744 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



to a depth of 5£ ft., where it is underlaid by a stratum of clay practi- 

 cally impervious to the water which tills the gravel below. The salts 

 mentioned as present in the soil are sodium chlorid, sodium carbonate, 

 sodium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, and calcium sulphate. Check 

 plats were located on good soil presumably free from alkali. 



After irrigation or other favorable conditions incrustations of soluble 

 salts \ in. in thickness formed on the surface of j>ortions of the plat on 

 which the sugar beets were grown. The ground was plowed and sub- 

 soiled to a depth of 14 in., and the seeds were drilled in rows 2 ft. apart. 

 From the analyses of the beets produced the author concludes that the 

 effect of the alkali upon the sugar content was not detrimental. Beets 

 were analyzed each week, from September 2 to October 13, to test the 

 increase in sugar content during the ripening period. The most marked 

 increase was found to have occurred from October 6 to 13. "This 

 change which we speak of as the maturing of the beets makes a differ- 

 ence of from 2 to 3 per cent." Beets left in the ground and protected 

 against severe freezing did not show a loss in sugar or in weight. 



Analyses were made to determine the distribution of sugar in the 

 beets and the effects of freezing and drying. It was found that the 

 difference in the average percentage of sugar in the thirds of beets, 

 taken by weight, was less than 2 per cent in favor of the middle and 

 lower thirds, but the coefficient of purity was practically the same 

 throughout. The percentage of sugar in the crown was about 1 per 

 cent less than in the rest of the beet, while the coefficient of purity 

 was but little lower. Freezing without subsequent thawing did not 

 seem to affect the quality of the beet, while drying increased the per- 

 centage of sugar, but was accompanied by an actual loss of sugar. 

 The loss in drying amounted to about 5 per cent during the first 24 

 hours, but it fell to about 2 per cent at the end of 5 days, and then 

 remained practically constant for the next 12. 



It was shown in these experiments that the weight of the leaves was 

 equal to about 87 per cent of the weight of the roots. The weight of 

 the leaves did not increase materially during the last weeks of the 

 growing season, but the weight of the root increased by 04 per cent of 

 its weight at the beginning of the period, September 2, or 39 per cent 

 of the weight of the mature beet. The presence of alkali slightly 

 increased the weight of the leaves but had no marked influence on the 

 maturing of the crop. From the results of numerous analyses of the 

 beets, which are given in tables, it was found that the presence of 

 alkali had had no influence on the amount of dry matter, and that the 

 dry matter other than sugar decreased as the formation of sugar in 

 the beet progressed. The dry matter of the upper third of the beet 

 was a little higher than in the other two-thirds. 



As shown by the ordinary fodder analysis, the presence of alkali 

 increases the percentage of ash and crude protein and decreases the 

 percentage of nitrogen-free extract. The alkali had a greater effect 

 upon the composition of the beet than upon that of the leaves. The 



