CHAPTER VII. 

 The Selection and Sampling of Beet Seed. 



Preliminary Remarks. — It may be an excellent pre- 

 cautionary measure, when intending to purchase beet 

 seed from the dealer or grower, to learn just what the 

 conditions of cultivation have been. The great trouble 

 with most seed dealers is that they attempt too much 

 and the customer suffers. Our advice is to give pref- 

 erence to those producers of beet seed who cultivate 

 nothing else and who make a specialty of selecting, 

 etc.; furthermore, to those who realize the importance 

 of not having patches of fodder beets in the vicinity. 

 It is well not to be misled on this subject; a distance 

 of over a mile between one farm and another may be 

 a reasonable limit. Yet cases are known where the 

 pollen has been carried by the wind or insects, which 

 thus completed the fertilization of the plant, and there 

 follows a hybrid, the existence of which the farmer and 

 manufacturer soon realize. 



The very best seed must be planted under the best 

 possible conditions, and the care that follows during 

 plant development and sugar elaboration should con- 

 tinue until the beets are delivered as raw material at 

 the factory. The sugar is made on the field and the 

 manufacturer is simply an extractor; hence, the rea- 

 son why we have always recommended that when con- 

 scientious farmers carry out instructions to the letter 

 they should be furnished from the start with the very 

 best procurable seed. The extra cost of same is a 

 mere trifle as compared with the satisfactory money 

 returns for all interested. 



The fire test for determining the vitality of beet 

 seed appears to offer some advantages. The seeds are 



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