23 



Another chemical that seems to promise good results in many cases is chloride 

 of lime, or bleaching powder. It has long been known that this substance possesses 

 powerful germicidal properties. It is largely used as a disinfectant, and even 

 very small quantities are found effective in improving the quality of contaminated 

 water which has to be used for drinking purposes. The results of some careful 

 experiments conducted in Germany to test its value as a remedy for certain soil 

 diseases have recently been published* and a summary of them may be of interest. 

 In several florists' gardens beds which had grown unproductive when devoted to 

 such plants as lilies, violets, pinks, etc., were used. In other cases, soil so badly 

 infected with the clul)-root organism that cruciferous plants could hardly be 

 grown was selected. Two methods of applying the substance were followed. In 

 one case it was mixed with water and applied partly over the surface and partly 

 in hollows made in the ground. In the other case, the dry powder was scattered 

 over the surface of the soil, hoed or otherwise worked in to a depth of several 

 inches, and the soil well watered immediately. Apparently, however, one method 

 was about as efficacious as the other. It was found that in the soil the chemical 

 underwent a rapid alteration into harmless substances, so that the planting of 

 the crop could be safely undertaken in some cases as early as ten to twelve days 

 after the application. When the bleaching powder was applied at the rate of 

 half a pound or more per square yard the results were in most instances very 

 favorable, disease being prevented or much reduced, many injurious insects and 

 nematodes killed, and' the vigour of the plants much increased. Since bleaching 

 powder can be purchased in 300 lb. barrels at less than two cents per pound it 

 would certainly seem worth w^hile to give this method of soil treatment a trial in 

 many cases where intensive cultivation is practised, and the soil has become 

 much reduced in productivity owing to the accumulation in it of injurious 

 organisms 



*tjber Bodensauberung v. R. Emmerich, W. Graf zu Leivingen, u. O. Loew, Ccntbt. 



/. Bact. 31; 466-477. 



