211 
The Hills’ Experiments on Barley. 
the straw, while there was some increase also in the grain. It 
was not possible, however, to say which of the two salts did 
the better. 
These considerations lead to the following conclusions in 
the case of barley : — 
1. That soaking of the seed, before sowing, in solutions of 
sulphate of manganese is productive of some benefit, and does 
not injure germination, even if used to a strength of 5 per cent. 
2. That seed-soaking in solutions of sulphate of iron does 
not injure germination, but is not productive of any benefit. 
3. That solutions of sulphate of manganese and sulphate of 
iron, applied direct to the growing plant, produce some increase 
of crop, more particularly in the case of sulphate of iron. 
4. That silicates of potash and soda benefit the crop, and 
more especially the straw. 
III. INOCULATION FOR LEGUMINOUS 
CROPS, 1905. 
The Board of Agriculture placed at my disposal, in the 
spring of 1905, supplies of inoculating materials for leguminous 
crops, in order that experiments might be made with them at 
the Society’s Woburn Experimental Station. The materials 
were of two kinds : (1) the German preparations sent direct 
from Dr. Hiltner, of Munich ; (2) the American preparations 
received from Mr. G. Moore, of the United States Department 
of Agriculture. The former comprised materials for peas, 
beans, tares, and red clover ; the latter for melilotus and 
soy bean only. Melilotus seed was kindly supplied by Mr. 
A. D. Hall, of Rothamsted, and soy bean by Professor Shutt, 
of Canada. In addition to growing the various crops — treated 
or untreated — in the open on ordinary soil surrounding the 
Woburn Pot-culture Station, experiments were conducted at 
the Station itself with prepared soil of three different kinds, 
viz. : ( a ) sterilised soil ; (5) poor soil that had not borne 
leguminous crops for at least twenty years ; and (c) good 
fertile soil. 
The soil (a) was taken from Stackyard Field, Woburn, and 
was a light sandy loam. It was sterilised by heating the soil for 
six hours in a copper with water raised to boiling temperature, 
the soil being then allowed to drain, after which it was spread 
out to dry, then sieved. The soil (5) was the same original 
soil, but not subjected to the sterilising treatment ; while (c) 
was a heavier and more fertile soil from another field of the 
Woburn Farm. The three kinds of soil were filled gradually — 
according to the usual pot-culture method — into forty-eight 
