BACTERIA AS FERTILIZERS. 63 



success." From Levy, Mo., Thomas O. Hudson writes regarding 

 a field of alfalfa planted in 1901 and treated with inoculating 

 material in March, 1904. He says: "Results good. It was 

 sickly and yellow and spindling, and did not do any good until 

 this year. This year it was dark green and thrifty. I think it 

 will be better next year." Another report upon an alfalfa field 

 to which bacteria were added during the fourth year was recently 

 sent by U. J. Hess, North Yakima, Washington, who wrote : 

 "The crop, which had been short, pale, and spindling, took on a 

 darker color and a rank growth and yielded, I think, about three 

 times as much as formerly." 



The same results have been noted for clover, H. W. Dunlap, 

 Holland Patent, N. Y., reporting that having more of the liquid 

 culture than could be used for some seed he was inoculating he 

 mixed it with a light loam and spread it upon a part of a field 

 already in clover. The difference in color and size of the plants 

 later on indicated where the soil had been distributed. Mrs. J. 

 A. Wells of Bryn Athyn, Pa., tried watering pea vines a month 

 old, and ^nth undoubted success. John R. Spears of Northwood, 

 N. Y., treated his peas with the culture solution with the excep- 

 tion of one row, after the}^ were two or three inches high, and 

 the decided benefit is indicated by his repoi't of his success. It 

 will thus be seen, that whereas the ordinary AA-ild bacteria of the 

 soil are not able to penetrate the roots of plants of some age, the 

 cultivated, more virulent form has less difticulty in accomplishing 

 this, and, where conditions are favorable, is able to produce 

 nodules which very soon become beneficial to the plant. 



In order to test the value of these cultivated bacteria which 

 have been improved by selective methods, it was decided to dis- 

 tribute sufficient material for inoculating an acre or more of 

 ground to a large number of practical farmers throughout the 

 country. This distribution was begun about a year ago and we 

 have already received some three thousand reports giving the 

 results of the experiments. It would be very interesting if I 

 could read you the experience of the men who have used these 

 bacteria, but as some of the reports have already been published 

 and it would take altogether too nuich time to give you even an 

 abstract of their reports, I can only say that the results have far 



