PRODUCTION OF SUPERIOR SEED. 215 



far better to break than to cut off the bud, and allow 

 it to wilt during the night before planting. 



A mother beet can furnish buds during several 

 months, but those of July do not appear sufficiently- 

 vigorous. These sprouts are placed under glass; those 

 having, after five or six weeks, developed roots are 

 placed in a medium consisting of a mixture of earth, 

 sand and wood charcoal. As soon as they have suffi- 

 cient strength, the transplanting follows; the cultiva- 

 tion during their growth does not differ from that 

 necessary for ordinary sugar beets. During the period 

 of the past four years at Grobers, 1242 mother beets 

 have been used for this operation; out of this number 

 only nine did not give buds; the 1233 remaining gave 

 56,155 buds, or forty-five from each mother. Not- 

 withstanding the care bestowed upon these plants, 

 every year a certain number perish before the roots are 

 formed. One may rely on 10 per cent, of buds. It has 

 been noticed that beets that come from buds have 

 absolutely the characteristics of their mothers, in shape, 

 leaf formation, color, etc. About 92 per cent, of these 

 beets obtained by. Knauer are rose color, the others 

 slightly yellow. 



The main fact to be noticed in this method of selec- 

 tion, is the care and time needed to achieve the results 

 looked for. And while it allows one to reproduce 

 beets like a very high standard or Elite, each beet of 

 itself can give birth to a whole family which will retain 

 their superior qualities for a considerable number of 

 years. Hence, the reasons why each beet from which 

 the bud is taken must be considered separately, num- 

 bered, cataloged, tabulated, etc. It is claimed that it 

 is not the richest beet that gives the greatest number 

 of buds, but the heaviest. When considered from a 

 leaf standpoint, it has been noticed that those leaves 

 with long stems, those high or low, those fringed or 

 even with dark green borders, all give good results. 



