20 
Bulletin 63. 
The ash is quite evenly distributed throughout the beet, with 
a slightly larger amount in the top one-third, but the percentage of 
ash is higher in the dry matter of the bottom third. 
The ash of the beet has a pretty uniform composition, generally 
showing about 3.5 per cent, sulfuric acid, 7 to 9 (usually about 8.5) 
per cent, phosphoric acid, 48 to 52 per cent, of alkalies, 2 to 3 per 
cent, of lime, about 6 per cent, of magnesia, 11.5 to 14.5 per cent, 
of chlorin, and about 15 per cent, of carbonic acid in the fine ash. 
When the carbonic acid is higher than 15 per cent, either the 
phosphoric acid or the chlorin is correspondingly lowered. 
The composition of the ash of the leaves is quite different from 
the composition of the ash of the roots. The ash of the leaves 
contains from 3.5 to 3.9 per cent, of sulfuric acid, 1.8 to 2.3 per 
cent, of phosphoric acid, 23.7 to 25.7 per cent, of potash, 22.3 to 25.5 
per cent, of soda, 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, of lime, 6 per cent, of magnesia, 
23.3 to 28.5 per cent, of chlorin, and from 10.6 to 15.0 per cent, of 
carbonic acid. 
The composition of the ash of immature beets is the same as 
that of mature beets. The only exception to this statement seems 
to be the percentage of chlorin in the ash of the leaves, which in¬ 
creases so generally and uniformly that it suggests a relation 
between the degree of maturity and the quantity of chlorin. 
The soil, repeatedly referred to as alkalized, contained chlorid 
of sodium, or salt, equal to 0.025 per cent, of the weight of the air 
dried soil. This gives us 2,800 pounds of salt in each acre of soil, 
taken to a depth of two feet. The total water soluble in this soil 
varies from 0.09 to 1.4 per cent, of the weight of the air dried soil, 
taken also to a depth of two feet. The higher figure gives us the 
immense quantity of 49.0 tons of alkali per acre, consisting of 16.33 
tons of sodic sulfate, 17.64 tons calcic sulfate, 10.27 tons of magnesic 
sulfate, and 1.25 tons of ordinary salt. 
Continued cropping to beets would soon show a perceptible 
reduction in this quantity of sodic chlorid, especially if the leaves 
were carefully removed, but the ground water is rich in salts, and 
is capable of replacing this, as well as the other “alkali” salts 
removed. 
Stock beets, including leaves, remove, crop for crop, more soda 
salts than sugar beets do, but not ton for ton. 
The chemical work of 1898 and 1899 is recorded in bulletin 
No. 58, which continues the study of the effect of soil conditions on 
the stand and quality of the beets, and the chemistry of the beet 
itself. 
