LESSONS IN AORICULTURE 



Sow about eight quarts of lime on plats 2 and 4, four 

 quarts on each plat, which is equivalent to about twenty 

 bushels on an acre. Obtain some soil from a place where 

 alfalfa or sweet clover is growing, and scatter a few 

 quarts of this on plats 3 and 4, being careful not to get 

 it on the other plats. This is inoculating the soil with 

 the bacteria of the alfalfa. Then sow a light seeding of 

 oats or barley over all the plats, a little more than a quart 

 is sufficient. Then sow about three-fourths of a pound 

 of alfalfa over the four plats and rake it in. Be care- 

 ful not to rake any of the soil from the inoculated plats 

 into the others. 



No further care need be given the plats until the bar- 

 ley or oats is headed out, when it should be mowed off 

 above the tops of the alfalfa plants. The oats or barley 

 should not be allowed to mature in the alfalfa. School 

 may be closed before this experiment is finished ; but the 

 teacher should appoint a committee to study and report 

 the observations of the summer, and all living near 

 should be encouraged to watch the experiment. This is 

 getting lessons from the real source and not from books 

 alone. 



Draw the plats in the agricultural note-books, and an- 

 swer the following questions : 



How soon does the barley or oats come up? The al- 

 falfa? In six weeks observe the roots of the alfalfa in 

 each plat. In which plats are swollen nodules found on 

 the alfalfa roots V What is the effect of the lime and in- 

 oculation? Observe the difference in growth in the four 

 plats. 



