always at the time exhibits a very irregularly — developed appearance. In the case 

 where the beets have only small pointed leaves, generally before they dry up, a 

 greater number of the older and more normal leaves have dried up all at once, 

 and now lie round the beet plant making a star form on the ground. Only 

 where there is Potash starvation is this very evident, as by every other manuring, 

 the individual leaves die off slowly one after the other, and the tops which remain 

 strong until the harvest prevents a regular casting of dead leaves on the soil. 

 If a beet dies prematurely in August or the beginning of September as a result 

 of great deficiency in Potash, the plant disappears very soon, partly or completely 

 from the soil, as it quickly rots. We would point out that suc^i beets have been 

 well named "Consumption" Beets. Lack of Potash always diminishes the percentage 

 of sugar present. 



Table 18. 

 (Plot 4.) 



With the absence of Phosphoric Acid, the beets in the soil used for this experiment 



do not differ in their external development during the first period of growth, from 



normally nourished plants, when sufficient soil moisture is present. However, if 



May is dry, the beets with a dark green colour are immediately markedly retarded 



in growth. These, however, develop on the advent of rain as a rule very rapidly 



into robust plants, scarcely to be distinguished as far as size is concerned, from 



normal plants. 



— 23 — 



