34 FOEAGE CEOPS IN DENMARK 



even in the different strains within the variety ; that the power 

 of producing more or less solids in the roots under given cir- 

 cumstances belonged to the strain, and was inherited through 

 the seed ; that small roots had a larger percentage contents of 

 solids than large roots ; that different kinds of soil had an 

 influence on the contents but similarly on the different strains, 

 that is to say, if a soil lowered the contents of one kind of root it 

 influenced them all in the same way, so that the relative merit 

 of the different kinds in respect of yield remained the same, 

 whether grown on one soil or another, but that this influence of 

 the soil is different for mangels, turnips, and other kinds of roots ; 

 that the tendency to run to seed during the first year is a 

 character of the strain and is inherited, and that this tendency 

 will materialise the more readily the earlier the seed is sown, 

 the better the field is manured, and the greater the distance 

 between the rows and plants. 1 In his first report he mentioned 

 that in 1885 he had compared home-grown seed and imported 

 seed of seven different kinds of mangels, and had found that 

 according to yield in cwts. of roots per acre the home-grown 

 seed was considerably superior to the imported seed, except in 

 the case of Wroxton, where the Scotch seed was better than the 

 home-grown Danish. 



In 1890 the Society hired five acres of land from the agri- 

 cultural school at Lyngby, near Copenhagen, to be their ex- 

 perimental station, and appointed K. Hansen, an agricultural 

 graduate, to carry out various experiments with cereals. The 

 State gave the Society a grant of 275 for each of the next three 

 years, but in 1893 the Society found it impossible to carry on, 

 and it was wound up. Its work was, however, considered so 

 valuable that the State decided to take it over. The Ex- 

 perimental Station at Lyngby was bought by the State and 

 largely extended, and Helweg and K. Hansen were engaged 

 by the State. 



A special series of comparative cultivations of roots was 

 begun by Helweg in 1889, and has been continued with modifica- 

 tions till this present day. It is truly remarkable that from the 

 very first he saw clearly the chief aim which has been kept in 

 view ever since/and which will be pursued even when he will no 



1 " Om Landbrugets Kulturplanter," 1888, p. 113. 



