r 5 ^ The: Colorado Experiment Station 
3 Heft S. 425, the composition of beets grown with the application 
of phosphoric acid, nitrogen (as“nitrate and ammonia salts) and 
soda. The results vary so little for the different sets of beets that 
we may consider them as within the limits of the natural variability 
of the plant itself. The soil experimented with w^as not so rich in 
lime, magnesia, potash, phosphoric acid or nitrogen as we find our 
soils to be. The general composition of the eleven samples analyzed 
is : average weight of beets, 253 to 384 grams. Sugar 17.2 to 19.2, 
average 18.2. Dry substance 24.68 to 26.54, average 25.61. Ash, 
apparently carbonated ash, in dry substance 2.19 to 2.55, average 
2.39. Ash in beet (carbonated?) 0.61208. Total nitrogen in dry 
substance 0.80 to 1.29, average 0.95364, in beet 0.2445. Phosphoric 
acid in dry substance, 0.28 to 0.38, average 0.3082, in beet 0.07893. 
Potash in dry substance 0.58 to 0.84, average 0.7155, in beet 0.1833. 
Owing to the fact that soda in the form of sodic chlorid was applied 
as a fei tilizer, and that sodic salts constitute a considerable percent¬ 
age of our alkalis, the results obtained in regard to the effects of 
soda have an especial interest for us. The soda in the dry sub¬ 
stance of these beets was from 0.18 to 0.48 percent, the average 
0.2496, in the beets 0.06541. We quote the analyses of the pure 
ash in full, omitting the details of the experiments. 
ANALYSES PURE ASH AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN BEETS. 
I ll 2 5 8 4 7 10 3 
Silicic acid. 2.60 2.31 1.’87 2.00 2.47 2.61 3.62 4.79 3.26 
Sulfuric acid- 3.12 4.04 3.27 2.00 2.97 2.61 4.14 3.59 3.26 
Phosphoric acid. 15.60 18.47 13.53 12.53 14.86 17.80 19.66 17.96 15*76 
Chlorin . 1-56 1.73 3.27 3.00 2.48 1.57 1.55 1.80 2.72 
Potassic oxid . . . 43.68 33.47 34.05 38.08 38.63 36.65 30.52 31.13 41.85 
Sodic oxid. 10.40 14.43 22.39 15.53 18.32 9.98 14.49 17.36 9^24 
Calcic oxid. 10.92 12.12 11.66 11.53 9.91 16.75 14.48 8.98 9^24 
Magnesic oxid... 10.92 12.12 8.86 10.52 8.92 9.42 10.82 13.77 10.33 
Ferric and 
Alumnic oxids. 1.56 1.73 1.87 5.51 1.98 3.14 1.03 1.20 4.89 
100.36 100.42 100.77 100.70 100.54 100.53 100.36 100.58 100.55 
Oxygen equi. to 
chlorin . 0-35 0.39 0.74 0.76 0.56 0.52 0.35 0.60 0.55 
100.01 100.03 100.03 99.94 99.98 100.01 100.01 99.98 100.00 
6 9 
1.00 1.90 
5.98 2.85 
13.96 14.22 
2.99 2.37 
34.90 38.88 
13.46 18.97 
12.47 10.43 
10.96 9.96 
4.98 0.95 
100.70 100.53 
0.76 0.53 
99.94 100.00 
Numbers i and n received no fertilizers of any sort. The 
authors failed to discover any relation between the amount of sodic 
oxid and the sugai in the beets. The ratio of the proteid nitrogen 
to the total in the dry substance ranged between 60 and 65 percent. 
1 here are radical differences in the composition of these Euro¬ 
pean beets as we find them represented in their literature and those 
which we have studied. It is not feasible to go into the details of all 
of our analyses, but the general results may be expressed as follows: 
d he whole nutrition of the beet seems to be very greatly modified. 
The total nitrogen in our beets is decidedly lower than in the Euro- 
