GUARANTEES IN THE TRADE IN SEED 99 



The root seeds so far mentioned are those of mangels, 

 swedes, turnips and carrots, seeds of roots used as fodder for 

 cattle and pigs. During the last years the growing of seed of 

 sugar beets has been taken up in earnest ; like so many new 

 developments, this is a result of the disturbing influences of 

 the world war. The cultivation of sugar beets, as already 

 mentioned, has for many years been of great importance in 

 Denmark, where enough sugar has been produced for the 

 country's need with even sometimes a surplus for export. But 

 the industry being chiefly in the hands of one large company 

 which made contracts with farmers for growing beets for the 

 various factories and supplied them with the seed which the 

 company bought in Germany, there was no growing of seed of 

 sugar beets in Denmark before the war. When the war made 

 it difficult and later on impossible to get seed from Germany, 

 the growing of seed was started and experiments made of how 

 best to grow it. It was soon found that the soil and the climate 

 were particularly favourable for this cultivation, and that large 

 crops, averaging 24 cwts. per acre, could be grown by very 

 cheap methods such as had been in use for growing of seed of 

 swedes. Either the seed is sown in the spring under cover of a 

 corn crop or in late July on fallow land, with a distance of 

 70 cm. (27f inches) between the rows. In the autumn the 

 earth is hoed up to the rows from both sides, and in March the 

 plants are freely manured with nitrates or liquid manure. 



For the profitable cultivation, that is for obtaining large 

 crops of seed by a cheap method of cultivation the climate is 

 of paramount importance. The temperature during the months 

 from May to September must not be too low, or the seed does 

 not ripen. Neither must it on the other hand be too high nor 

 the rainfall too low. The temperature during the months from 

 November to March must not be too low a single month with 

 a minimum temperature of 10 C. (14 F.) is fatal to the 

 method of cheap cultivation described. From this it follows 

 that the districts in the various countries where this cultivation 

 can be successfully carried out are very much restricted. But 

 happily for Danish farmers the necessary conditions are found 

 in the greater part of Denmark. For this reason it is expected 

 that the cultivation of sugar beet seed in Denmark will attain 



