88 o 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. V, No. 19 
acid and the solution made to 100 c. c., a 50 c. c. aliquot being used for 
the colorimetric test. In some cases larger amounts of soil were used 
for the tests. From 2 to 3 gm. of the plant samples were used for moisture 
and ash determinations. 1 
RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS 
The results of the experiments are expressed in all the tables and text 
as percentages of boric acid. Some analyses of boron soluble in weak 
hydrochloric-acid extracts of soils are also reported. The form of the 
combination of the boron in plants is not known. The boron of soils is 
in part present in insoluble combinations with silica, and the absence of 
acid-soluble boron in some soils may be thus explained. Ash results are 
also reported for most of the plants analyzed. Separate analyses of the 
tops, roots, and fruits are tabulated. 
In Table I analyses showing the distribution of ash and boron in the 
tops and roots of wheat (Triticum spp.) and beets (Beta vulgaris) 3 
months old, grown in the presence of calcined colemanite and borax, 
with and without the addition of lime, are recorded. More boron was 
found in the tops than in the roots of both plants. The beets absorbed 
more boron than the wheat plants, especially from the soil treated with 
calcined colemanite. All of the control plants contained a little boron. 
Table I .—Percentage of boron in wheat and beets: Greenhouse pot tests a 
Se¬ 
ries 
No. 
Treatment of manure per 8 
bushels. 
Wheat (dry basis). 
Beets (dry basis). 
Tops. 
Roots. 
Tops. 
Roots. 
Ash. 
Boron 
as boric 
acid, 
ash-free 
basis. 
Ash. 
Boron 
as boric 
acid, 
ash-free 
basis. 
Ash. 
! Boron 
as boric 
acid, 
ash-free 
basis. 
Ash. 
Boron 
as boric 
acid, 
ash-free 
basis. 
1 
0.75 pounds of calcined cole¬ 
Per ct- 
Per ct. 
Per ct. 
Per ct. 
Per ct. 
Per ct. 
Per ct. 
Per ct. 
manite added. 
IS- 55 
o- 0103 
20- 00 
Trace. 
23.10 
0.0315 
17-74 
0.0020 
2 
1.5 pounds of calcined coleman¬ 
ite added. 
12.96 
.0097 
24 - 76 
Trace. 
21.69 
.0402 
12.75 
.0025 
3 
1 pound of borax added.. 
12.58 
.0097 
33-48 
0*0008 
22.39 
.0120 
14- 52 
•0054 
4 
1 pound of borax and 1 ounce of 
lime added. 
8.51 
• 0122 
23*39 
.0029 
23.07 
.0172 
.0097 
5 
1 pound of borax and 3 ounces of 
lime added. 
9*63 
• 0105 
25-69 
.0044 
22.77 
.0154 
14-12 
.0087 
6 
1 pound of borax and 9 ounces of 
lime added... 
II.07 
.0173 
26. 24 
Trace. 
20.36 
.0062 
14.41 
.0047 
7 
Control. 
9. 20 
*0013 
23.76 
Trace. 
23.80 
Trace. 
14. 56 
.0013 
a Forty parts of soil and i part of boron-treated manure were mixed in all the pot and bench tests. 
A similar series of tests using tomatoes and cowpeas (Vigna sinensis) 
are recorded in Table II. The number and weight of the tomatoes 
obtained from four pots, which are also recorded, show the injurious 
1 The analyses were completed with the assistance of Mr. J. B. Wilson, of the Animal Physiological 
Chemical Laboratory, to whom the writer desires to express his indebtedness. 
