SOILS, FERTILIZERS AND INOCULATION II 



that ^continuous medium applications of basic slag, 

 frequently called Thomas slag meal, were continu- 

 ously beneficial. He declares the richer the soils 

 are in phosphoric acid, the smaller application of 

 nitrogen is required. 



Brooks^^ found that muriate of potash is slightly 

 better for peas than is the sulphate of potash. 

 Clausen'* found that potash fertilizers, notably 

 kainit, increased the proportion of seed to the vine 

 to a marked extent. 



Wheeler and Adams'^ reported that liming the 

 soil was especially valuable in the case of White 

 Wonder Canada field pea. Nodules were abundant 

 and quite evenly distributed upon the roots. On 

 unlimed plots only a very few nodules were found, 

 which were of large size and tended to grow in 

 clusters. The application of caustic lime may be so 

 large as to prove injurious. 



Nitrogen-Gathering Characteristic. — A s with 

 other legumes, one of the most valuable assets of 

 the pea is its ability to gather nitrogen from the 

 air and store it up in the soil and the plants. This 

 is done through the medium of root tubercles, or 

 nodules as frequently called. Beeson^® conducted 

 a rather elaborate set of experiments relative to 

 gathering of nitrogen by the pea plant and states 

 that there is a greater accumulation of nitrates in 

 the soil under leguminous plants than in the bare 

 soil or the soil under corn, cotton, or sorghum. His 

 results indicate that the micro-organisms or tuber- 



Mass. Exper. Sta. Rpt., 1903. 



E. S. R., Vol. 20. 

 'R. I. Exper. Sta., Bui. 96. 

 'E. S. R., Vol. 10. 



