A Study of Colorado Wheat 
NITRATES CAUSE A DEPRESSION OF PHOSPHORUS 
69 
The physical characteristics of the berries produced by the appli¬ 
cation of nitrogen have already been mentioned. These kernels are 
relatively small, flinty, translucent, hard, and often shrunken. The 
marked feature of the composition is the increase in the nitrogen con¬ 
tent; and with this, in the wet, dry, and true gluten. The differences 
between the phosphorus in the general averages given in the last two 
tables differ only a few hundredths of i percent, but a compari¬ 
son of the phosphorus given in the other analyses shows that this ele¬ 
ment is regularly lower in the nitrate samples, than in the others. In 
other words, assuming that the check plots give us wheat of normal 
phosphorus content, the nitrates have caused a depression of this ele¬ 
ment. 
NITRATE-FERTILIZED PLANTS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO RUST 
In Bulletin 208, and again in Bulletin 217, it was shown that nitric- 
nitrogen produces marked effects upon the composition of the plant in 
that it increases all forms of nitrogen in the plant throughout the sea¬ 
son; further, that it exercises a decided influence upon the mineral 
constituents of the plant; first in depressing the silicon, second in in¬ 
creasing the calcium, potassium and magnesium, but does not effect 
the phosphorus. Its effect upon the phosphorus in the grain is to de¬ 
press it. This is quite evident in the table entitled “Mineral Constitu¬ 
ents of Wheat, Crop of 1913”. The difference in the general averages 
given in the two preceding tables is small, but this difference is per¬ 
sistent and, with few exceptions, plainly appears in individual analyses. 
The effect upon the amount of potassium is in the same direction in 
both plant and grain, namely to increase it, but this is less marked in 
the grain than in the plant. The whole character of the plant and its 
products, as well as its appearance, is, according to this, greatly affected 
by the supply of nitric-nitrogen in the soil. This conclusion is entirely 
in harmony with the deportment of the plant, which lodges easily, and 
when not lodged often shows marked abnormality in ripening, the mid¬ 
dle portions of the plants and leaves remaining green, or at least very 
immature, while the top and bottom portions appear, and I think are, 
ripe. Further, I do not think that any doubt can be entertained that 
these plants are much more readily attacked by rust, than others of the 
same variety grown with other fertilizers or with none. There are dif¬ 
ferences which are known and really need no mention, such as the 
softness of the straw, a feature which is evident to persons handling 
it. There is a marked depression of silicon ranging from 14 to 29 
percent of the total in the plant. I do not know how significant this 
difference may be, nor do I know that the weakness and softness of the 
straw is dependent upon this difference; I do not intend to attempt 
