^he RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1259 
Food For the Soil—Legumes 
N'DER this title the Wisconsin Experiment 
Station at iSIaclison issues a little pamphlet by 
E. (r. Hastings and E. B. Fred. The pictures tell 
the story, and we have re-engraved four of them— 
as the most striking presentment of the case we 
hav’e seen. At Fig. 602 is shown the original sand 
used in making the experiment. This sand contains 
no more plant food than a pile of ground glass. To 
it was added all the plant food elements (lime, 
phosphorus and potash) needed by the plant—except 
nitrogen. Legume crops (which means plants like 
clover. Alfalfa, peas or beans) were planted in this 
sand. In one set of experiments these seeds were 
7’ico Piles of Pure White Sand. Fig. 602 
planted without the needed bacteria. In every case 
such crops were a failure, even when for four years 
the growth each season was spaded into the soil. 
On the other hand, whenever the needed bacteria 
were used with the seed the crops grew well and 
were what we may call abundant. There can be no 
escape from the fact that this difference was due to 
the bacteria which absorbed nitrogen from the air 
and stored it up in the roots and body of the plants. 
Fig. 603 shows this very clearly. In one pot 
seeds of Sweet clover were planted without nitrogen 
added and with none of the bacteria. The poor, 
stunted crop we see pictured is the fourth one grown 
in the pot—the first three have been worked into the 
soil. The clover failed because it found no nitrogen 
in the sand, and was unable to take any out of the 
air. The conditions of seeding in the other pot were 
the same, except that bacteria were used on the seed 
when ])lanted. As a result these Sweet clover plants 
were able to take nitrogen from the air. They were 
worked into the soil each year so that the plants 
here shown are not only able to use this air nitrogen 
but have also the nitrogen stored up in the sand by 
these former crops. 
And this is not the whole story. In order to show 
the result upon other crops in a rotation, the growth 
Sioeet Clover; Pot at Right Inoculated; Without 
Inoculation at Left. Fig. 603 
of Sweet clover in both pots was worked into the 
soil and oats were planted. Notice the conti’ast. 
Where the Sweet clover grew without bacteria the 
oats made but a spindling and futile growth. The 
crop simply grew to the limit of its nitrogen supply 
and then stopped. In the other pot where four crops 
of Sweet clover had been able to take nitrogen from 
the air the oats found plenty of nitrogen and made 
a fine growth. Thus through the work of the bac¬ 
teria the pure sand has been made over into soil 
fully capable of sustaining crops. , 
We have further proof of this in the other pictures. 
In one we see the coarse, white sand which, as every 
farmer knows, is the despair of the man who tries 
to raise a profitable crop. In the other picture we 
see how after working this inoculated Sweet clover 
into the .sand it has taken on color and character 
and has become what we call “loam.” On the sandy 
soils of Delaware and Maryland we have seen great 
ti'acts of land change in this way. At first white 
and coarse and Peachy, it was incapable of growing 
good crops. Finally, as the result of years of plow¬ 
ing under the roots and shibble of cow peas. Crimson 
clover and beans or peas, the soil grew darker and 
compact; capable of holding water and retaining its 
nitrogen. There can be no doubt as to the value of 
the legume crops in building up the soil. The chief 
value of the legumes is that they can obtain nitrogen 
from the air. They cannot do this unless the bac¬ 
teria work on their roots, and in most cases of sandy 
soil these bacteria must be obtained through inocu¬ 
lation. 
Advice to the Back-to-the-Lander 
RYING to advi.se a person how to select a farm 
on first sight in a region with which he is 
not familiar is more difficult than to advise a man 
on the selection of a Avife from a race with which 
he is not familiar, Avhen she speaks a language that 
he does not know. There is only one safe form of 
advice in each case, and that is to take time to 
look around. A farm reQuires a year’s observation. 
Generally speaking, land in the Northeastern 
States has not risen in price as rapidly as land fur¬ 
ther Avest. so that there are many A'ery good farm 
opportunities in the Northeastern States. In general, 
the land in the Eastern States decreased in price 
from the time of the CiA'il War until a feAV years 
ago. This long period of depression has resulted in 
too pessimistic an outlook .on the opportunities for 
farming in the East. Fertile, free land is no longer- 
being piled on the markets, and the time is grad¬ 
ually coming AAhen a man can do the many things 
that are necessary to improve some of the less fertile 
Eastern land, and hope for a reasonable return. In 
the past, if one built a barn, it added little, if any, 
to the selling value of the farm, and so on Avith 
other improvements. 
Persons Avho have lived in the Middle West or in 
other portions of the United States Avhere consider¬ 
able areas of land are more or less uniform, make 
desirable customers for Ncav York land, because it 
is easy to sIioav them a good farm that is worth a 
good price, then take them to a nearby poor farm 
and sell it for the good price. There are plenty of 
places in NeAV York Avhere on the same farm parts 
of the land are worth ,$100 an acre and other parts 
$10. Not infrequently there are adjoining farms 
where one entire farm is Avorth three or four times 
as much per acre as the other farm. No one who 
has not lived in the community unless he has lived 
under exactly the same conditions elseAvhere is qual¬ 
ified to compare values in such cases. 
When a Western man wishes to buy an Eastern 
farm he should put his money in Liberty Bonds and 
work out as a hired man for at least one year in 
the community in Avhich he thinks he wishes to 
locate. lie Avill then learn some of the points to 
consider in buying a farm in that community, and 
he Avill begin to have some idea of the relative values 
of different farms. By folloAving this procedure, he 
is likely to save more money on his purchase price 
than he could make in several years of farming. 
Any person Avho lives in a city, even though he 
may have been farm-reared, should follow the same 
procedure, except that the period of AA-ork as a hired 
man ordinarily should be more than one year. A 
person Avho has a farm for sale, of course, Avishes 
to make the deal quickly, and the buyer seems to 
get the impression that this is the last farm 'that 
will ever be for sale. - Other farms will be for sale 
next year. o. F. avaeren. 
Cornell University. 
Care and Treatment of Tree Seed 
Part I. 
As timber is getting scarce, I tried to raise spruce, 
hemlock and bal.sam from cones, but they neA'er groAV 
when planted. Butternuts planted in the Fall never 
came up. Will you give information about raising trees 
from seed ? M. P. 
Chateaugay, N. Y. 
OI.LECTING THE SEED.—Practically all tree 
.seeds, except tho.se of the silver and i-ed 
maples, American elm, river birch, cottonwood, pop¬ 
lar, arid Avillow, ripen in the Fall. The above-named 
trees mature their seed in the Spring. As a i-ule, 
then, forest-tree seeds must be collected in the 
Autumn, about the time Avhen they naturally fall. 
The cones of needle-leaA'ed trees, such as hemlock, 
balsam, and pine, .should be collected before they 
fall. The reason for this is that the little seeds are 
held more or less loosely under the cone scales. 
When the cones have turned so that they point down. 
and the scales have dried so that they spread back, 
it takes only the slightest jar to loosen the seeds so 
that they Avill drop out. In Noav York collection 
should be made in September. The easiest way to 
get them is to folloAV a logging operation and pick 
them out of the down tops. It is often necessary to 
climb the trees and pick them off, or snip Avith long- 
handled tree pruners. Sometimes the squirrels are 
kind enough to bite them off at the right time, and 
occasionally they will hoard considerable quantities. 
SEPARATING FROM CONES.— The cones tliein- 
selA'es Avill not grow. The cone is really the fruit 
of the tree, and to plant it would be like planting 
Avhole tomato in the hope of raising a tomato vine. 
Sand Without Inoculation at Left; Sand Improved 
hij Inoculated Crop at Right. Fig. 60Jf 
The seeds Avhich are Avithin the cone are the vital 
part, and each one under proper conditions is cap¬ 
able of deA'eloping into a tree. To separate the seeds 
from the cones, one may spread the cones out on a 
canvas in the sun, or on a Avann, dry floor where 
the .scales Avill open out. The seeds can be made 
to fall out by either raking the pile over or by shak¬ 
ing, churning, or placing in a bag and pounding. 
The process is a good deal like the old-fashioned 
method of thrashing. After the empty cones have 
been taken out there Avill still remain a large quant¬ 
ity of chaff, broken-cone scales, bits of rosin, etc. 
These can be most easily removed by running the 
material through a grain blower. The clean seed 
can be placed in a bag or pail, and hung in a cool, 
Avell-alred room out of reach of vermin. 
BROADCAST SOWING.— Seeds may be held until 
Spring and planted in a tree nursery, or they may 
be sown broadcast over the area where it is Avished 
that the trees Avill groAv. If sown broadcast, a large 
amount Avill have to be used. From two to six 
pounds Avill be necessary, depending upon the amount 
of other seed or sand which is mixed with them 
Oats Folloiving Inoculated Legumes at Right; Fol- 
loicing Vninoculated Crops at Left. Fig. 605 
before soAving. The Avork is best done before growth 
starts in the Spring. If possible it is Avell to scatter 
the seed on one of the late snows. Broadcasting is 
seldom highly satisfactory, but occa.sionally it meets 
the needs. If the surface soil is loosened, and espe¬ 
cially if after soAving the seed a bundle of brush or 
a hari’OAA' can be dragged over the area, the chances 
for success can be greatly increased. The seeds are 
sometimes sown in spots about six feet apart each 
Avay. When this method is u.sed a small area about 
18 inches square is dug up and about a dozen seeds 
dropped into the prepared soil. The chief advant¬ 
ages of this method over the broadcasting is that it 
takes less seed to the acre, each seed is sure to come 
in contact Avith the soil, and there is less danger 
of birds or animals eating them. g. h. c. 
