CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE WISLEY LABORATORY. 391 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE WISLEY LABORATORY. 



VIII. Inoculation of Gakden Ceops. 

 By F. J. Chittenden, F.L.S. 



Fuethee trials with Nitro-Bacterine were carried out during the past 

 season, in continuation of those of 1908, reported in the Jouenal, 

 vol. xxxiv. pp. 231-254, and pp. 491-497. 



Instead of peas, French beans were used for the experiment with 

 leguminous crops, the variety grown being ' Canadian Wonder,' the seed 

 being kindly presented for the purpose by Messrs. Sutton, of Reading. 



The Soil of the Experimental Plot. — The site chosen for the experi- 

 ment was one adjoining the " fallowed land " experiment of 1908. It was 

 very sandy, extremely poor in organic matter, and contained only traces of 

 lime. It had lain fallow for several years, and the only cultivation it had 

 received until 1909 was horse-hoeing, to suppress weeds. The general 

 nature of the soil is fully dealt with in the previous report, to which 

 reference should be made (xxxiv. pp. 237-240). 



Preparation of the Ground. — The plot received a thorough dressing of 

 powdered chalk, as Professor Bottomley reported that the best results had 

 been obtained where chalk had been applied previous to the inoculation. 

 It was then bastard trenched, so as to ensure as free a root run as possible. 

 No manuring was attempted, and from this point of view the trial 

 was far less complete than that carried out in 1908 ; but the results 

 obtained then indicated that under no system of manuring was any 

 benefit due to inoculation with Nitro-Bacterine to be obtained in our 

 soil. 



Plan of the Experiment. — The ground occupied by the experiment 

 measured 141 feet by 36 feet, and was divided into fifteen plots, 

 each measuring. 8 feet by 36 feet, separated from one another by paths 

 measuring 1 foot 6 inches in width (see plan, fig. 138). The ground had 

 a slight slope from south to north, and, as was the case in 1908, on the 

 fallowed ground the crops fell off greatly from the lower (north) end to 

 the upper, and probably for the same reason. (See Jouenal, xxxiv. 

 p. 238.) 



On each plot two rows of seeds were sown, running from east to west. 

 The same weight of seed was sown in each of the rows (125 grammes), 

 and the seedlings were thinned out later to fifty in a row. 



The soil of plots 1-7, 11, and 15 was not inoculated ; that of 

 plots 8-14 was. 



The seed used on six plots, viz. 4, 5, 6, and 12, 13, 14, after weighing, 

 was inoculated by dipping in the turbid Nitro-Bacterine culture, prepared 



