quantities shows itself to be extremely favorable. Also quite as favorable results were obtained by a combination in which the superphosphate was replaced by an equivalent amount of basic slag except that the quality of the beet in this combination was not quite so good. Equally favorable results were obtained by replacing the superphosphate or basic slag by mineral phosphate. It was also noticed particularly that in the combination of the three elements each one of them was much more readily utilized by the plant than when they were used separately. With very intensive fertilization, using chlorid of potash, Chile salt peter, and phosphoric acid, the yield was very markedly increased, but the quality of the beet deteriorated by reason of the presence of an excess of salts.

SUMMARY OF DATA."

The following is a summary of the data secured in the experiments of 1904:

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS IN 1904.

The average data, agricultural, analytical, meteorological, and geodetic, for the year 1904, as collected in the tables of summaries and platted on the graphic charts, show the following relations:

In regard to the size of beets harvested, it is noticed that the results at only two of the stations fulfilled the requirements of profitable beet culture from the farmer's point of view. These are the stations at Madison, Wis., and Geneva, N. Y., where the weight of the beets after topping was almost a pound. The smallest beets reported from the stations which appear in the graphic charts were from Ithaca. The size of the beets at this station, as well as that of the beets from Lexington, Blacksburg, Lafayette, and Agricultural College, was greatly below the required standard. The beets from Washington occupy a mean position between these extremes, having a weight of 12.5 ounces.

The stations at Madison, Geneva, Agricultural, College, and at Washington represent what should be considered typical yields, varying from 19.9 to 14.9 tons. It is evident that, from the farmer's point of view especially, the principal effort should be devoted to securing yields of approximately the magnitude mentioned. The yield at Blacksburg of 13.3 tons is fairly satisfactory and would be a profitable crop if the other conditions were favorable, while the tonnages at Lexington, Ithaca, and Lafayette are below the limit of profitable agriculture.

Respecting the sugar in the beet, four groups of the stations presented on the graphic charts may be made (disregarding decimals), the first including Michigan and Indiana, with 15 per cent; the second including Geneva and Blacksburg, with 13 per cent; the third including Ithaca and Madison, with 12 per cent; and the fourth including Lexington and Washington, with 11 per cent. It is evident that all the beets analyzed might prove profitable for sugar making in so far as the sugar content is concerned.

Respecting purity, two groups may be made, the beets from Madison, Geneva, Blacksburg, Lafayette, and Agricultural College constituting the first group, having a purity of over 81, Lafayette and Agricultural College showing the highest, while the beets from the other stations, Washington, Lexington, and Ithaca, form a group having a purity ranging from 72 to 76. This low purity, combined as it is with a correspondingly lower content of sugar, would render the manufacture of sugar from these beets less profitable.

A comparison of the beets from the two irrigated stations shows the great superiority of the beets grown at the Colorado Station, which is doubtless to be largely attributed to the low temperature at that

station.

A comparison of the meteorological data is also interesting. The highest mean temperature from May to October is found at Lexington, 68.4° F., and the lowest mean temperature at the Michigan Station, 61.5°, with Ithaca only one-tenth degree higher. The stations may be placed in two groups in respect of temperature, the first of which would include Washington, Lexington, and Lafayette, with the higher temperature, and the second the other collaborating stations. In respect of rainfall the heaviest precipitation occurred at the Wisconsin Station, amounting to 22 inches, and the smallest at Lexington, namely, 13 inches. In regard to the number of clear days the highest number is found at Lexington and the lowest at Blacksburg. The largest number of cloudy days was reported from Lafayette and the smallest from Lexington. The percentage of sunshine could not be obtained from all the stations, but as reported the highest percentage was at Lexington and the lowest at the Michigan Station.

At the two irrigated stations a striking difference in mean temperature is noticed, Pomona having by 8.6° a higher temperature than Fort Collins for their respective growing seasons. In regard to the precipitation it is seen that Fort Collins can hardly be called purely an irrigated section, since the precipitation was almost as great as that at Lexington. Pomona has almost three times as many clear days as Fort Collins, and the percentage of sunshine also at the California Station was 12.5 per cent higher than that used for Fort Collins.

In regard to the geodetic data" the stations having the longest days are Madison and Geneva, each with a day of 14 hours and 44 minutes. Close to these are Agricultural College, Mich., where the average day has 14 hours and 42 minutes, and Ithaca, with 14 hours and 41 minutes. The shortest day is at Blacksburg, 14 hours and 14 minutes, and next to this is Lexington, with 14 hours and 18 minutes. The greatest altitude is found at Blacksburg, 2,100 feet, and the lowest at Washington, 37.5 feet. At the irrigated stations a marked difference is noted in altitude, Fort Collins having almost 5,000 feet, while Pomona has only 861, another disadvantage of the California Station. The interrelations of these various factors and their influence upon the sugar content of the beet are more clearly set forth in the graphic charts.

In chart No. 1 are graphically represented the percentage of sugar in the beet at the various stations, the percentage of sunshine, the number of clear days in the month, and the latitude of the station. In regard to the percentage of sugar in the beet, the chart shows that for the first time the Geneva Station does not hold the first place. Attention has already been called to the remarkable differ

@ See page 48.

ence in the percentage of sugar in the expressed juice of the beets grown at Geneva and the percentage of sugar in the beet itself.

Had

FIG. 1.-Sugar content of the beet as influenced by the amount and distribution of sunshine and the

latitude of the station, 1904.

the calculations been made upon the basis of the percentage of the sugar in the juice, the Geneva Station would have retained its

position. The curve is remarkable in this respect, that it indicates. a higher content of sugar at such stations as Washington and Lexington, which in former years have shown a percentage of sugar of less than 10. Although the percentage of sugar is higher than

FIG. 2.-Sugar content of the beet compared with the purity and the temperature and average length of day at the various stations, 1904.

in other years, these two stations retain their positions in the two lowest places. The line representing the latitude follows in general the sugar content, with the exception of the station at Blacksburg. This variation, due to the altitude of the station, while it interferes