92 The Colorado Experiment Station 
of the high ash content in general, unless we assume the presence 
of unusual amounts of nitrates in general. 
The ratio between the sodic and potassic oxids varies greatly 
without such an apparent relation to other factors as to make it 
evident that this ratio is of itself an important one; for instance we 
have in the Michigan beets 15.3 percent of sugar, 0.70 percent of 
crude ash in the beet, 0.0032 percent nitric nitrogen in the beet and 
0.5129 part injurious nitrogen per 100 of sugar and the ratio of 
sodic to potassic oxid is 1 1140. In Analysis XXXVI, one of our 
fertilized beets, we have also 15.3 percent sugar, 1.05 percent crude 
ash, 0.0025 percent nitric nitrogen, 0.428 injurious nitrogen per 100 
sugar and the ratio of 1 :26 for the sodic to the potassic oxid. While 
the ratios in these samples are extreme, the quality of the beets is not 
very different. The amount of sugar is the same, 15.3 percent, the 
injurious nitrogen is less in the beets with 13.6 percent sodic oxid 
in the crude ash, against 0.255 percent in that of the other beet; the 
nitric nitrogen is also less and the injurious ash is 4.16 against 1.94 
or 2.1 times as much. It is seldom in our beets that this ratio is less 
than 1 :g and occasionally the sodic oxid is almost equal to the potas¬ 
sic oxid, in one sample given it is actually greater, but the beets in 
this case were very low in quality and they had been grown with a 
heavy application of nitrate. 
BEETS GROWN ON BAD LAND. 
The land chosen for the experiments and observations to follow, 
was one which I had been observing since 1909 and which I knew to 
be very rich in nitrates. The land slopes to the north and west so 
that the south end of the field is iyy 2 feet higher than the north end, 
and the southeast corner of the field is 22 feet higher than the 
southwest corner. The distance across this field from east to west 
was not measured. The rows ran north and south and were at this 
place 672 feet long. On the north and west of this land is a flat area 
through which runs a ditch. This drainage ditch is 650 feet 
beyond the north end of the cultivated land under consideration. 
The flat land is used as a pasture, but is partly bare and at times 
wet. We had borings made to determine the hight of the water 
plane at the end of September and found it to be five feet below the 
surface at the lowest point of the cultivated field and only one foot 
about the bottom of the open ditch. Samples of this soil were 
taken on 22 June 1910 because we wished to apply fertilizers to see 
whether they would produce any effects upon the crop in quantity or 
quality under these conditions. For this purpose thirty rows of 
beets were selected. The total length of the rows was 672 feet. 
The extreme north end of the cultivated portion was rejected as 
wholly unfit for our purpose. About 550 feet of the rows was 
taken. The width of the land selected was thirty rows of beets or 
