32 RELATION OF LIME AND MAGNESIA TO PLANT GROWTH. 
The roots of the sugar beet contain only about one-fourth as much 
ash as the leaves, but relative to the lime more magnesia than the 
leaves.* 
Lime and inagnesia content to 1,000 parts of dry matter of root of sugar and common beet. 
Ratio of 
Plant. Totalash.| Lime. ~* Magnesia.! lime to 
| magnesia. | 
| me A 
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 
Suparsbee lassen: fe wey eee Nee aie gee 38.3 2.33 3.01 EWS 
COMMON GDECT sae eee ey eee 75.8 2.83 8.26 | 1:2.9 
1 Recent publications mention a smaller amount of magnesia. 
The transformation of the common beet into the sugar beet seems 
to be connected with a small decrease of the magnesia content in the 
root and an increase of lime in the leaf. (See table above.) 
beet and sugar beet are among those richest in magnesia. From Wolff's 
Tables, II, p. 142, containing the averages of sixty-seven different 
seeds and fruits, it will be seen that for 1,000 parts of dry matter of 
seed the sugnesia content was from 0.12 parts (horse chestnut) to 10.02 
parts, which maximum belongs to the seed of the common beet. For 
1,000 parts of the seeds of the sugar beet the magnesia content amounts 
to 8.55 parts, which number is only surpassed by that for the almond 
(8.65 parts). The lime content of those seeds is a moderate one, 8.83 
and 11.89 parts, respectively, for 1,000 parts of dry matter, while the 
extremes are 0.15 (winter barley) and 33.05 (carrot). 
The sugar beet belongs to those crops that are rich in mineral 
matter, since the ash varies from 14 to 20 per cent and over. It can, 
therefore, not create surprise to see beets still grow on soils which 
by a certain content of soluble salts interfere seriously with other 
crops, as grasses and legumes. Hilgard and Loughridge” made 
experiments on lands considerably impregnated with alkali salts in 
southern California, and inferred that sugar beets may even be raised 
on soils containing as much as 12,000 pounds of alkali salts per acre 
to the depth of 3 feet. These salts consisted of sulphates, nitrates, 
chlorides, and carbonates, but the chlorid content did not exceed 500 
pounds per acre. 
Champion and Pellet found that for the formation of 100 pounds of 
sugar in beets the whole plant must consume: 
Pounds. Pounds. 
Phosphonicracids = se saees ll = hod Re2e) MIB iG ren ae 2 eee arena ele 1.5 to-L.6 
JLo} ¢2 1) jamie ee Eee ae ueh tog A yh le du bo6.0 5 aviaemesiciee ne apn ae ery ae 1.2 to 1.4 
Soca fries eee Sete Ne ses Onto. Oly INGGROS elise aaa sere sepa 22 iglO on0 
* W olff’s Tables, II. 
* Report of the Cal. Expt. Sta., 1894 and 1895. 
