Production of Sugar-Beet Seed 223 
dividual beets are siloed ; the second year these are planted 
separately and the resulting beets analyzed. From this 
analysis it is possible to determine which of the original 
beets with a high sugar-content are able to transmit to 
their progeny this necessary quality. The poor strains 
are discarded and the good ones siloed, to be used the 
fourth year in producing the “mother seed.”” The mother 
seed is planted the fifth year and the beets obtained from 
it produce the commercial seed the sixth year. The part 
of the work requiring skill and patience is the obtaining 
of dependable mother seed. 
In planting beets from which the commercial seed is 
produced, the roots are left considerably closer together 
in the rows than when regular beets are to be raised. 
About eight pounds of seed are used to the acre and the 
plants are not thinned in the ordinary way. Sometimes 
the plants are thinned to three or four inches apart in 
the row and sometimes they are left unthinned. This 
method, is used in order to save labor in handling the 
beets. Less storage space is required for the small beets 
than for those of full size. Being small does not seem to 
reduce materially the amount of seed produced. These 
small beets are called “stecklinge.” Beets that are 
large are sometimes split lengthwise into two or three 
pieces, each of which will grow if part of the live buds in 
the crown are retained. 
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF SEED 
Siloing. 
One of the most important operations in connection 
with seed production is the storing over winter, or siloing, 
