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. AI- 
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 eul- 
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, 
