54 
The Colorado Experiment Station 
The analyses show an abundance of phosphoric acid, potash, 
lime and magnesia. The total nitrogen in the surface samples is 
just about the average for our soils. The ferrous oxid is very easily 
extracted with dilute hydric chlorid, but is wholly insoluble in 
water. It is probably present as a carbonate of iron. The ferrous 
salt is probably without effect on the character of the crop, for we 
find as much ferrous oxid in other soils which produce good beets 
under favorable conditions. The chlorin is not excessive, and the 
nitric nitrogen on the date of sampling was only moderately high, 
still there was the equivalent of 360 pounds of sodic nitrate in the 
surface foot of plot 19 on 20 July and 180 pounds in plot 38 taken 
to the same depth. While these quantities are comparatively small, 
they are, especially the 360 pounds, large enough to affect the 
quality of the beets. I mean by this, that if we should apply 360 
pounds of sodic nitrate to an acre of beets on 20 July it would with¬ 
out doubt affect the quality of the crop. No attempt was made to 
study the variation of the amount of nitrates in this soil during the 
season but this was done for other fields by Mr. Zitkowski, whose 
results are given later. 
The x ie 1 d from this ground was not remarkable, 10.09 tons P er 
acre, and the quality of the beet is fully shown by the analysis. The 
variety was the Fairfield. The sugar content was 14.4 percent, the 
injurious ash per 100 parts of sugar 4.9 parts, and the injurious 
nitrogenous compounds amounted to 5.69 parts. The total nitrogen 
is not particularly high but the ratio of injurious nitrogen is quite 
high, approximately 60.0 percent. The nitric nitrogen in these 
beets is decidedly higher than that in the Fort Collins standard beets. 
We have 0.01104 against 0.00096 percent. The ash of these beets 
shows a high percentage of chlorin, 15.25 percent of the pure ash 
or 0.13544 percent of the fresh beet. I leave the reader to classify 
such beets. I do not know, except in the most general way, how 
these beets worked in the factory, but we can safely assume that it 
vvas none too well. 
Analyses XVI and XVII represent beets grown on the College 
Experiment Farm in 1910. The soil is to all appearances the same 
as that in which the samples of 1911 were grown. These samples 
show the maximum sugar content found during the season. The 
variety was given by number. The stand was good and the yield of 
roots was 7.0 tons per acre. The tops were frozen before the beets 
were harvested, about November 16, and their weight was not ascer¬ 
tained, but they were very heavy. The growth of the tops was 
luxuriant throughout the months of September, October and Novem¬ 
ber till frozen. The accompanying photographs, Plate I, show the 
appearance of the field, also the size of the tops and the undesirable 
shape of the beets. If my information be correct, some of these 
