180 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



It is therefore a matter of extreme importance to the farmer to 

 make certain that each field of legumes is siipplied with the necessary 

 quantum of bacteria; only then can he expect to obtain full crops 

 from poor sandy soils without nitrogen manures (/. e., tvithout salt- 

 petre, ammonia, etc.), and only then will he reap the advantage of a 

 soil enormously enriched with nitrogen. 



The wide bearing of this newly discovered principle has already 

 been taken into practical consideration, and fields are now inocu- 

 lated, that is to say, strewn with earth in which legumes have 

 already flourished. This method, however, apart from its great 

 cost and the loss of time and labor entailed, also involves the 

 danger of disseminating injurious as well as useful bacteria. 



This disadvantage is, however, now completely overcome by the 

 pure patent germ fertilizer Nitragin, which consists of a pure cul- 

 tivation of the specific bacteria of legume nodules in a suitable 

 medium. 



The inoculation of the seed oi' of the soil with the germ fertilizer, 

 according to the directions given below, possesses the following 

 advantages : — 



1. Every single seed is surrounded with bacteria which, after 

 germination, penetrate the root hairs and commence their role as 

 collectors of nitrogen, so that a good crop is secured in the 

 poorest soil without nitrogenous manures. 



2. Through the storage of nitrogen by the bacteria, the soil 

 itself becomes richer in nitrogen in an assimilable state, to the 

 advantage of the other crops grown in rotation. 



3. The disadvantages of the mode of inoculation previously 

 adopted are avoided. 



4. Manuring with nitrogen in the form of saltpetre, ammonium 

 salts, etc., is absolutely unnecessary. 



Directions for Use. 



Every bottle contains sufficient for inoculation of 2-|- roods. 



If the contents of the bottle have already become liquid, they 

 are used as described below for the direct inoculation of the seed. 

 If solid, the contents can be easily liquefied by warming the bottle 

 gently for a few minutes, for instance, in the trousers' pocket, in 

 tepid water or in a warm room. Exposure to temperature above 

 the heat of the body, which is amply sufficient to melt, or to direct 

 sunlight must under all circumstances be strictly avoided. 



The liquid contents are poured into a vessel containing one to 

 three pints of clean water (carefully washing out the whole con- 

 tents of the bottle with a little water), and then shaken or stirred 



