INOCULATION AND NITROGEN. 229 



barren and mankind starve and perish if the Cre- 

 ative force of the world had not provided this means 

 of renewing the nitrogen of the soil. The tiny bac- 

 teria do it. All clovers gather nitrogen from the air. 

 Alfalfa gathers more than any other known clover 

 unless perhaps the sweet clover be an exception. Al- 

 falfa powerfully enriches the soil on which it grows. 

 Bacteria make it possible to grow alfalfa. It will 

 not grow long without the bacteria. 



How to Get Bacteria. How are we to get them, 

 how make them most healthful and vigorous? Many 

 schemes have been tried for getting the bacteria in 

 the soil. They can be reared artificially in cultures, 

 and the seed treated with the culture, when each 

 seed ought to be coated with a film of these bacteria. 

 Each seed sown ought to produce a plant abundantly 

 inoculated. These are the so-called commercial cul- 

 tures. The theory is good. Unluckily some influence 

 that we do not understand, maybe the action of di- 

 rect light, usually destroys the vitality of the germs 

 and the cultures do not work. There is hardly any 

 evidence that these cultures are successful. It is 

 too bad that it should be true: the theory is so 

 plausible, the results, could they be secured, would 

 be so delightful. I believe the thing could yet be 

 brought to work, only that with the advance of 

 good farming it will not be long till the demand for 

 such cultures will cease, at least as far as alfalfa is 

 concerned. Curiously enough these bacteria are 

 very pervasive. Once a man begins to grow alfalfa 

 on his farm and to use manure from alfalfa hay, 



