132 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



discussion of all. It has been grossly misrepresented to 

 farmers, by clever advertising. They have been made to 

 believe by these concerns — and I am sorry to say many 

 otherwise reputable agricultural journals are not free from 

 the blame, too — that all that was necessary for them to do 

 was to secure ' ' A vest-pocket fertilizer " or "A farmer's 

 yeast cake," and their problems would be solved. Now, I 

 have not the time at my disposal for an extended discussion 

 of this subject, but I do wish to bring to you what seems to 

 me to be the real status of soil inoculation and commercial 

 cultures at the present time. I would not have you think 

 for a moment that I am urging farmers at present not to 

 have anything to do with this, for I am not, but I do want 

 to say that, in the light of all I can find out, the " commer- 

 cial culture " has not reached a state where farmers can afford 

 to experiment with it very much. Better leave that to the 

 United States Department of Agriculture and the experi- 

 ment stations, whose business it is, and whose funds are ap- 

 propriated for the purpose of working out such proljlems. 

 . That a soil which does not contain bacteria of a certain 

 kind can be inoculated with the desired bacteria has been 

 proven 1)}^ the work of the New York State Station at 

 Geneva, Professor Butz of Pennsylvania, and others, without 

 a doubt. That the methods used during the past three years, 

 of sending these bacteria over the country on cotton and 

 other forms of commercial cultures, has been proven a failure 

 in fully 95 per cent of the cases, I think, without a doubt. 



The thoroughness and. completeness of the Geneva work 

 and the results obtained are worthy of brief mention here. 

 The Geneva station procured from the United States govern- 

 ment and from four prominent seed concerns, widely sepa- 

 rated, packages of cultures ; each culture was divided into 

 five parts, using one part in the laboratory there and the 

 remaining four being sent to such eminent bacteriologists 

 as Dr. Lipnian of New Jersey, Dr. Houghton of the firm of 

 Parke Davis & Co., Professor Chester of Delaware and Di'. 

 ]Marshall of Michigan. In each case the printed directions 

 which accompanied the cultures were strictly followed, and 



