142 SUGAR BEET SEED. 



ondary importance, but when each beet is selected with 

 special care, and destined to furnish seed for the 

 trade, all conditions favoring its development during 

 seed formation should be thoroughly examined and 

 attended to. Under these conditions, from 2000 to 

 2600 lbs. of well-cleaned beet seed may be obtained 

 per acre. 



Above 2000 lbs., the yield is considered very good; 

 below 1600 lbs., poor. (This yield of 2000 lbs. costs, 

 in France, under best conditions, 34 cents per lb.* 

 Besides this, some allowance must be made for interest 

 of money during the keeping, and on the capital which 

 remains idle during the several years the selection is 

 being made. By Legras's method, results are obtained 

 much more rapidly, but the cost of laboratory analyses 

 is greater, etc., hence, the reason why such seed com- 

 mands a high price on the market.) Such yields, 

 through the exceptional care given, have been 

 obtained even in exceedingly dry weather, as the soil, 

 having been so thoroughly worked, remains moist, 

 even during long periods of drouth. The crop that 

 follows the mothers is wheat. It is necessary to remove 

 the corpses of mothers, also the stems; then use 

 the extirpator, followed by the cultivator and harrow. 

 The economy of time and work are important facts to 

 be considered, and the cost of land preparation for 

 mothers should be borne by the crop that follows. It is 

 important to note that if mothers follow beets in the 

 rotation, they will be attacked by some insects, and the 

 seed will subsequently suffer. If the insects attack the 

 flower of the beet, no remedy is better than solutions 

 of two degrees Be. of tobacco juice, spread by a pul- 

 verizer, emulsion of petroleum, benzine, charcoal pow- 

 der, saturated in tobacco juice. 



*But on most seed-producingr farms not more than fonr cents. In 

 the case of A. J. Legras, the product is frequently all sold in advance 

 and very difflcnlt to procure even in quantities suflBclent for experi- 

 mental purposes. 



