— 57 — 
be due to any deficiency of these compounds in the soil, for both 
the soil and the ground water are rich in them. I have neither an 
explanation nor a theory to offer. The twenty odd analyses agree in 
showing that, especially, the lime is low. The ground water carries 
from 125 to 200 grains of calcic sulphate (CaS 04 ) to the gallon, 
and the soil is full of this salt. It is evident, from the very low lime 
percentage in the ash, that the beet does not appropriate it freely — 
indeed, scarcely at all. The same is suggested by the uniform per- 
centage of sulphuric acid, not only in regard to the calcic sulphate, 
but also in regard to the sodic sulphate. 
In regard to the leaves, I can find no more data than regarding 
the beets. All that I can find is from the sources already mentioned, 
Champion and Pellet, quoted as above, and an average analysis 
taken from Wolff’s tables. These agree as well as one could expect, 
for the German analysis is an average, while the two French ones 
are of individual samples. 
The French analyses make the sulphuric acid 5 per cent., phos- 
phoric acid 8 per cent., chlorin 11.5 per cent., potash 33 per cent., 
soda 11.5 per cent., lime 12.5 per cent., and magnesia 10 per cent. 
The German data give the sulphuric acid as 5 per cent., the phos- 
phoric acid as 7 per cent., potash 28.5 per cent., soda 14.5 per cent., 
lime 14.5 per cent., and magnesia 14.5 per cent. These percentages 
are only close approximations, but they are sufficient to convey a 
pretty definite idea of the composition of the ash of the leaves, as 
given by these authorities. 
1 have, in the tables, placed the analyses of nine samples of ashes 
from leaves, side by side, with those of the beets on which they 
grew, in order that the composition of the leaf-ash and beet-ash 
might be easily compared, but I have no analysis of a leaf-ash which 
may be taken as as standard, so there remains nothing else than to 
take the general averages given by Wolff’s average analysis. A 
comparison of any of my analyses with this shows a wide de- 
parture from it. The sulphuric acid is some lower, the phosphoric 
acid very much lower — 5.6 per cent. — the chlorin is over twice as 
high, the potassic oxid is from 3 to 5 per cent, lower, the sodic oxid 
8 to 10 per cent, higher, the lime about 12 per cent, lower, and 
the magnesia 8 or 9 per cent, lower. In other words, there is no 
agreement at all, and I take my analyses, of October 13, as repre- 
senting the composition of the ash of beet leaves, according to 
which we have, for sulphuric acid, 3. 5-3. 9 per cent.; for phosphoric 
acid, 1.8-2.3 per cent.; potash, 23.7-25.7 per cent.; soda, 22.3-25.5 
per cent.; lime, 1.5-2. 5 per cent.; magnesia, 6.0 per cent.; chlorin, 
23.3-28.5 per cent.; carbon dioxid, 10.6-15.0 per cent. The soda 
may be too high, and the potash too low, by a few per cent., but the 
percentages serve to indicate the general composition of the ash. 
