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The weight of leaves to the single plant is over 100 per cent, 
greater than that given for the average good beet in France. The 
few statements which I have found indicate a higher percentage of 
dry matter, 11 to 16.5 per cent., than I find for our leaves. It must 
be remembered that leaves, so succulent as the beet leaf is, lose 
weight very rapidly, and that the percentage of dry matter in the 
leaf, at the time of weighing, will depend upon the length of time 
that they have been pulled, and also, upon other circumstances. 
The percentage of ash, in the dry matter, is given as 28 to 30 per 
cent., in ours it ranges from 25 to 31 per cent. 
In a preceding paragraph it has been pointed out that, while 
there is a general composition assignable for the ash of the beets, 
there is none, in the same sense, for that of the leaves, and I can 
only compare the samples from different sections of my own plot. 
In discussing the beet ashes I made no mention of any differences 
due to the different stages of development at the time the sample 
was taken. The reason for this apparent omission is, that there is 
no regular variation large enough, and constant enough, to force one 
to the conclusion that it is due to this cause. In illustration of this, 
we will take the beets from section 2 for the three dates, September 
2, September 22, and October 13, when we have, for sulphuric acid, 
3.19 per cent., 3.61 per cent., and 3.48 per cent.; for phosphoric acid, 
8.76 per cent., 8.79 per cent., and 8.68 per cent.; for carbon dioxid, 
14.82 per cent., 14.76 per cent., and 15.69 per cent.; for chlorin, 12.31 
per cent., 12.83 per cent., and 12.60 per cent.; for potash, 38.83 per 
cent., 41.62 per cent., and 42.98 per cent.; for soda, 12.13 per cent., 
9.74 per cent., and 8.81 per cent., and if the potash and soda be taken 
together, there is practically no difference in the percentage of alka- 
lies present on the three dates. 
The whole analyses might be given, but would show no ex- 
ception to the statement that the ash in the immature beet had the 
same percentage composition as that in the mature beet. There 
seems to be one exception to this rule in the leaf- ashes, and this is 
in the case of the chlorin, which increases so generally and uni- 
formly that it is suggestive of a relation between the maturity of 
the plant and the quantity of chlorin present. The percentages are 
averages for the dates September 2, September 22, and October 13, 
in the order given — 18.98 per cent., 24.68 per cent., and 26.52 per 
cent. This is the only one of the constituents which shows this 
variation. The alkalies, on the other hand, are quite constant, with 
an average of about 48.4 per cent., against 52.0 per cent, in the beets. 
The alkalies in the leaf-ashes are, in a rough way, divided about 
equally, with the soda usually, but not always, slightly predominant. 
We conclude that the ash of the beet leaf has a general composition 
which is the same throughout the season, except tliat there is an 
accumulation of chlorin, as the plant approaches maturity. 
