58 SUGAR BEET SEED. 



which mature early and give greater yields of seed.* 

 Without doubt, the type of such roots, owing to their 

 size, is very uncertain, and frequently the object in 

 view, viz., that of creating a race, is not attained; fur- 

 thermore, the conditions not being perfectly normal, 

 the quality is sure to suffer in the long run. The for- 

 mation of numerous stalks of very uncertain height and 

 development is more frequent on large than on small 

 mothers. On the other hand, when the latter are 

 used, there are many central high stalks, and few lat- 

 eral ones ; they all hold their own, and do not lean over 

 on the soil for support when the seed is formed, as is 

 the case with large mothers. It seems self-evident 

 that large mothers cannot be desirable. They may 

 occasionally contain considerable sugar, but this is an 

 exception and not the rule. If seed growers are not 

 ■careful, they will certainly be misled on this question. 

 The two-pound weight, as suggested by some, is, from 

 the writer's standpoint, a very dangerous limit. At the 

 Klein-Wanzleben seed-growing farm, where they have 

 6500 acres devoted to beets, preference is given to 

 roots weighing 700 to 800 grams (1.5 to 1.7 lbs.) and 

 four pounds is not uncommon. Beets weighing but 

 one pound are looked upon as being abnormal and 

 worthless for seeding purposes. 



■Classification according to weight 



Grams. 



600 to 650 

 660 to 700 

 750 to 800 



Bach variety of 50 grams demands a different and separate classi- 

 fication. Thesejgroups are analyzed separately. 



As regards this question of weight, it has been 

 suggested that an average be taken of several thousand 

 selected roots, and, once for all, settle the question, and 

 greatly aid in the physical selection. It is evident 



*See chapter '-Special Oriainal Methods for the Production of 

 Superior Seed," where the question of small beets is discussed in 

 fun detail. 



