21 
Deterioration Sugar Beets Due to Nitrates 
plowed under to a depth of io inches which contained 119.6 pounds 
nitrog'en, 178 pounds potash and 164 pounds phosphoric acid. 
There were two plots that received this treatment, one as just stated 
produced 5,825 pounds of sugar, but the other produced only 2,697 
pounds, or less than half as much and actually less than one of the 
plots to which nothing whatever had •been added, and only 520 
pounds more than the poorer of the two check plots. The lack of 
concordance in the results cannot be attributed to lack of careful and 
intelligent cultivation or any difference in treatment from the begin¬ 
ning of the experiment till the weighing of the beets delivered at the 
factory. 
We find the same irregularities in the results of 1910. They 
are in fact so inconsistent that they lend themselves to any inter¬ 
pretation that one may wish to give them. The results of 1904 
were likewise wholly indecisive, one series showing a small gain and 
the other a fourfold greater loss per acre from their use. The ques¬ 
tion of importance to the grower is whether these results faithfully 
indicate what he would have a right to expect from the use of fer¬ 
tilizers. 
Three years experimentation on this subject at this station in a 
very different soil, one with which no fault could well be found, led 
to similar conclusions as far as the experiments were parallel. 
The effect of fertilizers upon the yield whether it be measured 
by the pounds of beets or sugar is an interesting, and to the grower, 
an important one, but there are other questions, the importance of 
which is not indicated by the size of the crop. 
The results show that it is doubtful whether the application of 
commercial fertilizers to these lands would be attended with in¬ 
creased profits; in other words, it is doubtful whether the increase 
yield will cover the increased costs. These results are not in har¬ 
mony with those obtained in other sections of our country where 
their use has been shown to be remunerative. It would be interest¬ 
ing to further establish these results and determine whether they 
really be facts, and if facts, to ascertain the reasons for them, but 
our present purpose lies in another direction. 
The quality of our beets leaves much to be desired. By a good 
quality of beets I do not merely mean a beet with a high percentage 
of sugar, but one which will also keep well and work well. That 
the supply and ratio of the various plant foods affect these proper¬ 
ties has been repeatedly shown and is accepted as a fact and emphasis 
has also been placed upon the fact that the soil itself and its supply 
of plant food must be taken into the account. 
There are two properties shown by some of our beets which 
are undesirable; they produce an undue amount of molasses and 
they do not keep well. Both of these faults may be attributed to 
