392 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



est, preferably. We like beardless barley, but you can sow oats, but 

 do not sow over a bushel of oats or five pecks of Champion barley 

 or six pecks of Success barley to the acre. A neighbor raised seventy 

 bushels of oats to the acre from a bushel of seed last year. AVe grew 

 about thirty-five bushels of Champion barley this year. Both fields 

 secured good stands of alfalfa. 



When you seed allow the alfalfa seed to become covered by drill 

 bars. It will come up though covered several inches deep with loose earth. 

 We sometimes use a heavy roller. If the ground and subsoil are 

 pretty dry this is all right, but with the soil in condition that gen- 

 erally prevails in early April, I prefer a thorough dragging. The 

 ground is less likely to crack afterward. 



Champaign Co., Ohio. 



ALFALFA INOCULATION. 



Breeders' Gazette. 



The scientists have done great things for us, whereof we are glad. 

 Their discoveries are worth millions to the farmer. Their future 

 work will likely exceed their past in value to the agriculturist. Many 

 secrets of Nature remain yet to be unlocked and the keys for ' this 

 purpose are being fitted in many a laboratory. No fault can be found 

 with their conclusions, but some care must be exercised in the appli- 

 cation of them. Otherwise the farmer may lose some good things as 

 he goes along. 



Of surprising values are the facts dug out by the scientists con- 

 cerning the fertilizing effects of the clovers and other legumes. Farm- 

 ers had noted the nodules on the clover roots but did not know what 

 they meant. The scientists showed the bacteria dwelling in these 

 little knots on the roots of such plants and demonstrated their power 

 to extract nitrogen, the most valuable fertilizing element, from the 

 abundant stores in the air and fix it in the soil as available plant food. 

 And they tell us that each legume has its own distinct variety of bac- 

 terium and that the red clover "bug" can not do the work for alfalfa 

 or any other. 



With the widespread interest in alfalfa and some reports of fail- 

 ure to get a satisfactory stand on the black soils of Illinois, the scien- 

 tists have been stimulated to active work on this proposition, and 

 have broadly announced that these failures have come from a want 

 of the proper bacteria, and have advised soil-infection by the sewing 

 of dirt taken from a well-set alfalfa field. This means of infection 

 has been found effective, and the results have indisputably showed its 

 value. They are therefore advising farmers to obtain infected dirt to 

 sow on the fields on which they expect to try alfalfa. This advice is 

 good enough in itself, but it must be considered in relation to certain 

 palpable facts. 



