THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



245 



Name County 

 W. E. Cobb Custer 



L. S. Crawford . . . franklin .... 



T. L. Will 



Edgar Graham. . . 

 Winchell Marisch. 

 F. F. Martin 



. Franklin. .. . 



..Custer 



.Boone 



. Washington. 



R. M. Lemons. .. Holt. . 



F. A. Hangman . . 



R. Barrett 



J. D. Ream 



C. S. Martin 



Furnas 



Custer 



Custer 



Custer 



Year 

 1910 



1910 



1910 

 1910-11 

 1910-11 

 1910-11 



1910-11 



1910-11 



1910-11 



1910-11 



1910-11-12 



J. T. Cole Custer 1910-11-13 



Results 



Culture and soil gave good 

 results. 



Treatment good, especially 

 top dressing with manure. 



Manure beneficial. 



Manure beneficial. 



No results from culture. 



No results from culture. 

 Manure valuable. 



Treatment good, especially 

 manure. 



No difference. 



No. difference. 



Manure of great benefit. 



Soil treatment best. Cul- 

 ture of benefit. 



Soil treatment best. Cul- 

 ture of benefit. 



From the notes which were brought in by the field 

 men, and from the blanks which were filled in by the 

 co-operators, it was apparent that the best stands were 

 secured on the fields which had received in previous 

 years farm manure and careful cultivation, or where 

 a leguminous crop had been previously grown. Bet- 

 ter results were often secured from fields to which 

 farm manure had been applied at the time of seeding, 

 or during some previous year, than from fields where 

 farm manure had never been applied. This, of course, 

 does not mean that a heavy application of coarse 

 manure plowed under, in the western part of the state 

 during dry years, would give any advantage for that 

 season at least. 



From the notes taken June 21, 1911, on the farm 

 of Mr. J. T. Cole in Custer County, the following is 

 quoted : "Alfalfa much better where inoculated, espe- 

 cially where soil was used. Could see the difference 

 all spring. Made one-half more hay than ground not 

 inoculated." 



The following letter, dated July, 1912, from Mr. 

 W. E. Cole of Custer County is of interest : 



"I can see little difference in the three plots 

 [liquid treated, soil treated, and no treatment] at the 

 present time, but I do think that either the liquid cul- 

 ture or dirt from an old alfalfa field is a great help in 

 securing a stand, especially in a dry time. It seems 

 to have more vigor and will stand more abuse. I 

 think the soil from an old alfalfa field is as good as 

 anything." 



From the notebook of one of the field men, dated 

 June 22, 1911, we find the following in reference to 

 the field of Mr. C. S. Martin in Custer County : 

 "Where dirt from the old field was spread, there is a 

 good stand. Where the Government material was 

 used, the stand is just fair, and in places none. No 

 stand where no treatment was given. Very favorably 

 impressed with the use of inoculated soil." 



Figure 1 is of the plots from the farm of C. S. 

 Martin of Custer County. The portion to the left 

 is the edge of the area that was inoculated with soil 

 from a well-established field of alfalfa. The portion 

 to the right is the plot that was not inoculated. 



A letter from C. S. Martin dated July, 1912, con- 

 tains the following: "From the test I got with the 

 liquid inoculation, I do not think there is much to be 

 expected from it. I tried some ground at the same 

 time with soil taken from an old alfalfa field, and I 

 feel that the results were much better than they were 

 on the ground treated with the liquid. I did not get a 

 very good stand on either one of the places, but it was 

 much better where I used the soil from the old alfalfa 

 field. 



All seed was tested both years for per cent of ger- 

 mination and purity. If either were low the farmer 

 was notified and new seed secured. The average of 

 all samples used showed a germination test of 76.8 

 per cent and a purity test of 93.12 per cent. 



Figure No. 2 shows alfalfa nodules of different 

 sizes. If alfalfa does not make good growth, appears 

 light in color, and lacks general thriftiness, an ex- 

 amination of the roots should be made. Carefully 

 dig up a plant with considerable soil adhering to the 

 roots. Wash the soil from the roots by gently pour- 

 ing on water, or by immersing in a pail of water and 

 allowing the soil to soften and fall from the roots. 

 If nodules are present, the trouble is net from lack 



Fig 3. Alfalfa Nodules. 



of inoculation. It is sometimes impossible to find 

 nodules in the surface soil in the winter or during 

 a dry period, even though the field may be thoroughly 

 inoculated. 



The following quotation from Bulletin No. 120, 

 on "Alfalfa Management," published by this station 

 bears on the matter of inoculation and may well be re- 

 peated in this connection : 



*"The results of co-operative tests Curing the 

 past two years with cultures of bacteria have shown 

 that in most instances artificial inoculation is not neces- 

 sary to the production of a good crop of alfalfa in 

 Nebraska. In localities where alfalfa has been suc- 



*The data for 1909 were lost in the transfers of men 

 in charge of the department. 



(Continued on page 256.) 



