Vol. LXII. No. 2807. 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 14, 1903 
*I PER YEAR. 
fl HARD CLOVER PROBLEM. 
How Can Clover Be Started? 
On page 745 a reader in British Columbia stated his 
liard problem. He has planted an orchard on land 
formerly covered by mountain evergreens. It has been 
Imrned over several times—the last time five or six years 
ago. Clover refuses to grow on this land, though else¬ 
where in the neighborhood it does well. 
Where Timothy and clover were sown to¬ 
gether the former thrives while the clover 
has entirely disappeared. Our friend 
asks: “How is this, when clover has the 
power of taking its nitrogen from the 
air? One hears all kinds of theories ad¬ 
vanced as to why the land will not yield 
at first; some say that it is the ‘lye,’ 
others the ‘turpentine,’ and again ‘the 
pitch and pine needles’ the soil contains 
that makes two or three years’ cultiva¬ 
tion essential to crop production. What 
is the real cause of the failure of the 
leguminous family of plants, for peas, 
beans, etc., seem to fare no better than 
the clover? What will be the best mode 
of procedure to obtain a leguminous 
cover crop for the orchard?” We called 
for a discussion of this problem and vari¬ 
ous reasons are offered. Here is one: 
Lime to Correct the Acid. 
It is undoubtedly the pine needles 
which are to blame for the futile at¬ 
tempts to raise Red clover and other 
legumes on this land. The acids se¬ 
creted from these needles are poison¬ 
ous to nearly aU vegetable growth, and 
unless decomposed, or the acid neutral¬ 
ized in some way there will be no use 
in trying to grow legumes on this land. 
There is no better neutralizer and de¬ 
composer than common lime, and this 
should be applied at the rate of from 
2,000 to 3,000 pounds to the acre. The 
FalJ is probably the best time for its 
application, yet the Spring is very sat¬ 
isfactory. The lime should be mixed 
with the soil to produce best results, 
yet a top-dressing is very valuable 
when cultivation cannot be carried on 
to advantage. After applying the Ijime 
it would be a good plan to obtain sev¬ 
eral hundred pounds of soil from the 
land which you say produces such vig¬ 
orous growth .of clover in order to in¬ 
oculate the soil with the nitrogen bac¬ 
teria which are so essential to plant 
growth. V. A. n.\Hri.Ki'T. 
Mass. Agl. College. 
Need of Nitrogen Bacteria. 
Another suggestion is made in the 
following note: 
1 think that the answer to J. W. 
uuestion concerning his inability to get 
a catch of clover (page 745) is answered 
in the Yearbook of the Department of 
Agriculture for 1902, pages 333 to 342 In- 
vlusive. Should he try this remedy I 
would be much interested in the result. 
Ilis bacteria are probabl.v killed by fire. 
Rising, Pa. s. p. 
The article referred to is an excel¬ 
lent essay on the nitrogen bacteria by 
Prof. Geo. T. Moore. It is stated in 
Ibis article that if pure sand is heated 
(o red heat so as to drive off all the 
nitrates and then peas or beans are 
planted in it, these crops will gi’ow 
even if not a particle of nitrogen is 
added as plant food. If we plant wheat 
or potatoes in the same way in the 
Band the plants will soon die. The 
reason for this difference in growth 
is that the beans and peas are able to 
fix or secure nitrogen from the air and use it 
for their growth, while the wheat and potatoes are 
not. It is now considered proved that this “fixing” 
of nitrogen is done by tiny bacteria which grow and 
thrive upon the roots of plants like peas, beans and 
clover. Most farmers have noticed the little warts 
or rough growths found on the roots of such plants. 
They are called tubercles, and the bacteria live and 
work in them. When these tubercles are present 
the crop will be from two to 10 times as large as one 
on the same soil without them. The tubercles on the 
roots also cause the plant to flower and fruit earlier 
and produce more seeds. When there are no bacteria 
at all in the soil the crop cannot thrive. S. P. thinks 
that the bacteria in the soil of this 
orchard were all destroyed by fire, so 
that the clover cannot grow. Some 
fields and some regions are entirely 
without these clover bacteria, and it 
is little use trying to raise clover until 
they are supplied. In other cases the 
bacteria may be in the soil, but unable 
to do their work because the soil is 
■sour. In such a case lime will sweet¬ 
en the soil and start the bacteria at 
work, if there are no bacteria pres¬ 
ent the soil may be “inoculated”—that 
is, the bacteria may be started in it. 
This may be done by bringing soil 
fiom another field where clover has 
grown successfully and scattering it 
through the field where clover is de¬ 
sired. We have tried this method 
with Soy beans and know that the bac¬ 
teria can be introduced in this way. 
Prof. Moore states that the bacteria 
may be dried and held for a long time. 
A package about the size of an yeast 
cake will hold enough to inoculate an 
acre of land. This cake is dissolved in 
water, which is then used to soak the 
seeds or sprinkled over a wagonload 
of earth which is to be scattered over 
the acre and harrowed in. To sum the 
matter up, clover does not have the 
power to take nitrogen out of the air 
unless the clover bacteria are present. 
Soil from a field where clover does 
thrive will start them and make sure 
of a crop. 
PINE SHAVINGS AS MANURE. 
V\’ill pine shavings, used as bedding 
under horses, injure land when applied a.s 
manure? Some say they will make land 
•sour after a few years. Is this so? s. 
Germantown, N. Y. 
Fresh pine shavings contain an 
acid, and if used in large quantities 
will sour the land. When used for 
bedding and mixed with the manure 
there will be no damage. The am¬ 
monia in the liquids will correct the 
acid in the shavings. They should be 
used until well soaked and then mixed 
in the manure pile. Shavings handled 
in this way have been used for years 
with good results. They make a good 
absorbent and are easily handled in 
the manure. Fresh sawdust is much 
the isame and should be soaked with 
the liquids or well mixed in the pile 
before spreading on the ground. Old 
sawdust from ice houses that have been 
in use for some years may often be 
used as a mulch, or even plowed into 
the ground without passing through 
the stable, but we consider it safer to 
use it as bedding first. Pine needles 
are used at the South for mulching 
strawberries, but the strawberry will 
thrive in a soil so acid that many other 
crops could hardly grow. The pre¬ 
judice against sawdust and shaving.s 
can usually be traced to resuto ob¬ 
tained from using them fresh. 
