Feb. 7,1916 
Boron 
883 
The results with wheat grown in plots at Arlington Farm, Va., are 
given in Table IV. The manure was applied at the rate of 20 tons per 
acre. The wheat was planted in October, 1913, and harvested in June, 
1914, the soil samples being tested at the time of harvesting. On the 
borax plot the wheat plants which were yellow during the winter, became 
green and normal in appearance in the spring. The yield of wheat from 
the borax plot was 90 per cent of the control, but larger than that from 
an unmanured plot which was simultaneously tested. The amount of 
borax added to the borax plot was about four times that necessary to 
act as a larvidde, but only a trace of boron was found in the wheat grain 
or straw. The wheat grains were sound and the nitrogen and ether- 
extract results of the control differed very little from those of the wheat 
and straw from the borax-treated plot. A trace of boron was found in 
the grains and straw from the borax plot, and the borax-treated soil 
showed 0.003 per cent of boric acid. The soil sample from the borax 
plot contained more nitrates than the control sample. Nitrogen was 
estimated by the Kjeldahl-Gunning method, and nitrates by the method 
recommended by the American Public Health Association. 
Table IV .—Percentage of boron in wheat, straw, and soil: Plot tests at Arlington 
Farm, Va . 
Se¬ 
ries 
No. 
Treatment of manure per 8 
bushels. 
Material. 
Nitro¬ 
gen. 
Nitro¬ 
gen as 
ammo¬ 
nia 
(MgO 
meth¬ 
od). 
Nitro¬ 
gen 
as ni¬ 
trates. 
Ether 
extract. 
[Wheat grains. 
2.15 
.281 
1.70 
2* 12 
x 
2 to 3 pounds of borax added. 
<Wheat straw. 
[Soil 3 to 4 inches deep.. 
[Wheat grains. 
.09 
2. 21 
0.004 
o- 0018 
1.77 
2. 27 
2 
Control... 
■j Wheat straw. 
•323 
.09 
(.Soil 3 to 4 inches deep.. 
.003 
.0012 
Acid-solu¬ 
ble boron 
as boric 
add. 
Faint trace. 
Do. 
0.003. 
None. 
Do. 
Do. 
Results of the analyses of soybeans {Glycine hispida), string beans 
(Phaseolus vulgaris), and potato plants grown on plots at Arlington 
Farm, Va., are recorded in Table V. The roots and beans of the soy¬ 
beans contained about equal amounts of boron, and rather large quan¬ 
tities were found in the tops of all the plants analyzed. There was a 
more equal distribution of boron in the roots, tops, and beans of the 
string beans than in the case of the soybeans. 
The potatoes showed only traces of boron in the tops, the largest part 
of the boron being found in the roots, although the tubers contained a 
fairly large amount. All control plants contained a little boron. The 
addition of lime with the borax did not prevent the absorption of boron 
by the plants, as much boron being absorbed from the calcined-cole- 
manite plots as from the borax plots. 
