146 SUGAR BEET SEED. 



worked at the factory; there are several essential con- 

 ditions, however, which must not be overlooked. The 

 cost of keeping beets that have been selected for seed- 

 ing purposes is very slight, once the silos are made; 

 but the care in placing them in piles being greater than 

 ordinary conditions, the item of additional labor is not 

 to be overlooked. There are really three silos in con- 

 nection with beet-seed growing. One made up with 

 beets which have undergone the physical selection on 

 the fields, and the others after final physical and chem- 

 ical selection combined. As such beets frequently 

 contain i8 to 19 per cent, of sugar, special care should 

 be given to their keeping and to the silos containing 

 beets which are to furnish seed for the trade. Under 

 ordinary conditions of seed production, the beets which 

 are to be used for this special purpose are simply beets 

 which have been obtained from the seed of selected 

 mothers; in other words, the second generation of those 

 roots which underwent laboratory chemical selection. 

 Silos in this case are made on the level of the 

 ground, in the direction of the beet rows. Spaces of 

 about 90 to 120 feet should be left between each silo. 

 Beets on most beet-seed farms are siloed with their 

 leaves; the piles are 4^ feet at the bottom, 2^ feet at 

 the top, and about three feet in height, which means 

 that the sides are slanting. The whole is covered with 

 2-| feet of earth; suitable vertical ventilators are neces- 

 sary, and under no circumstances should these be over- 

 looked. From one acre the beets can be placed in 

 silos of a total length of about 300 feet; the cost of the 

 operation in several European centres is about $10 per 

 acre. We consider that it is certainly a great mistake 

 to let the leaves stay on the beets. The best results 

 are certainly obtained by cutting them off with a knife 

 about an inch above the neck, care being taken not to 

 mutilate the heart. On most German farms visited by 

 the writer, the silos for mothers are much smaller than 



