§ MR. FELL (Great Yarmouth)To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, what was the acreage of 718 beetroot grown in the United Kingdom last year, and what was the average produce per acre; and if he has any official Reports showing that this land would be suitable for the growing of sugar beet.
(Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) The acreage of fodder beet (mangold-wurzel) in 1907 was 517,141 acres, and the average produce per acre was 19.57 tons. We have no official Reports showing how much of this land would be suitable for the growing of sugar beet, nor can any accurate estimate be made, as land on which fodder beet grows well is not always suited for sugar beet.