No. 4.] NITROGEN AND FERTILITY. 199 



out something like 100 letters, asking for reports on it, and 

 we have quite a collection. Out of, I should judge, 50 re- 

 ports that we received, I think there are not over 8 or 10 

 that are favorable. A large majorit}^ of them could see no 

 benefit whatever, and some of them wrote across the bottom, 

 "Nothing but a humbug." Others thought the crop was 

 not as good, and thej laid it to the action of this bacteria. 

 That is why I wanted to ask this question, — whether there 

 was any harm in it, — for my own satisfaction. I could see 

 none myself, but a very large majority of the reports was to 

 the eifect that it was of no great benefit. I think one of the 

 great causes of this whole thing last yen,r was the exorbitant 

 and outrageous statements made in newspapers and magazines 

 in regard to what might be expected of it. It was simply 

 unreasonable, and I don't know as we should ever have be- 

 lieved it. The attempt to force the crops ahead last spring 

 — potatoes and corn, and every other known crop — Avith 

 that bacteria simply convinced us that people got an idea 

 li'om reading these articles in the newspapers and magazines 

 that for 50 cents or $1 they could get a crop of potatoes 

 or corn, or anything. The statements were misleading, and 

 I think the doctor has explained the matter so we will know 

 much more about it. 



Question. Did you keep the culture on hand, or send 

 for it? 



The Chair. Sent for it in nearly every case. We did 

 not carry it in stock. 



Mr. H. M. Howard (of West Newton). Mr. Chairman, 

 ladies and gentlemen, I was very much pleased with the 

 lecture this morning. This question of inoculating the soil 

 is one which I have very carefully studied. Nitrogen is 

 very essential to the production of very early crops ; but 

 the speaker told us that nitrification begins slightly in the 

 spring, and as the heat increases above 37° he says the nitri- 

 fication increases, and therefore he recommends the applica- 

 tion of nitrate of soda in small quantities early in the season. 

 He recommended the compact method of manure piling, and 

 if we would take particular notice at that point and keep 

 our manure piles compact during the winter and overhaul 



