Deterioration Sugar Beets Due to Nitrates 127 
acid 0.12, total nitrogen 0.147 and humus 0.426 percent. The ratio 
of nitric nitrogen to the total will be given in a subsequent para¬ 
graph. Composite samples of soil and subsoil were taken from 
t ese plots. . h our samples each of soil and subsoil were united to 
form composite samples. The results were as follows ; 
ANALYSES OF SOIL 
ON WHICH EXPERIMENTS OF 1911 WERE MADE. 
Insoluble . 
Silicic acid (soluble in sodium carbonate) 
Sulfuric acid. 
Chlorin. 
Phosphoric acid . 
Carbonic acid. 
Potassic oxid . 
Sodic oxid. 
Calcic oxid . 
Magnesie oxid. 
Ferric oxid. 
Aluminic oxid . 
Manganic oxid. 
Water at 100° C. 
Ignition . 
CXXIV 
Soil 
63.489 
9.866 
0.094 
0.025 
0.175 
2.976 
0.715 
0.408 
4.725 
1.258 
5.663 
3.563 
0.175 
2.816 
3.918 
cxxv 
Subsoil 
63.547 
8.557 
0.069 
0.035 
0.160 
4.942 
0.573 
0.316 
7.310 
1.376 
5.337 
2.738 
0.160 
2.111 
2.143 
Sum. 
Oxygen equivalent to chlorin 
99.866 
.005 
99.375 
.008 
Total 
99-861 99.367 
Total nitrogen 
Humus . 
Water soluble 
0-1426 0.0627 
0.6750 0.2620 
0.3875 0.3450 
1 he change in color, showing the line of division between the 
soil and subsoil, varies from eight to twelve inches in depth. This 
land seems never to have received deep cultivation which is very 
desirable in this case. The analyses show what is clearly recog¬ 
nizable by the appearance of the soil itself in section, i. e., that the 
subsoil is richer in calcic salts, carbonate and sulfate, than the sur¬ 
face soil. There is no reason whatever why this subsoil should not 
produce quite as well as the surface soil if once loosened up. It is 
well supplied with plant food, nitrogen perhaps excepted, which 
might be considered too low for a productive soil, but it is, under our 
conditions probably fully sufficient. The supply of lime and mag¬ 
nesia is very abundant and their ratio, from four to six of lime to 
one of magnesia, will have some interest for us. 
The analyses of 1911 samples follow in the order of their tak¬ 
ing. _ The number of beets taken in each sample was eighteen. We 
find it very difficult to thoroughly mix the pulp from so large a sam¬ 
ple without expressing some of the juice. In a few of the last sets 
of samples we took as many as fifty beets in a sample but I doubt 
the advisability of taking so large a number in one sample. 
