The Bulletin. 



9 



culture his stand was perfect and where he did not treat the seed with the 

 culture his clover was a failure. I have known alfalfa seed treated with 

 culture' and the growth was as marked as if a heavy application of stable 

 manure had been applied to the land. 



Fig. 3.— Roots of garden pea showing nodules. 

 U. S. Bulletin No. 214. 



In applying commercial cultures always follow directions closely, 

 else the results may be disappointing. 



Inoculation with Soil. 



If one has soil upon which the specific crop to be grown has been 

 grown successfully, he can use the soil to inoculate with. A good plan 

 is to wet the seed and roll them in soil and sow them in that condition. 

 If one has a wheat drill with a fertilizer attachment^ the soil and seed 

 can be put in that and evenly distributed on the land in that way. The 

 soil can also be broadcast over the land, at the rate of 400 or 500 pounds 

 per acre, the seed sown and both immediately harrowed in. This had 

 best be done on a cloudy day or very late in the afternoon, so as to 

 prevent the sun from drying out and killing the bacteria. But do not 

 mix the inoculated seed with commercial fertilizer. 



Our soils will be with us as long as time shall last. They will need 

 nitrogen as long as they are cultivated or as long as crops of any kind 

 are taken from them. The nitrate of soda beds of Chili may become 

 exhausted long before our farmers will need no more nitrogen; the 

 natural guano beds may become unknown; but the air, four-fifths ^ of 

 which is nitrogen, will be with us as long as time shalHast. As nothing 

 is lost in nature we are not robbing it to any appreciable extent when 

 we take nitrogen from the air by the aid of the bacteria upon the roots 

 of the legumes, because it soon escapes in gaseous form and goes back 

 into the air and is again ready to be taken up and to be used by the grow- 



