318 The Woburn Pot-Culture Experiments, 1914. 



Plot 8aa [sulphate of ammonia (double dressing) with 

 minerals and 4 tons of lime per acre], no carbonate of lime 

 required to neutralise. 



The crops were fair. The excess treatment seemed to show 

 slightly the better crop. The harvest results were somewhat 

 contradictory and a certain amount of uncertainty must attach 

 to these, as the excess lime crop, while giving ihe most corn, 

 produced the least straw. It is doubtful, indeed, whether this 

 plot needs liming at all. 



Putting together the general results, the conclusion may be 

 come to that where soil acidity has gone to the extent that a 

 crop cannot l)e produced — as in the case of plots 2a and 5a — 

 lime, as carbonate of lime, may advantageoiisly be added to an 

 extent exceeding that required to neutralise the acidity present ; 

 but that where — as in plots 1 and 2bb — acidity may be indica- 

 ted, biit a fair crop be still produced, there is no advantage 

 from adding lime as carbonate of lime even to neutralising 

 point. Lastly, when — as in plots 5b and 8aa — no acidity is 

 shown, further liming is thrown away. In no case was there, 

 when using carbonate of lime, the harmful effect produced in 

 the case of plot 2bb of the Continuous Wheat series, and due, 

 no doubt, to the causticity of the lime applied. 



IV. Inocidation of Crops (Bottmnley's Peat Preparation). 



It was determined to make a trial of the new pi'eparation 

 of Peat, introduced by Professor Bottomley, for the purpose of 

 inoculating crops. An account of the method of preparation 

 is given in the Jouynal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 

 LXII., No. 3,199, March 13, 1914. It may briefly be stated 

 that this consists of the formation, in the first place, of soluble 

 humates, after which the material is sterilised and then inocu- 

 lated with azotohacter and other nitrogen-fixing organisms. 

 The necessary material was kindly supplied by Prof. Bottomley, 

 and an analysis of it gave the following results : — 



Moistuie 49-87 



Previous experiments at Woburn having shown the advan- 

 tage of heating ordinary Fen soil, it was determined to compare 

 the effect of this with Bottomley's Peat preparation in order to 



A 



