SOILS FERTILIZERS. 843 



the extract with pyrogallol produced a ir: i i 1 1 in transpiration in .-ill cases and in 



green weight in tin* f ili" five instances. This phenol can n<»i be considered 



;:s a uutrienl material, so thai 1 1 u * conclusion Is suggested thai certain toxic 

 substances presenl in the extracl are acted on chemically by 1 1 * « - pyrogallol and 

 broughl into a less injurious form, li is suggested thai the beneficial action 

 of calcium carbonate and calcium sulphate in these experiments may be in pari 

 (,i a similar nature. 



••The soil extracts were unquestionably improved Cor the growth f wheal 

 plants by di*' addition of considerable amounts of sodium nitrate, potassium 

 sulphate, acid sodium phosphate, and in certain cases hy sodium chlorid. . . . 

 The question as to just bow the salts acted in all particulars musl be left an 

 open one for the present. 



"A comparison of the effects produced by the various treatments of the 

 extracl of the infertile soil with those produced by the same treatments upon 

 extracts of two soils of the same farm which were in good condition for the 

 growth of crops shows thai none of the treatments produced nearly as good 

 effects upon the extract of the good soil as upon that of the poor soil; yel 

 treatment with carbon black and ferric bydrate in a few cases seemed to pro 

 .luce a small beneficial effect upon the extracts of the good soils, and these 

 bodies were probably effective through the removal of injurious substances from 

 the extract. Therefore it may be supposed that the toxic bodies which appar- 

 ently exist in relatively large amounts in the extracts of the infertile soil may 

 be presenl also to a slight extent in that of the good ones. . . . To attempt 

 to claim from the data obtained that because these manurial substances are bene 

 ficial to soil extracts in other ways than through their nutritive effects, where 

 such a possibility of action exists, and that hence they do not play the rSle 

 Of plant nutrients in the soil when added, is not intended, nor is it to he inferred. 

 Neither is if questioned hut that the so-called chemical manures do in mosl 

 instances, where they are applied to the 'worn out ' type of soils, exert a direct 

 effect as nutrients upon the plants." 



Soil inoculation with artificial cultures, M. Fe&guson i Virginia Sta. Bui. 

 l'>n. ii/i. 81-96, fn.is. #).— This bulletin briefly reviews the history of investiga- 

 tion on this subject, including that of the Virginia Station begun in 1903, 

 describes the author's methods of preparing and distributing the cultures < liquid 

 Cultures in sealed glass tubes with a lime limit of life), and gives results of 

 ::il tests of the material in different parts of the State. The conditions under 

 which inoculation is likely to succeed or fail are stated. 



of the 344 persons who tried the cultures sent out by the station, rd reported 

 crop failures due to had seed, had season, or weeds and grass. Of the 283 

 remaining, 'I'M. or 82 per cent, reported that the material was without doubt 

 a success and that the crop was benefited by it. The reports of 27 showed that 

 the soil already contained the proper bacteria and that the crop was not mate 

 rially benefited by inoculation, and 22, or 8 per cent, did not observe any effect 

 of the inoculation either by formation of nodules or increase in the crop. 



The general conclusion is reached that inoculation can he successfully and 

 profitably done when care is taken to observe proper methods, hut a conserv- 

 ative course. is recommended since "no amount of inoculation or anything else 

 will make up for an imperfectly prepared seed bed, poor soil, had season, and 

 poor cultivation." It is not believed that the results obtained justify the pay 

 Ing of the large prices which have I d asked for commercial cultures, andthe 



station will continue to Supply farmers of the State with cultures at a cost of 

 25 Cts. per acre, provided the dinners will give the material a fair trial and 

 report results. 



