]ackjon B. Hester 303 



The organic matter content of a soil is generally considered to be a 

 measure of fertility. This fact is brought out by the analyses of the fruit 

 from fields of low organic matter content. The yield of fruit was low 

 and of poor color and it contained low percentages of sugars, potash, 

 and nitrogen. Undoubtedly, available nitrogen is one of the constituents 

 most likely to be lacking in a soil of low organic matter content. The 

 analyses of a large number of fruit samples from plants known to be 

 low in nitrogen have not revealed any particularly abnormal fruits. It 

 must be recognized that if the available nitrogen in a soil becomes 

 sufficiently low to produce a small and yellow plant, the foliage may 

 be lost and the fruit indirectly spoiled from hot sunshine or other 

 weather conditions. However, so far as can be learned from the anal- 

 yses, no particular mineral constituent was greatly influenced by a 

 low nitrogen content of the plant. The available phosphorus of soils 

 has been shown to be influenced by the organic matter content. The 

 analyses did not reveal that phosphorus greatly influenced any particu- 

 lar constituent of the fruit. However, a low content of available phos- 

 phorus in the soil delayed maturity, and fruits picked late in the year 

 are likely to be poor. Of course, both available phosphorus and nitrogen 

 greatly influence the yield and likewise atfect the nitrogen and phos- 

 phorus content of the fruit. 



Extreme soil acidity is a potent factor in soil fertility for certain crops. 

 Here again, the yield seems to be the principal factor affected, although 



TABLE IV 

 The Influence of Soil Fertility Factors Upon Quality of Tomatoes 



*The soils are the same as those identified in Table III. 

 ■(This and other properties based on processed puree. 



