— 30 — 
earlier. I was unable to discover any assignable reason for this. I 
thought, perhaps, the absence of alkali might be the cause, but a 
study of the ash of these beets made me abandon this idea, and I 
have no explanation beyond the record that it is a fact. 
THE DRY MATTER IN THE BEETS. 
The dry matter was determined in three sets of samples, 
taken at intervals of two weeks, beginning on the 2nd of September, 
and other determinations were made with samples taken as late as 
December 10. The number of beets has been taken as large as 
practicable, in order to obtain results from which the variation in 
the individual beets has been, for the most part, eliminated. This 
is quite necessary, as this variation amounts to as much as 8 per 
cent, in beets pulled on the same date and treated similarly. It 
is, of course, understood that the weight of the air-dry matter, in 
any organic substance, cannot be made with the same satisfactory 
sharpness that ihe moisture in an iron ore can be made. The state- 
ment that individual beets, of the same variety, and harvested on 
the same date, may vary as much as 8 per cent., is based upon care- 
fully made determinations, and probably gives the range of the dry 
matter in sugar beets, i. e., from 17-25 per cent. The dry matter in 
the fodder beets is much lower, and the statement just made is not 
applicable to them. 
The table on page 31 exhibits the development of the dry mat- 
ter in the crops grown on alkalized, and, also, on other ground. I 
have appended some determinations, made at later dates, and, also, 
of other varieties of beets, all grown on the College Farm. 
The column of percentages shows, very clearly, the difference 
between the sugar beets and the larger growing stock beets. The 
latter containing about 14 per cent, dry matter, and the former 18 
per cent. 
In regard to the Lane’s Imperial, it may be proper to state, that 
I know nothing about the history of the seed. While it may be a 
true Lane’s Imperial, it is certainly not a good strain, and was evi- 
dently mixed. I do not mean that it was mixed by seed of other 
varieties being mingled with it, but had been grown from hybridized 
beets. This strain attained a maximum percentage of 10.14 per 
cent, of sugar early in the season, and did not increase materially in 
the percentage of sugar after September the 22nd. 
The amount of dry matter in sugar beets grown on alkali 
soil is a little lower than in the other samples, the Kleinwanzle- 
bener and Vilmorin marked No. 2. This seems to have been the 
case throughout the season. The difference, however, is not always 
in favor of the higher ground, and is not so decided as one could 
wish it to be in order to base a conclusion upon it. On October 13, 
for instance, the total dry matter in m\" samples ranged from 16.69- 
