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SECTIONAL 'TRANSACTIONS.—M. 469 
yield for the area has been restricted owing to the spread of eelworm and 
virus diseases. 
Wet spraying against potato blight was practised to some extent up to 
1914. Dry spraying or dusting was introduced in 1910. There has been 
great improvement in machinery for dusting, and to-day the method is 
generally practised, : 
The use of potato diggers or spinners has not increased. The majority 
of farmers still prefer to use the potato plough for maincrop varieties, as 
they are of opinion that much less damage is done by the plough. 
DIscussION on the two preceding papers (12.0). 
Monday, September 9. 
DiscussI0n on Sugar beet problems (10.0). 
Mr. F. Rayns.—The beet crop in Norfolk farming. 
The sugar beet crop in Norfolk increased from 3,017 acres in 1920 to 
99,834 acres in 1933, when the combined mangold, swede and turnip 
acreage was less than the sugar beet acreage for the first time in the history 
of Norfolk farming. 
In an arable county like Norfolk, dependent upon livestock for the main- 
tenance of arable conditions, the development of the beet crop has 
revolutionised the farmer’s methods. The winter feeding of livestock is 
now largely obtained from beet by-products—the beet crowns and leaves, 
and the beet pulp returned from the factory after the sugar has been 
extracted. 
Feeding trials at the Norfolk Agricultural Station have determined the 
comparative value of beet tops, dry and wet pulp, and mangolds and swedes 
for stock feeding purposes, and the extent to which the stock carrying 
capacity of the farms is influenced by the replacement of the older stock- 
feeding roots by the beet crop and its by-products. Similarly, the manurial 
value of the beet tops and of various methods of their disposal have been 
determined by field trials. 
The cultivation of sugar beet in Norfolk has had a profound influence on 
the labour employed and number of men on County Council relief work 
varies with the seasonal activities of the local beet industry. 
During the last ten years, when Norfolk farming has experienced an 
unprecedented depression, the beet crop has helped appreciably to improve 
the financial position of the farmers and has been chiefly responsible for 
maintaining a high level of arable cultivation and labour employment in 
the county. 
Dr. E. M. Crowruer.—The manuring of sugar beet (10.30). 
The sugar beet crop absorbs relatively large quantities of nutrients, and 
it is commonly stated that it needs heavy manuring. Although the crop is 
particularly sensitive to soil acidity and poor physical conditions, there is 
insufficient experimental evidence to justify the liberal use of artificial 
fertilisers on the better class of soils. A summary of more than sixty recent 
replicated experiments on commercial farms shows that profitable responses 
to the three main fertilisers were obtained in only about one-half of the 
experiments. Unit weights of sulphate of ammonia, superphosphate and 
