JREQUIKEMEXTS OF SUGAK BEET SEED. 31 



cold soils without much depth. How is all this to be 

 accomplished? Will seed produced in one country yield 

 beets having the same characteristics as their grand- 

 mothers in another environment? Will the early and 

 late maturing tendencies remain the same in the 

 United States, with very hot summers and cold winters, 

 as they were in the temperature of France, Germany, 

 or Austro-Hungary? Upon general principles, one can 

 say positively they will not. It must, however, be 

 admitted, in justice to the seed grower, that he is at fre- 

 quent disadvantage. He may furnish diagrams, with 

 circulars giving details for planting, and other data, but 

 the farmers pay little or no attention to such instruc- 

 tions, it being difficult enough to prevail upon them to 

 adhere to rules laid down by the manufacturer b}- whom 

 they are bound bj^ contract, without attempting a still 

 more complicated issue. If each seed demands a spe- 

 cial method of cultivation, the question from an agri- 

 cultural standpoint not only becomes confusing, but 

 discouraging for all interested. If special tempera- 

 tures, elevation, soil, etc., are needed for each variety 

 of beets furnished, the question becomes so compli- 

 cated that it seems almost useless to attempt any culti- 

 vation. Furthermore, it is constantly maintained that 

 the period of maturity of a given beet must occur in a 

 certain number of weeks. This, also, is very mislead- 

 ing, as the total degrees of heat are the only basis. 

 That there exist types of beets maturing one month 

 before another variety, is very doubtful. 



However, this question for many years was dis-- 

 cussed and investigated by Ch. Violette and Desprez. 

 In France, as a general thing, it may be admitted that 

 beets attain their maturity during October; as a result, 

 the campaigns are very short and the limited time for 

 harvesting does not allow a preparation of the soil for 

 the crop that is to follow. Evidently, if a race of beets 

 could be created maturing, as a certainty, in Septem- 



