ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 109 



UNITED STATES PRODUCTION OF SUGAR-BEET 



SEED 



For several years past, sugar-beet seed has been 

 produced in the United States from imported elite 

 seed and even from the seed of commercial beets, 

 which is equal in every other respect and higher in 

 germinating power than imported seed. The higher 

 germinating power of American seed is accounted for 

 by the fact that it is freshly grown, whereas, in Europe, 

 the seed frequently is a mixture of old and new crops. 



Because of the high price of American farm labor 

 the cost of production is greater in the United States 

 than in Russia, where most of the field work is done 

 by women who work in the fields from daylight to 

 dark for an average wage of 17 \ cents per day, and 

 in Germany, where they receive 28^ cents per day. 

 But because of the higher germinating power of Amer- 

 ican seed, an equally good stand of beets can be se- 

 cured with less seed per acre and the saving in the 

 quantity of seed sown will offset a portion of the 

 increased cost per pound. 



Since the difficulty arose in obtaining foreign seed, 

 several American beet-sugar manufacturers have ex- 



