64 



both seed and soil inoculation. In this work, experience and 

 observation have led to the conclusion that inoculation is not so 

 generally necessary as it is claimed by some authorities. Judging 

 from the occurrence of nodules, it is certain that the nitrogen- 

 fixing bacteria are by no means restricted to small or isolated areas. 

 In the eastern provinces and in Ontario and British Columbia, at 

 all events, the failures in many instances to obtain a good catch of 

 clover are probably due to deficiency of moisture, poverty in humus, 



A source of great lo<s on many Canadian farms. 



(Through rotting, leaching and drainage more than half of the plant food 

 originally present in manur^ never gets back to the soil.) 



sourness, insufficient drainage or an unsuitable mechanical condition 

 of the soil rather than to the absence of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, 

 seems quite probable. 



It is, however, quite true that remarkable benefit has followed 

 inoculation for alfalfa at Lacombe, Northern Alberta, and this fact 

 is in itself highly significant, for there are many districts in the Cana- 

 dian Northwest in which as yet this crop has not been successfully 

 grown. 



BARNYARD MANURE. 



Investigation work with barnyard maures has already been 

 briefly referred to. The Chemical Division played a very important 

 part in this undertaking. The losses that ensue from rotting 



