I9I9] 



WOO—AMARANTHUS 



341 



Table XI shows the results of the analyses of the seeds by 

 various authors. In the main there is fairly close agreement, 

 but in some cases there are considerable discrepancies. The 

 discrepancies can probably be explained by the different chemical 

 methods used by the various authors and by the lack of uni-. 

 formity in the different crops analyzed. 



TABLE XI 

 Comparison of some of the analyses on Amarantkus seeds 



Material 



Condition of seeds. 



H,0 



Lipins (fats) 



Polysaccharides 



Reducing sugars 



Non-reducing sugars 

 after inversion) .... 



Nitrogen 



Protein 



Ash 



(sugar 



Pammel and Dox 



A. blitoides 



Little* 

 Abundant 



1.88 

 II-7S 



A. retro- 

 flexus 



Harding and Egge 



A. retroflexus 



20 mesh 



Non- 



Little* 

 Abundant 



2.49 

 IS 59 



39-77 

 Trace 



2.08 



18.57 

 4-33 



72 mesh 



uniform 



11.28 



7.92 



40.98 



Trace 



19 13 

 4.46 



Oven 

 dry 



8.60 



8.46 



44.83 



Trace 



2.3s 



20.93 

 4.88 



Woo 



A. blitoides 



Matured 

 uniform 



Av. of 3 



9-4S 



4-S6 



47.68 



None 



0.67 



2.48 



14.81 



3-59 



A. retro- 

 tle.xus 



Matured 

 uniform 



Av. of 3 

 8.61 



7-77 

 47.21 

 None 



1. 14 

 2.46 



1303 

 4.20 



* Microchemical test. 



From the results of this study it would seem that Amaranthus 

 retroflexus, and probably other species of the same genus, can 

 bear, as they ordinarily do bear, large amounts of free nitrates 

 without being forced out of reproduction into extreme vegetation. 

 This genus apparently is endowed with a very high capacity for 

 nitrate absorption, as well as for maintaining its full seed produc- 

 tion power in the face of a great excess of free nitrates. In this 

 respect it seerns to differ from the tomato studied by Kraus and 

 Kraybill, and probably from many other plants. Considering 

 all angiosperms, it is likely that, due to hereditary characters, there 

 is a great range of ease with which plants can be forced to exces- 

 sive vegetation by extreme nitrate supply within the plant. It 

 is well known that a given level of fertility that will throw small 

 grains into extreme straw production with deficiency of grain 

 will give excellent grain production in corn. This may be due 

 to the lower nitrate absorbing power of the corn, to its greater 



