197 



into water and dipping the seed in the liquid. It was this 

 method which gave us here a tenfold increase in the yield ef 

 vetch sown in October, 1896. It would increase the chances 

 of success to combine both methods, inoculating both seed 

 and soil as just described. 



The writer would not be understood as recommending 

 that Nitragin be used on all the seed for large areas of clover, 

 vetch, alfalfa, etc., sown in ''cloverless" regions. Its cost and 

 the risk of having it spoil before it is used almost prohibit its 

 use on an extensive scale. But it is certain that Nitragin may 

 be profitably used on the seed for a small area with a view to 

 using the soil from the area thus inoculated for use as the 

 inoculating material for large fields sown in subsequent years. 

 In other words Nitragin finds its most appropriate use as a 

 "starter," in somewhat the same sense that progressive dairy- 

 men sometimes cause cream to sour by using a small quantity 

 of sour milk from a creamery where the highest quality of 

 butter is made, thus obtaining a stock of germs that are con- 

 cerned in giving the highest flavor to butter. A bottle of 

 Nitragin is sufficient for five-eighths of an acre, and the soil on 

 that area is sufficient to inoculate the next year scores of 

 acres. 



Employed in this way, the Nitragin may be used with 

 great profit. Of course, earth from an old clover field may 

 also be used as a starter for clover on a small area, furnishing 

 the next year material for use on many acres. Any farmer 

 can strike a balance between the two methods, setting the 

 cheapness of the inoculating earth over against the greater 

 amount of labor of applying it. It has been claimed that the 

 use of Nitragin affords more complete inoculation, or a more 

 uniform distribution of the germs and of the resulting tuber- 

 cles. We have made no experiments bearing on this last 

 point. 



Lespedeza Earth as Inoculating Material for Crimson 



Clover. 



In October, 1896, an inoculation experiment was begun 

 with crimson clover. As this was before the days of Nitra- 



