, Russia, and the United States. And this is the 

 reason why I deem it my duty to call attention to the importance 

 of getting only the very best seed obtainable." 



After studying the question for years, Mr. J. E. 



