150 



aud iu the Southwest, where these trees grow abundantly, there is no 

 doubt that they may be found of great value iu this branch of industry. 

 The live-oak contains so small a percentage of tannic acid that it will be 

 found of little value. There was extracted from the Osage-orange a 

 yellow resinous coloring matter, soluble in ether and caustc potassa, 

 which we have not yet examined, but which we shall at some future 

 time make the subject of an investigation. It is possible that it may 

 be found useful as a coloring matter. 



U.rperimenfs icith heets. — In his experiments upon the effects of differ- 

 ent fertilizers upon sugar-beets, the results of which have lately been 

 published, Professor Goessman, of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- 

 lege, has found that beets do much better as a second crop upon soil 

 to which farm-yard manure has been apj)lied, the potash and other 

 mineral elements of plant-food being then iu a n)ore favorable condi- 

 tion for assimilation by the root. He found that beets grown as a first 

 crop upon land which had received an application of farm-yard manure 

 gave a lower ijercentage of sugar than those grown under other con- 

 ditions. The most favorable application seemed to be kainit aud super- 

 phosphate of lime, or even sulphate of i)otassa alone. 



In order to show the results of Professor Goessmau's experiments in. 

 this particular, we append the following table exhibiting the percentage 

 of cane-sugar found in the juice of roots grown from different seeds 

 vinder the induence of various fertilizers. 



Kind of fertilizer applied. 



Fresh borse-niaTinre 



Blood guano, without potash 



Blood guano, with potash 



Kainit. with superphosphate of lime 



Sulphate of potassa 



No manure ; second year after application of stahle manure 



a-^ 



11.96 

 10.99 

 12.55 

 13.15 



11.52 

 13.49 



9.71 

 9.17 



10.01 

 10.91 

 12.47 



Si? 



9. 42 



io!io 



13.24 

 12.16 

 14. 32 

 13.78 



7.8 

 10.20 

 10.50 

 10.50 

 12.78 

 12.19 



Deherain's late experiments prosecuted on the experimental farm con- 

 nected with the school of Grignou, show results somewhat similar. Of 

 all the fertilizers with which he experimented, principally phosphatic 

 and nitrogenous, one manufactured by MM. Coignet, of Paris, con- 

 taining 30 per cent, of dried bone phosphate, aud 50 per cent, of dried 

 animal matter, and yiehling G to 7 per cent, of nitrogen, gave the best 

 results. The yield was very much increased, and the beets contained 

 an average of 12 per cent, of sugar. This result corresponds more 

 nearly to the results obtained by Professor Goessman by application of 

 blood-guano and potash, than those obtained by application of blood- 

 guano alone. The fertilizer of Coignet, however, doubtless contained 

 more phosphoric acid than the blood-guano employed by Goessman, aud 

 the increased percentage of sugar may be due to this fact. Or, since 

 Deherain remarks that unfortunately for his ex])eriment the soil at 

 Grignon is very rich, it is possible that all the potash which was 

 needed by the crop, and which had to be applied artificially by Goess- 

 man in his experiments, was supplied by the soil itself. We therefore 

 consider it evident that this compound is necessary to the successful 

 cultivation of the crop in question, and where it is wanting in the soil 

 it should in all cases be contained in the fertilizer applied. 



