134 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



out inoculation. During the season the roots of the plants on the inoculated plat 

 were well covered with nodules, while those on the uninoculated plat remained free 

 from them. No difference was apparent in the growth on the two plats or in the 

 color of the foliage. A row 8 ft. long on the inoculated plat contained 52 plants, 

 weighing 4 lbs. 5 oz., and on the uninoculated plat 49 plants, weighing 3 lbs. 12 oz. 

 The roots weighed 9 and 6 oz., respectively. 



As a mean of the two years, the leaves and stems of the plants bearing nodules 

 contained 2.78 per cent of nitrogen, and the others 1.77 per cent in dry matter. The 

 roots bearing nodules (latter removed) averaged 1.01 per cent of nitrogen in dry mat- 

 ter, and those having no nodules 1.43 percent. "Inoculation does not seem to 

 notably affect the phosphoric acid nor the potash." In each year the percentage of 

 protein was higher in the inoculated plants, the protein content for the two years 

 taken together being 56.86 per cent greater in the plants from the inoculated plats. 



A similar experiment with cowpeas, made in 1904, showed a. corresponding pre- 

 dominance of nitrogen in the leaves and stems where nodules were produced, and a 

 decrease in the roots. The cowpeas with nodules on the roots contained 47 per cent 

 more protein than those without nodules. 



Analyses of the nodules showed the following composition: Soy-bean nodules — 

 protein 26.19, nitrogen 4.19, potash 2.05 per cent; cowpea nodules— protein 24.39, 

 nitrogen 3.90, phosphoric acid 0.96 per cent. In all except one case the roots with- 

 out nodules contained a greater percentage of nitrogen than the roots provided with 

 them. 



An estimate based on the composition of dry matter of the leaves, stems, and roots 

 of the two crops and the yields of plats 0.8 and 1.29 acres in size shows that the 

 inoculated soy beans contained 113.55 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, as compared with 

 75.98 lbs. from the uninoculated, and the inoculated cowpeas 139.21 lbs., as com- 

 pared with 118.45 lbs. in the uninoculated crop. The figure for the cowpeas does 

 not include the nitrogen in the abundant nodules. 



In a study of the influence of nodules upon the composition of the seed of soy 

 beans it was found that the ripened seeds of the inoculated soy beans were fully 16 per 

 cent richer in protein than the product of the uninoculated areas. The authors con- 

 clude that the nodules on the roots on fairly fertile soil may not notably increase the 

 yield, but that they do increase the relative and absolute amount of nitrogen in the 

 plants. 



Tests of different varieties of sugar beets, R. Harcourt (Ann. Rpt. Ontario 

 Agr. Col. and Expt. Farm, 30 (1904), PP- 51-54)- — Four years' results with different 

 varieties of sugar beets are reported. 



The tests comprised 32 varieties, of which 20 were grown for 4 years, 8 for 3 years, 

 and 4 for 2 years. The beets were grown in level culture in rows 21 in. apart and at 

 8 in. apart in the row. In 1904 Mangel Sugar Beet, Rimpau Rubensamen, Jaensch 

 Victrix, and Improved Imperial ranked first in quality. The sugar content in these 

 varieties ranged from 17.4 to 18.5 per cent and the coefficients of purity from 83.8 

 to 90.3. 



In the list of varieties tested for 4 years Kleinwanzlebener, Improved Imperial, 

 and Pitzscheker Elite ranked first in average quality. Kleinwanzlebener showed an 

 average sugar content of 16.9 per cent and a purity of 88.1. Among the varieties 

 grown lor 2 years Rimpau Rubensamen stood first in average results, with a sugar 

 content of 17.6 per cent and a purity of 89.5. 



A study of the influence of the distance between rows on the quality indicated that 

 the best quality of beets is obtained in rows 18 or 20 in. apart, and that wider plan- 

 ting reduces the quality and produces a marked decrease in yield. A brief report on 

 the beet-sugar industry in Ontario is given. 



Sugar-beet seed breeding, J. E. W. Tracy {U.S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1904, pp. 

 341-852, pis. 3). —The effect of good seed on the quality oi the beet, and the ad van- 



