ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 103 



Throughout the world about 6,000,000 acres are 

 devoted to sugar beets. Based en an average sowing 

 of 20 pounds of seed per acre in the United States and 

 Canada, 30 pounds in Russia and 25 pounds in all 

 other countries, 1,430,000 bags, or 78,650 tons of sugar- 

 beet seed are required annually, the value of which 

 at the usual pre-war price of 85 cents per pound, 

 is $14,000,000. Since the beginning of the war in 

 Europe the cost of seed, laid down in the United States 

 has risen from $9.35 to $25.00 per bag of no pounds. 



The normal sugar-beet seed crop of Germany is 

 621,000 bags, of Russia 660,000 bags, a total of 1,281,000 

 bags for the two countries, or 90 per cent, of the total 

 production of all countries. While Russia does not 

 produce as much sugar as does Germany, its sugar- 

 beet area exceeds that of Germany by nearly a half 

 million acres and Russia sows 20 per cent, more seed 

 to the acre. As a result, most of the seed grown in 

 Russia is required for domestic sowing. 



Not including the seed sown in Germany and Russia, 

 the annual seed requirements of the world amount 

 to about 600,000 bags, of which 470,000 bags or 78 

 per cent, is supplied by Germany from its domestic 

 product and from the 200,000 bags it grows in, or 

 purchases and imports from Russia. 



