1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
255 
THE SALE OF “ NITRO-CULTURE.” 
Is the Dried Cotton Effective? 
We assume that the majority of readers know what 
we mean by “nitro-culture.” It is well understood that 
crops like clover, Alfalfa or peas take nitrogen out of 
the air through little warts or nodules which grow 
upon the roots. This useful work is done by bacteria 
or tiny germs which live in these nodules. They must 
be present in the soil before the plant can do its best. 
“Inoculating the soil” means adding these germs by 
using soil from some other field in which they live, or 
in some other way. The Department of Agriculture 
found that these bacteria could be separated and multi¬ 
plied by themselves until water in which they were kept 
swarmed with them. Cotton was soaked in this water 
and then dried and sealed airtight. In this way, while 
the bacteria were dried they were not killed, for when 
the cotton was put into warm water with sugar and 
certain chemicals the dried bacteria revived and multi¬ 
plied. The theory was that when seeds were soaked in 
this water and then put in the soil such land was 
“inoculated.” Several private concerns went into the 
business of selling this “nitro-culture” in the form of 
dried cotton. After much criticism of the Department 
it was announced that this method of sending out the 
bacteria had been given up. Still the advertisements of 
“nitro-culture” appeared. At least one seedsman has 
offered prizes for the best crops grown with nitro- 
culture. In reply to our request for information Prof. 
A. F. Woods of the Department sends the following 
statement made in a letter to the National Nitro- 
Culture Co.: 
I regret that published statements during the last few 
months should have tended to make it appear that we were 
in any way discrediting the value of cultures dried on cot¬ 
ton if they are properly prepared and 
packed. It is true that we distribute li¬ 
quid cultures instead of cultures dried on 
cotton, and the change was made because 
cotton cultures were not entirely satisfac¬ 
tory; by this we mean that a certain per¬ 
centage of cotton cultures is subject to de¬ 
terioration, and that we do not consider cot¬ 
ton cultures to be as good as pure cultures 
hermetically sealed. We do think, how¬ 
ever, that, the method of distributing cul¬ 
tures dried on cotton is better than any 
method proposed for distributing these bac¬ 
teria previous to the time of adoption of 
that method. Our present attitude toward 
cultures dried on cotton is stated in Far¬ 
mers’ Bulletin, No. 240, a copy of which I 
am sending to you. a. f. woods. 
Assistant Chief of Bureau. 
The New York Experiment Station 
tested this “nitro-culture” by buying 
packages of the dried cotton in the 
market and then testing the contents. 
Their results were very unsatisfactory, 
as few living bacteria were found. We 
referred to this as puncturing the “nitro- 
culture bubble,” and intimated that 
the Department “has suddenly become 
dumb.” In reply to this Prof. Woods 
says—among other things; 
In this last Farmers’ Bulletin (No. 240) 
we have briefly called attention to another 
method of distribution wiiich we are using, 
and which is expected to do away with the 
danger of cultures becoming contaminated in transit, or 
in handling, and especially to overcome the danger 
of their absorbing moisture, as the new cultures are 
sent out in nitrogen-free culture solutions in small hermeti¬ 
cally sealed glass tubes. 
In distributing the bacteria in dry form it is necessary 
that the inoculated cotton shall be quickly dried in an air 
free from contaminating yeasts and bacteria. While this 
phase of the process is practicable, we have found that it is 
not so easy to keep the cultures dry, especially where they 
have to be sent long distances. If they absorb any moisture 
from the air, the cultures are likely to be overrun by yeasts 
or molds and the nitrogen bacteria to die. It was the lack 
of knowledge of this fact that led the New York Experiment 
Station to conclude from their experiments that the cultures 
were killed by drying. Had they dried tnelr cultures rapid¬ 
ly they would have found them all right, but the very slow 
process of drying which they used would probably kill all 
the nitrogen bacteria. Their conclusions, so far as the 
method of distribution is concerned, are therefore unwar¬ 
ranted. 
We have adopted the new system not because the dry- 
culture system is not good and, in fact, much better than 
anything that had been proposed previous to the time the 
Department began distributing them, but because we believe 
that the pure culture in the hermetically sealed tubes in a 
nitrogen-free solution has some distinct advantages over 
the dry culture. Whether it will prove in all ways more 
advantageous is yet to be determined. However, we know 
the cultures are good for the period for which we recommend 
them, and the farmer has nothing to lose and everything to 
gain in making a test of them. 
I may say in conclusion, therefore, that the Department 
has published whatever additional information regarding ni¬ 
trogen-fixing bacteria has seemed advisable, and we have 
certainly published sufficient to show that we have neither 
become “dumb" nor materially changed our attitude as to 
the value of these bacteria or the success of the methods 
which we have inaugurated for their distribution. So far as 
the great mass of farmers is concerned, I may say that there 
has been no “nitro-culture bubble” to puncture. I can assure 
you that the pure-culture method as recommended by this 
Department has come to stay. and. while it will doubtless 
be improved from time to time, it will ultimately become the 
standard and principal method of inoculating soils where 
inoculation is necessary. There are many sections of the 
country which require leguminous rotation crops where in¬ 
oculation is necessary in order to grow such legumes success¬ 
fully. You will note in reading the statements in the Secre¬ 
tary’s report in the preface of Bulletin 71 that we first 
undertook this investigation for the purpose of being able to 
supply the proper bacteria for crops new to a particular re¬ 
gion and to avoid the dangers in soil distribution, pointed 
out especially in Bulletin 72, Part IV. 
A PRIZE YIELD OF SUGAR BEETS. 
On page 139 note was made of the heavy yield of sugar 
beets grown by William Ball of Cayuga Co., N. Y. Some of 
our readers want to know more about it. Some of them 
seem to question the statement. So we asked Mr. Ball to 
tell about it. This is his story : 
My land is a dark, clay loam, flat land, well drained. 
In the Spring of 1904 I covered it with manure and 
plowed it and planted to corn; had a fine crop. I ex¬ 
pected to put the piece into barley the next year, but 
the beet sugar factory agent came, and after a long 
time induced me to sign his contract for four acres of 
beets. In the Spring of 1905 I plowed the lot myself 
so to be sure that it was done well and all cut over 
eight inches deep. I harrowed it over four times with 
a Syracuse harrow, going over it three times with a 
plank smoother. The fourth day of May I sowed the 
seed with an Empire drill, drilling three rows 28 inches 
apart, running the tubes that sowed the seed as shallow 
as possible, and put a man on the drill to be sure the 
seed did not bridge over the holes, rolling it with a 
common roller after sowing. When the beets were up 
so that I could see the rows I cultivated them with a 
fine-tooth cultivator twice before thinning. When they 
were about three inches high I notified the company that 
my beets were ready to thin. They immediately sent a 
gang of seven Italians to do the job, which cost me 
$27. This was all the hand work done on them until 
they were pulled. I intended to cultivate them about 
every week, but did not have time to do so through 
harvest. After harvest I cultivated them once, throwing 
the dirt up to the rows. When the beets were ready to 
harvest I notified the company, and on November 8 
the Italians came to harvest them. I plowed them out 
with a Gale No. 22 plow with the moldboard taken off. 
The Italians cut the tops off and threw them in piles, 
which cost me $7 an acre, or $28. 1 hey were then 
drawn to the car and weighed and loaded. On January 
21 I got returns from the company for 1(56,620 pounds 
of beets at $5 a ton, less $9 for seed, or $407.56. After 
deducting $55 that I paid the Italians it leaves a net 
profit of $352.56, as I consider the tops worth all the 
rest of the expense. 1 drew a large wagonload every 
day to the cattle until the middle of January. I sowed 
about 200 pounds of 4-8-10 phosphate to the acre; shall 
put the same piece into beets this year, using 400 pounds 
of phosphate to the acre. wm. ball. 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. 
A FROSTPROOF STORAGE HOUSE. 
I intended building a frostproof cellar above ground, hav¬ 
ing stone and sand in plenty. Would you give plans as to 
building side walls and roofing, how put on ventilation, where 
placed in building so as to insure fruit and vegetables against 
25 degrees in Winter, and to be cool as possible in Summer? 
Wabash, Ind. f. d. t. 
I think the construction followed by the Aroostook 
potato growers of Maine may be the best. The princi¬ 
ple involved is one of thorough insulation. Of course 
this can be done entirely above ground, but it will be 
very expensive as compared to building into a bank or 
partly under ground. These Maine houses are built into 
a bank, building the wall on the upper side just above 
the ground with a roof directly upon the wall. Of 
course the opposite end of the building would be en¬ 
tirely above ground. This exposed end is partitioned 
off for a loading room, being cut off from the storage 
cellar. A solid wall where thoroughly banked with dirt 
will prevent frost. Where the wall is exposed or near 
the dirt surface an air chamber should be provided. A 
concrete wall will no doubt be the cheapest. The dirt 
bank will serve as one side and a plank form for the 
inside. A 1-3-6 mixture will be strong enough, one part 
Portland, three parts sand and six parts stone or gravel. 
Another method is practicable where one has field stone, 
either flat or round. Use a form just the same and 
hand-lay the stone, taking care that they do not touch 
the form, and therefore do not show when the wall is 
finished; then use just enough wet mixture cement one 
part, sand four parts, to fill in. the spaces and hold the 
stone in place. 
When an air space is required the walls should be 
tied together in squares of 3 feet each way, with a twist¬ 
ed wire or barbed fence wire running through the center 
of the connecting links, forming an L in each side wall. 
The wall should be 18 inches thick, and when you get 
up where the air chamber begins build two five-inch 
walls with an eight-inch air space. The top of the wall 
should be capped with concrete 1-3-6 to form a dead-air 
space, which cannot be done with a plank cover. Light 
enough may be secured from the sorting or loading room, 
or if desired narrow windows may be placed above the 
dirt, using three sash in each window to insure against 
freezing. Put in large windows in the wall of the sorting 
room, and build the outside wall with air space. The 
doors into this sorting and loading room should be dou¬ 
ble, and if possible the space large enough for a wagon. 
This can be loaded in. cold weather with closed doors. 
If there is danger of water, put in a 
cement floor, two inches of 1-3 spread 
directly upon the dirt and smoothed 
with a straight edge. Roof the building 
high enough so that a team can be 
driven in upon the upper floor. This 
floor should be made of loose plank 
laid as close together as possible. They 
can be taken up at any point and vegeta¬ 
ble, potatoes or cabbage dropped to the 
storage room below, or if barrels are 
stored they can be carried In through 
the sorting room. Before freezing wea¬ 
ther, cover the loose upper floor with 
straw, one to four feet, according to the 
severity of the Winter. The small spaces 
between the plank will afford escape for 
all surplus moisture, and that is ventila¬ 
tion enough for vegetables and fruit; 
the straw above will absorb it. If the 
straw becomes damp and frozen, remove 
it and put in dry straw. If consid¬ 
erable care was exercised in the Spring 
to prevent warm air enterting it would 
serve as cold storage for a considerable 
length of time. The floor above can 
often be used during the Summer for 
tool storage, but not for Winter storage 
on account of moisture. Bear in mind 
that complete and perfect insulation is the secret of suc¬ 
cessful storage construction. H. e. cook. 
ORCHARD EXPERIENCE WANTED. 
The following questions are often asked by readers. Evi¬ 
dently no single reply will settle the matter. Please give 
your experience. 
Would you get the opinions of .fruit growers with re¬ 
gard to the following questions? I intend tile-drain¬ 
ing a 10-acre field in the usual manner laid down by 
experience, and it is my intention to plant this area to 
apple and plum trees. Will the roots of the trees 
choke up the drains as soon as the trees become 10 or 
15 years of age? Can this be prevented in any way 
when planting the trees? In our country 30 x 30 is 
the distance for planting apple trees, using as a filler 
plums or some early variety of apple, but this filler is 
only used in the rows of apple running one way, leav¬ 
ing a clear space between the rows of 30 feet for 
cultivation. The fillers are cut out after trees com¬ 
mence to crowd one another. chas. h. snow. 
Ontario, Canada. 
Kieffer Pear as Grafting Stoek. 
I wish you could ask the men who know what the 
results are of using Kieffer pear as stock on which to 
top-work the ordinary varieties. My special reason for 
asking is that the Winters of 1903 and 1904 proved fatal 
to all my young pears (planted in 1902) except Sheldon 
and Kieffer. These were both damaged, but recovered, 
but the Bartlett, Bose, Anjou, Angouleme and Seckel, 
of which I had a thousand or more, all gave up the 
ghost, as did my specimen orchard, which contained a 
hundred other varieties. Kieffer is doing well, and I 
would like to utilize it if it can be done. 
Rhode Island. H. w. HEATON. 
YOUNG ORCHARD IN THE CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS. Fig. 109. 
