Deterioration Sugar Beets Due to Nitrates 141 
Z R, 0.00746 percent. It has already been pointed out that even 
these latter figures are high for beets grown without the application 
of nitrates in excess or highly nitrogenous manures. The soil in 
which these beets were grown contained, according to our latest 
analyses, Apr. 1912, 0.142 percent nitrogen and 0.063 percent in the 
subsoil; the nitric nitrogen in the soil was at this tme 0.0008 per¬ 
cent, but was very much higher in September, 1911, as is elsewhere 
stated. 
These effects of defoliation are not those which constitute the 
subject of our study, especially is this the case with the nitrogen. 
The subject of defoliation was taken up, as previously stated, because 
we assume it to present the best imitation of the effects of the leaf- 
spot disease, and while our experiments were extremely severe the 
leaf-spot has often approached the same severity. These experi¬ 
ments answer the purpose for which they were made very well and 
are in full accord with later investigations of this subject, but the 
subject is worthy of a much fuller study for there are some very per¬ 
plexing things that have been observed. A field previously referred 
to, which had been defoliated by the leaf-spot disease quite as se¬ 
verely as I defoliated these beets, produced a small yield but the 
beets were rich in sugar, 16 to 17.5 percent, and this could not be 
attributed to drying out of the beets. This is not an isolated in¬ 
stance though it is an extreme one. 
In this attempt to determine the effects of defoliation upon the 
composition of the beet, we find that in addition to reducing the 
yield both of beets and sugar and the percentage of sugar in the 
beets, it reduced the percentage of dry matter, it did not positively 
increase the pure ash in the dry substance in one case, but in the 
other it did. It showed a decided depression of the total nitrogen 
in the beet, from 0.148 and 0.142 to 0.124 and 0.113 percent, the 
phosphoric acid in the fresh beet was scarcely changed. We find in 
the normally matured beets 0.05508 and 0.06256 and in the defoli¬ 
ated beets 0.05380 and 0.06307. This identity is quite as evident 
when the composition of the pure ash is considered in which we have 
for these varieties given in the same order, 10.175 and 10.932 per¬ 
cent in the pure ash of normally developed beets and 9.876 and 
10.855 percent in that of the defoliated beets. The figures for the 
potash are also very similar, 0.26141 and 0.28494 in normally devel¬ 
oped beets and 0.26493 and 0.28042 in the defoliated ones. The in¬ 
jurious ash per 100 of sugar was slightly increased, 0.21 and 0.57 
part per 100 sugar; the injurious nitrogen was not changed or les¬ 
sened. The total nitrogen in the press juice was lessened and the 
ratio of the proteid nitrogen to the total materially lowered. The 
ratio of the lime to the magnesia remained practically unchanged. 
The most marked effect upon the composition of the beet was 
