642 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



It appears also that the beets exhibit a tendency to improve such land by taking up 

 the excess of alkali. By analysis of roots of different shapes and character it was 

 found that small roots contain the highest percentage of sugar, and that long roots 

 show the highest coefficients of purity, thus indicating that small slender roots 

 obtained by deep tillage and a limited supply of water are the best. 



Results of comparative variety tests with sugar beets conducted toy the 

 Agricultural Society of Bohemia, F. Sitensky (Zter/;?-. Landw. ^\'rsuch.vl'. Oesterr., 

 4 {1901), Nu. 4, pp. 441-457). — The results obtained with 29 varieties of sugar beets 

 are presented in tabular form. The average yield of beets per hectare was 412.02 

 quintals, the extremes being 497.20 and 326.83 quintals. Seventeen varieties gave 

 higher results than the average. Thirteen of the 29 varieties tested and 6 of the 17 

 ])est sorts were of Bohemian origin. 



Breeding of sugar toeets, von RtJMKER {Mitt. Dent. Landw. GeselL, 16 {1901), 

 No. 35, pp. 148, 149). — A brief review of the work, given in a paper read before the 

 German Agricultural Society at their meeting in Halle. 



The cultivation of the sugar beet in Egypt, G. P. Foaden {Jour. Khediv. 

 Agr. Sac. and School Acp:, 3 {1901), No. 2, pp. 56-67, ph. ^).— This article is a 

 report on the culture of the sugar beet in Upper and Lower Egypt. The conditions 

 indicate that in Upper Egypt sugar beets can be more extensively grown than in 

 Lower Egypt, where cotton' occupies the larger portion of the cultivated lands. The 

 results of analyses of 2 samples of beets grown on the experimental farm of the 

 society at Ghizeh, in Lower Egypt, showed an average of 16J per cent of sugar in the 

 beet and a purity of 85.95. These beets had been sown in July. The use of 2 can- 

 tars (about 200 lbs.) of nitrate of soda per feddan (1.03 acres) increased the yield of 

 beets by 50 cantars, or about 5,000 lbs. 



Recent progress in sugar-toeet culture, Herzfeld {Mitt. Deut. Landic. GeselL, 

 16 {1901), No. 25, ]!}'. 144). — An abstract of a paper presented at a meeting of the 

 German Agricultural Society at Halle. 



Totoacco culture in Ireland, M. Lecoknet {.Tour. Dept. Agr. and Tech. Instr., 

 1 {1901), No. 4, 2)1'>. f}lS-62£). — An article describing culture tests with tobacco in 

 1900. 



'Totoacco {Pynl. Bot. Dept. Jamaica, n. ser., 8 {1901), No. 3, pp. 33-35). — A series of 

 brief reviews of w'ork on the fermentation of tobacco and of investigations on tobacco 

 diseases. 



Manure experiments with wheat, F. B. Guthrie and R. Helmo (.l,^)'. Gaz. 

 New Soutli Wales, IJ {1901), No. 4, pp. 431-450, ]^ls. 3). — The method of conducting 

 the experiments is described in detail, the rainfall for the season is given, the results 

 of the analyses of the soils are reported, and the results of the experiments are given 

 in tables and discussed. The work was performed on the government agricultural 

 farms at Wagga and Bathurst. The fertilizer applications used furnished i^er acre 

 14 lbs. of nitrogen, 51 lbs. phosphoric acid, and 21 lbs. of potash, the quantity of 

 plant food considered necessary on an average soil for a crop of about 30 bu. of 

 wheat per acre. The results at the 2 farms differed remarkably in some cases. At 

 Wagga superphosphate gave strikingly good results and proved superior to other 

 phosphatic manures. For the soil at Wagga an ai)plication of about 3 cwt. of super- 

 phosphate, 96 lbs. of nitrate of soda, and 40 lbs. of suljihate of potash per acre are 

 considered effective and economical. At Bathurst the slower acting Thomas slag 

 and rock phosphate gave better results than superphosphate, and the best mixture 

 for that soil seemed to be a combination of sulphate of ammonia with untreated 

 phosphate. At Wagga the use of superphosphate alone nearly doubled the yield of 

 wheat, while at Bathurst it resulted in only a slight increase in yield over the 

 unmanured plats. Both soils, and the Bathurst soil more particularly, are well sup- 

 plied with humus, and this is considered the cause of the high manurial value shown 

 by the untreated phosphate in these tests. Previous liming produced a healthy 



