36 



of our sea-coast lands. There are some twenty eight species of 

 wild herbaceous leguminous plants common to Massachusetts which, 

 so far as they have been examined by us, produce nodules upon 

 their roots, and much like those named above are capable of utiliz- 

 ing the free nitrogen of the air and adding it to the soil. None of 

 these species, so far as I am aware, have received any attention as 

 to their possibilities of being utilized as nitrogen gatherers. Many 

 of these species, such as the bush clover (Lespedezas) , wild lupine 

 (Lupinus perennis) , rattle-box (Crotalaria sagittalis) are peculiar 

 to worn-out soil, and in all probability the rather sparing growth 

 of these plants enables them to furnish some supply of nitrogen to 

 these soils. 



Owing to the increased use of commercial fertilizers of late years, 

 and the limited application of barn-yard manure, our soils cannot 

 be supplied with sufficient amounts of organic matter without re- 

 course to green manuring. In early colonial times the farmers had 

 access to leaf mould and vegetable decay, which were the accumu- 

 lations of centuries, and the necessity for manures and Commercial 

 fertilizers was not so urgent. In order to bring our unremunerative 

 soils back to a condition approaching that of colonial times, and to 

 put them into a condition in which they will become remunerative 

 and bear larger crops, we must follow the teachings of nature, 

 which, as we interpret them, consists in supplying our depleted 

 soils with more organic matter. 



