74 MISCELLAI^EOUS PAPERS. 



between prevailing soil conditions and biological phenomena becomes 

 apparent at once and lends confirmation to the belief that in practice 

 oecological conditions may be so modified as to promote the activity 

 of the desirable organisms and retard the development of the unde- 

 sirable, although under certain conditions the control of the bacterial 

 flora undoubtedly will depend upon the introduction of virile cultures 

 of desirable bacteria." 



USE OF LIME. 



Samples of soil have been, obtained from fields in various parts of 

 the United States where attempts to inoculate legumes have failed, and 

 greenhouse tests have been made combining various quantities of air- 

 slaked lime with these soils. The efi'ect of appl^dng lime to certain 

 types of soils is rather striking when nodule formation is considered.^ 

 This is especially true of those soils which give an acid reaction to lit- 

 mus,^ although several of these unfavorable soils did not give an acid 

 reaction to litmus, but were nevertheless benefited by lime. Outlines 

 of a few typical cases selected from our experiments follow. 



« The fact as shown in numerous cases that legumes can be successfully inoculated 

 by the use of pure cultures of the nodule-forming organisms with a consequent large 

 gain in yield and amount of nitrogen fixed is in conflict with the statement that "An 

 enhancement of the desirable bacterial activities of the soil can only be encouraged 

 by the proper improvement in the physical and chemical composition of the soil." 

 (Lipman, "The Measure of Soil Fertility from the Nitrogen Standpoint," N. J. Agr. 

 Expt. Sta. Kept., 1905, p. 243.) 



^Fruwirth. Neue Impfversuche mit Lupinen. Deutsche Landw. Presse, vol. 18, 

 1892, pp. 18 and 127. 



Fruwirth. Dreijiihrigen Impfversuche mit Lupinen. Deutsche Landw. Presse, 

 vol. 19, 1893, p. 6. 



Heinrich. Action de la chaux sur les lupins. Zweit. Ber. Landw. A^ersuchsst , 

 1894, p. 272. 



Passerini. Sur 1' influence ameliorante des legumineuses dans des sols de composi- 

 tions differentes. Staz. Sper. Agr. Ital, vol. 30, 1897, p. 68. 



Deherain and Demoussy. Eecherches sur la vegetation des lupins; deuxieme 

 partie. Lupins bleus. Ann. Agron., vol. 26, 1900, p. 169. 



Deherain and Demoussy. Etudes sur les legumineuses de grande culture. Lupins 

 jaunes. Ann. Agron., vol. 28, 1902, p. 449. 



Bilwiller. Cited by Miller. Journal Roy. Agric. Soc. England, 1896, pp. 236 

 and 423. 



Maze. Les microbes des nodosites des legumineuses. Ann. Inst. Pasteur, vol. 13, 

 1899, p. 145. 



Salfeld. Vernichtung der Leguminosenpilze durch ^tzkalk. Deutsche Landw. 

 Presse, vol. 21, 1894, p. 785. 



Tacke. Action de la chaux vive sur les bacteries des tubercules des legumineuses. 

 Centralbl. f. Agriculturchemie, vol. 25, 1896, p. 297. 



cG. A. Billings (N. J. Agr. Expt. Sta. Rept., 1905, p. 358) shows the efiicient action of 

 lime in promoting the growth of alfalfa and that the vigor of the plants seemed to be 

 correlated with the form and greater abundance of root nodules. He suggests that 

 soil acidity, conditions of ventilation or soil porosity, and different bacteria which 

 may influence the form of the nodules are determining factors, controlled at least 

 partially By the action of lime. 

 100— yni 



