140 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



for a needy field. Bur clovers need inoculation on many 

 soils, especially those away from the limestone and river 

 bottoms. Alfalfa quite generally needs inoculation in 

 eastern and southern soils. For some unexplained rea- 

 son alfalfa on alluvial land commonly needs no inocula- 

 tion. This is true of the land along the Mississippi and 

 Missouri Rivers. Whence came the bacteria there? It 

 is a curious thought. Alfalfa needs no inoculation any- 

 where west of the Missouri River, so far as I have seen. 

 Doubtless there are soils where it does not early find the 

 right bacteria, but the other conditions are so favorable 

 that it manages to get along till the bacteria arrives 

 whence, we do not know. In the East it would die await- 

 ing its allies. Along the Pacific Coast in Oregon and 

 Washington I think inoculation is often useful for alfalfa. 

 This is the verdict of many growers in that region. 



Vetches need inoculation on many, if not most, soils. 

 Without inoculation the growth is very small and poor. 

 With it there may easily be a hundred times the weight 

 of plant that would be seen otherwise. If one sows 

 vetches on land unused to them and gets only a few 

 thrifty plants one should sow again the following year 

 and maybe then one will find the inoculation good. 



Soybeans need inoculation nearly everywhere. One 

 can either secure earth which when powdered one can sift 

 over and mix through the seed, or sow earth over the land 

 as one would for alfalfa, mixing it in promptly. The sec- 

 ond year of soybeans usually sees good inoculation, often 

 when no artificial means have been used. Curiously 

 enough the varieties vary in their ease of inoculation. 



