220 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



plant will probably prove quite valuable for green manuring. 

 It produces a rank growth of foliage, grows rapidly, and can 

 be turned under the latter part of June. 



Nitragin is a germ fertilizer used to inoculate the roots of 

 leguminous plants to induce them to utilize atmospheric 

 nitrogen. It was used upon sweet clover grown upon light 

 land, and the clover plants as grown with and without its aid 

 were shown. The plants receiving nitragin showed an im- 

 provement over those where no nitragin was applied, but 

 were not nearly as luxuriant as those receiving fertilizer 

 nitrogen. It is possible that, if this crop was grown upon 

 the same land for several years with the aid of nitragin, a 

 considerable improvement would be noticed in the growth of 

 the clover. Nitragin has not thus far shown itself to be of 

 any great value upon our soils. 



Besides the sweet clover, there were shown the blue, white 

 and yellow lupine and the velvet bean, which have been 

 recommended for green manuring. The most desirable 

 variety of lupine to be used is the white. The velvet 

 (Florida) bean does not seem to be of any great advantage 

 for use in this section.- 



5. Poultry experiments are carried on by the agricult- 

 ural department. The experiment this season is an attempt 

 to demonstrate the comparative values of wide v. narrow 

 rations. Two pullets were shown, and the feed was placed 

 before each, showing what each pullet — representing a 

 flock — was receiving for its daily supply. In one case corn 

 represented the chief food, and in the other a mixture of 

 wheat bran middlings and gluten meal. It is assumed, and 

 very properly, that laying hens producing eggs rich in 

 nitrogenous matter need considerable quantities of such 

 material in the food, in order to enable them to produce a 

 maximum egg yield. 



6. Pot Experiments. — The department is carrying on a 

 large number of experiments in pots, to control the results 

 obtained in the field, and to endeavor, by being able to 

 better control the conditions, to secure more uniform re- 

 sults than field experiments often give. The pots employed 

 for this work were shown, as well as many of the results 

 obtained. 



