Deterioration Sugar Beets Due to Nitrates 65 
very low. This is exhibited plainly in the statement of the crude 
and even more so m that of the pure ash. The total phosphoric 
acid m this soil, not taking that applied to the various plots into ac¬ 
count, was not far from 5,000 pounds per acre-foot, while the citric 
acid soluble for the three samples taken to represent the surface foot 
ol soil gave 120, 280 and 400 pounds per acre foot and the succeed¬ 
ing two feet were well supplied. In addition to this natural supply, 
p iosphoi ic acid was applied in quantities varying from zero to 
sixty-five pounds per acre. A\ e cannot therefore attribute the low 
percentage of phosphoric acid in the ash to a lack of phosphoric acid 
m the soil nor to its being unavailable. We shall return to this sub¬ 
ject briefly in a later paragraph. 
We find that the injurious nitrogenous substances present in 
these beets are rather high. In twenty-four samples given by 
y nc 1 Ja-hres-Bericht der Zuckerfabrikation 1907 pp. 18-20 we 
niK. the range from 2.8 to 6.48 parts to 100 parts of sugar with only 
n ee samples with 6 parts or more. Of these twenty-four samples 
eighteen were grown with application of farmyard manure and four 
witn various amounts of superphosphate, potash salts, and Chile- 
saltpetre. _ Our samples show that the best ones in respect to the 
amount of injurious nitrogen, were those grown without any fer- 
araTel ° r P ° taSS * C slli P^ ate or superphosphate applied sep- 
We have seen by the results on pages 17 and 19 that the general 
e ects of fertilizers, applied 111 the quantities given, are decidedly 
disappointing. This is not due to the time or manner of applica¬ 
tion, for these were 111 accord with the practice which experience has 
approved as the best. Further it was not due to indifferent or in¬ 
sufficient cultivation, nor to a lack of water, nor to any untoward 
condition such as an unfavorable season or an attack of insects or 
oi fungi. The leaf-spot was present, but its attack on these plots 
was not. very severe. The data presented in the preceding para¬ 
graphs are intended to show a further and different purpose, i. e 
to show whether any of these fertilizers or combinations of’ them 
have prolnced favorable effects upon the quality of the beets which 
is so decidedly beneficial that the interpretation is plain and beyond 
doubt. I think that we can safely conclude that they have not * on 
the contrary it seems that we must conclude that the results obtained 
m these fertilizer experiments when compared with those obtained 
with beets grown without fertilizers, do not justify us in tryino- to 
ameliorate our conditions by these means. There are a number of 
things, it is true, to be taken into consideration in interpreting our 
results, some of which I have already stated, but which I Repeat 
lecause of their importance. First: differences due to locality* 
tins means that the localities are so remote from one another that 
