THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN 1920. 55 
Sugar-beet producing- areas ma} 7 sometimes be extended by bring- 
ing in lands not previously under cultivation, by the development or 
extension of suitable means of irrigation, or by instituting or extend- 
ing a suitable drainage system which will reclaim lands not now 
under cultivation. In this manner areas that are now capable of sup- 
plying but one mill with raw material may eventually be made to 
supply two or more mills. In all cases the necessary acreage for the 
maintenance of a mill should be in sight, without injury to existing 
mills or to local growers, before any money is expended in the erec- 
tion of another mill. If this point is kept in mind, some of the finan- 
cial losses and disappointments which investors have experienced in 
the past will be avoided. 
SUGAR-BEET SEED. 
One of the most important factors influencing beet-sugar produc- 
tion is that of seed. Not only must there be an adequate supply of 
seed to plant the necessary acreage for each sugar factory, but the 
seed must be of high grade ; that is, it must be capable of germinating 
so that a good stand will be produced, and it must be capable of pro- 
ducing beets of satisfactory yield and quality. The present varieties 
of sugar-beet seed are apparently very much mixed, as indicated by 
commercial fields in all parts of the beet area. Efforts are being- 
made at each of the beet-seed stations of the Office of Sugar-Plant 
Investigations to produce distinct strains of sugar beets of high 
quality for commercial planting. An endeavor is being made to in- 
crease the yield and qualit} T of the seed and to establish an American 
beet-seed industry capable of meeting all domestic requirements. 
Imported seed. — Until within recent years practically all sugar- 
beet seed planted in the United States was imported from Europe. 
This imported seed consisted of more than 20 so-called varieties, 
man}' of these varieties being simply strains bearing the name of 
the growers or the locality where the seed Avas produced. There ap- 
pears to be little difference in results between the varieties imported. 
More seems to depend upon soil and climatic conditions and the cul- 
tural methods used in growing the crop than upon the particular 
variety of seed used. 
Home-grown seed. — In recent years efforts have been made to 
produce American strains of sugar-beet seed and to produce them 
in commercial quantities in this country. In 1917 about 5,000 acres 
of beet seed were grown, yielding about 55,000 sacks of seed, and a 
still larger crop of American-grown seed has been produced with 
each succeeding year. In 1920 about one-third of the sugar-beet seed 
required by American growers was produced in the United States. 
Even with an increased home production, we must continue for some 
