LEGUMINOUS FORAGE CROPS 13! 



organisms are added to the soil in sufficient quantity, tubercles 

 will form in abundance. It is, therefore, recognized to be good 

 farm practise to supply the proper organisms when certain 

 legumes are introduced upon the farm for the first time. The 

 West Virginia Station has shown that there were present in 

 the soil from what was once an old garden bacteria that could, 

 without the use of artificial cultures, produce tubercles on 10 

 genera of legume representing 14 different species. In this 

 soil soy beans failed to produce tubercules. 1 



It has been held that it is possible, by artificial means, to 

 grow organisms that would have a greater vitality than organ- 

 isms of the same kind native in the soil, and that in conformity 

 with this idea it would be desirable to add these organisms to 

 a soil already containing similar organisms. For example, it 

 is held that it would be desirable to add to soil already growing 

 clover these artificially grown and more virulent organisms in 

 order to get a more vigorous growth of clover. Experiments 

 by Hiltner and others indicate that this is possible. 



139. Methods of Inoculation. There are three methods of 

 securing the inoculation of leguminous plants: 



1. The continued growing of the same species of plant until 

 the organisms already in the soil adapt themselves to the host, 

 or until the few organisms of the proper form or function, 

 which may unintentionally have been applied, multiply and 

 produce the requisite abundance of tubercles. 



2. The adding of artificial and more or less pure cultures of 

 the proper form of the organisms. The organisms are readily 

 grown, but the difficulty is with an economic and effective 

 method of distribution. Attempts were made to distribute in 

 tin foil pieces of cotton which had been dipped in a solution 

 containing the organisms and then dried. When these organ- 

 isms are dried quickly in a dry atmosphere they will retain 



i West Virginia Sta. Bui. No. 105 (1906), p. 327. 



