394 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



surance doubly sure, but we do not want the scientists with their talk 

 of inoculation to scare out farmers from trying for an alfalfa field. It 

 seems reasonable to conclude that some soils afford more congenial 

 home for the alfalfa bacteria than others and hence they multiply 

 more rapidly and thrive better. But as a general rule we believe that 

 alfalfa can be made to yield handsome crops anywhere that corn 

 grows, uncorrected acid soils excepted. 



It should be remembered that the presence of the nodules is not 

 absolutely essential to the growth of alfalfa. It will grow without the 

 nitrogen which they get from the air, but it will not flourish so well 

 nor yield so abundantly as when this fertilizer is supplied by the bac- 

 teria. Manure can be made to take the place of the bacteria in a 

 large measure and thus support the plants until the bacteria have 

 opportunity to infect the field thoroughly. 



If a farmer wishes to sow a clover crop to enrich the field in his 

 rotation he should not use aiialfa. Red clover is much better for that 

 purpose. If he wants a permanent meadow, yielding his protein in 

 such quantity as he can not harvest from other crop, and hay in such 

 weight as no other plant yields, let him put in alfalfa. And let him 

 be generous with his soil if he wishes to be sure of a stand. The 

 returns from an alfalfa field are so great as to warrant turning over to 

 it the richest land on the farm. 



For fear that soil infection has become a bugaboo with many 

 farmers this sermon has been preached. No farmer with suitable coil 

 should allow it to scare him from seeding a field to alfalfa. 



G. MISCELLANEOUS. 



ABORTION IN COWS. 



Wallaces' Farmer. 



Scarcely a week passes that we do not have one or more letters 

 asking us what to do in case of contagious abortion in a herd of cat- 

 tle. We do not know that we can do our readers a better service 

 than to publish the directions for the treatment of an abortive herd 

 given by Dr. Leonard Pearson, State Veterinarian of Pennsylvania, 

 who has conducted a number of experiments and has given the sub- 

 ject thorough study, as follows: 



"1. Burn aborted foetuses and membranes. This material car- 

 ries the germs of abortion in abundance, and burning or deep burial 

 furnish the only means of getting rid of it in a safe way. 



'•2. Isolate discharging cows. The vaginal discharge from cows 

 that have aborted is very virulent and may furnish the means for in- 



