TBE ROOT CROPS AND RELATED PRODUCTS 329 



sugar is extracted, is used as stock food. It contains 

 only about 10 per cent of nutrients, but is very succulent 

 and is highly prized for dairy cows. 



340. Seed production. — Almost all of the seed used 

 in this country is imported, less than 3 per cent being 

 homegrown. The beet is a biennial, producing seed the 

 second year. In countries of mild winters, it lives through 

 the winter season, but where the winters are cold it is 

 necessary to store them in pits or cellars and to reset 

 them the following spring. The great increase of the sugar 

 content of the beet has been due to the method of selecting 

 the seed beets. Usually a sample is taken of the beet 

 at the end of the first season's growth to determine the 

 sugar content, and only those beets of high sugar content 

 are used for seed production. From 1200 to 1500 pounds 

 of seed may be secured from an acre of beets. 



MANGEL-WUEZELS 



341. Description. — Mangel- wurzels are sometimes 

 called cow beets, field beets, or mangels. There are several 

 varieties of mangels, differing in size, shape, and color. 

 The long and intermediate long types require a deeper soil 

 than the tankard and globe types. Mangels grow best 

 on deep, well-drained, fertile soil. Clay soils, because of 

 their compact nature, are not well adapted to the growing 

 of them. Mangels require a moist soil, but they do not 

 thrive in wet soils, and they grow best where there is an 

 abundance of sunshine during the growing season. In 

 the United States they are grown in the North Atlantic 

 States, where cereals are not profitable, and in a small way 

 in New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin. 



342. Uses. — They are used almost entirely as stock 

 feed, and are fed largely to cattle and sheep. In prep- 



