New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 35 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE EXPERIMENTS. 
The accompanying map shows the location of the experiments 
from which the data in this bulletin were taken. They are dis- 
tributed among 33 of the 61 counties of this State. In addition 
to the experiments shown on the map, 51 other experiments were 
started at various places. 
It should be clearly understood that none of the 51 experiments 
which are not considered in our computations was omitted because 
it failed to produce a good yield of hay. Many of them did give 
excellent returns in hay but, owing to mistakes in laying them out, 
accidents in connection with sowing or the growth of the plants or 
failure to report clearly the progress of the experiment, we were 
unable to determine which were the factors producing the results. 
An exmination of the accompanying map shows that the success- 
ful. growing of alfalfa is not restricted to any given area. Even 
the fields where it thrived without artificial inoculation are widely 
scattered. Not only is it a success in all portions of the State but 
there are successful fields on soil ranging from loose sand to clay 
loam underlaid by a resistant hardpan. 
The successful growing of alfalfa is not a matter of regional or 
climatic differences but depends upon the past treatment and present 
condition of the particular field in which it is sown. 
PREVALENCE OF NATURAL INOCULATION. 
Since the bacteria working in connection with the plant enable it 
to get an increased amount of nitrogen, the presence of inoculation 
on our check plats could usually be detected by the vigorous ap- 
pearance of the plants. After the first season, the uninoculated 
plants, if alive, are usually smaller and somewhat yellow. Often, 
toward the close of the first season in a field but slightly inoculated, 
the inoculated plants can easily be found by their greener color and 
general evidence of vigor. The difference in the rate of growth is 
brought out in the photograph (Plate I). This shows the growth 
on one of our experimental fields which had been inoculated with 
soil and similar growth on an adjoining check plat which had the 
same treatment except that it had not received artificial inoculation. 
Appearance of alfalfa nodules— A more accurate idea concern- 
ing the presence of inoculation in the fields than can be obtained 
from the general observation of the plants may be had by examining 
the roots of the plants for the presence of nodules, and noting their 
number and size. 
