No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 245 



PROF. MASSEY: I think, as I said, it is probably due to the de- 

 ficiency of humus in the soil, as well as to acid conditions. 



QUESTION: How much lime should be applied to insure a good 

 growth of alfalfa on a medium heavy clay soil on which clover can 

 be grown with a fair degree of success? 



PROF. MASSEY: I think the same amount would do very well 

 for clover or alfalfa, and alfalfa particularly needs lime. I never 

 succeeded with it without lime. 



MR. GLOVER: When second-crop clover is not filled .with seed 

 which is better to cut for hay and feed stock at no great profit or 

 leave on the land to be plowed down the following spring for corn, 

 taking the question of labor saved into account? 



PROF. MASSEY: I think for most farmers where that second 

 crop cannot be used profitably for feeding he had better leave it 

 where it is and take the profit in the corn the next year and in the 

 seeding of the land for clover when it is broken again. 



QUESTION: In regard to saving for seed. If clover is hulled 

 and the hulling spread over a field, will it give about the same benefit 

 as it would if it was left uncut? 



PROF. MASSEY: ves, I think so. You know the need for 

 germination, moisture, and the presence of oxygen, and if any of 

 these are absent, the seed is not going to grow. 



MR. OLOVER: Is an application of 40 bushels of lime to a soil, 

 fairly well supplied with humus, every twelve years using too much 

 lime where a four year rotation is practiced? 



PROF. MASSEY: No, it is not using too much lime, but putting 

 too long a time between applications. They better use half as much 

 and use it twice as frequently. 



QUESTION: What is the best legume rotation for the general 

 farmer? 



PROF. MASSEY: I am going to leave the farmer to work that 

 out for himself. 



QUESTION: How may the thinking faculty be better developed 

 in a shallow mind? 



TROF. MASSEY: Well, by the use of any faculty, we can cer- 

 tainly improve it. If a man will put himself to reading and think- 

 ing, he can certainly improve his thinking faculties. 



QUESTION: Why do crops thrive near locust trees and not near 

 walnuts? 



PROF. MASSEY: Locust trees are legumes. 



QUESTION: Nitrate of soda and potash salts have a tendency to 

 draw" moisture from the air. Is is probable that the benefits de- 

 rived from their use is in a measure attributable to the water sup- 

 plied as to their chemical constituents? 



