ee 
March 1, 1905 
Naturally Dr. Moore patented his dis- 
-eovery, but then he did a very unusual 
thing—he deeded the patent to the Depart- 
_ ment of Agriculture in trust for the Ameri- 
-can people. To be sure, his discovery had 
been made in the Government laboratories, 
but the Government, ueither morally nor 
legally, could claim any share in the dis- 
-covery. It was indubitably his. Dr. Moore 
gave the patent to the people, in order that 
all might have the free use of it. Doubtless 
he could have made a genarous fortune if 
he had formed a company and exploited the 
patent, as the German company made a 
good profit from their unreliable nitragin, 
which they sold at a dollar a bottle. A 
‘simple methed of distributing the germs 
‘that bring fertility haying thus been found, 
the announcement was made that the De- 
partment of Agriculture was prepared to 
send applicants free of charge enough 
inoculuting material for several acres. 
A portion of inoculating material as it is 
mailed to the farmer by the Government 
consists of three different 
Package No. 2 contains the cotton with its 
millions of dried germs. Packages 1 and 
-3 are the media or food by means of which 
the farmer can multiply the germs. ‘Lhe 
department incloses explicit instructions 
how to use the bacteria as follows :— 
DIRECTIONS FOR USING INOOULATING 
MATERIAL, 
(Method patented in order to guarantee 
the privilege of use by the public. Letters 
Patent No. 755519, granted 22nd March, 
1904.) ; 
Put 1 gallon of clean water (preferably 
rainwater) in a clean tub or bucket, and add 
No. 1 of the enclosed package cf salts (con- 
taining granulated sugar, potassium phos- 
phate, and magnesium sulphate). Stir 
occasionally until all is dissolved. 
Carefully open package No. 2 (containing 
bacteria), and drop the enclosed cotton into 
‘solution. Oover the tub with a paper to 
protect from dust, and set aside in & warm 
place for 24 hours. Do not heat the solu- 
tion or you will kill the bacteria—it should 
mever be warmer than blood heat. - 
After 24 hours add the contents of pack- 
age No. 3 (containing ammonium jhos- 
phate). Within 20 hours more the solution 
will have a cloudy appearance, and is ready 
tor use. 
To Inuoculate Seed.—Take just onough of 
the solution to thoroughly moisten the seed. 
Stir thoroughly so that all the seeds are 
touched by the solution. Spread out the 
‘seeds in a shady place until they are per- 
tectly dry, and plant at the usual time just 
as you would untreated seed. ‘The dry cul- 
tures as sent from the laboratory will keep 
tor several months. Do not prepare the 
Jiquid culture more than two or three days 
previous to the time when the seeds are to 
be treated, as the solution once made up 
must usually be used at the end of 48 
hours. 
fo Inoculate Soil.—lake enough dry 
earth so that the solution will merely 
moisten it. Mix thorougly, so that 
all the particles of soil are moistened. 
Thoroughly mix this earth with four or five 
times us much, say half a wagon load. 
“Spread this inoculatel soil thinly and 
packages.. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
evenly over the field exactly as if spreading 
fertiliser, This should be done just before 
ploughing, or else the inoculated soil should 
be harrowed in immediately. 
Either ot the above methods may be used 
as may be most convenient. 
Enough germs are sent iu each little 
package to inoculate seeds for from 1 to 4 
acres. ‘The package can be carried in your 
pocket, aud yet does more work than 
several cartloads of fertiliser. It costs the 
Government less than 4 cents a cake, or less 
than a cent an acre, and saves the farmer 
80 or 40 dollars, which he would have to 
spend for an equal amount of fertiliser. 
Different cultures are sent for different 
crops. 
STARTLING RESULTS. e, 
The results have been surprising. If 
Malthus wore living he would have to. re- 
vise his calculation of the time when the 
world will be so crammed with people that 
it cannot feed them. 
Very startling is a comparison of the 
actual figures of yield of two crops grown 
on exactly the same land, but one of inocu- 
lated and the other of uninoculated seeds. 
Pwo patches of hairy vetch, grown side by 
side under précisely the same conditions, 
yielded crops as follows :—Uninoculated 
patch, 581 1b.; inoculated patch, 4,501 1b.— 
an increase of more. than eight times. 
Crimson clover under similar conditions 
yielded—Uninoculated, 372 lb.; inoculated, 
6,292 lb.—an increase of nearly twenty 
times. 
THE BACTERIA EASILY APPLIED 
It does not require a trained scientist to 
apply the cultures. The results obtained 
by any intelligent farmer are as wonderful 
as these. ais 
A Maryland farmer. had formerly been 
_able to cultivate only one-third of his land ; 
he had been obliged to abandon two-thirds 
because of the hopelessness of getting any- 
thing from it. 10 
self and at trivial amount of labor, he had 
reclaimed the worthless two-thirds and 
made it more productive than the other 
third. He had increased the yield of his 
farm, his income, fivefold; a generous 
living is now before him. it 
And what did it cost the Government to 
help him so generously? Wight cents! 
The farmer had used two cakes to inoculate 
the seeds for 7 acres, each. cake costing the . 
Government 4 cents to manufacture. 
But there are even other wonders that 
these little nitrogen-fixing bacteria work. 
Tt has already been explained how legumes 
enrich the soil by bringing back nitrogen to 
it. ‘he same bacteria that increase the 
harvest of beans or clover or alfalfa tenfold 
enable the plants to leave many times more 
“nitrogen in the soil than they would have 
done if uninoculated; in other words, they 
make the soil many times more fertile, so 
that the crop of cotton or wheat or corn or 
potatoes planted next year is many times 
larger. hus the rotating crop the year 
following inoculation derives an equal 
benefit from the inoculation. For instance, 
a crop of crimson clover, not inoculated, 
added to 1 acre of land 4°3 lb. of nitrogen ; 
a crop of crimson clover, inoculated, added 
to 1 acre of precisely similar land 143-7 lb. 
Now, at no expense to him- © 
15 
of nitrogen, an increase of 334 times; &© 
crop of inoculated hairy vetch added to I 
acre fifteen times more nitrogen than a crop 
of uninoculated hairy veteh. 
Cotton planted after an inoculated crops 
of red clover gave an increased yield of 40 
per cent. Potatoes, after an inoculated 
crop, yielded an increase of 50 per cent. 
The wheat crop increased by 46 per cent. 
the oats 300 per cent., and the rye 400 per 
cent. The table below shows the effect of 
inoculated legumes on various crops. 
The germs c.n be used in any climate 
It must be clearly understood, however, 
that only leguminous plants—deans, clover; 
alfalfa, peas, lupin vetch, &c., are directly 
benefited by the nitrogen-fixing bacteria 
Where the soil is rich in nitrates, the crop 
is not appreciably increased by the use of 
the inoculating bacteria; but where the sail 
is poor, the harvest is increased many 
times. , 
There is not a section of the United 
States which will not profit by Dr. Moore's: 
discovery. Nearly every State has its wora— 
out farming land, bringing despair te the 
economist who laments our careless handling: 
of the fields, and who wonders how the 
country will support the hundreds of mil 
lions soon te be ours. The bacteria meace 
cultivation with a vengeance, and should. 
give him hope. It is impossible as yet ta 
calculate by kow much they will enhaace 
the yield of our crops, and of the world’s 
crops, but the results already achieved 
prove that in time the gain will be enor— 
mous. 
{Original | y-. r Pew 
| Yield | Wield per Acre | Gain in} Gain in | Cem® 
| per jafter PnosulatedWeizht.| Value..| of 
bvAtres (urge eee \ Gaim 
se) ans ge ete —— 
: rb. fits ob eShiGoe| 
Cotton ..} 932 | After red clover, | 372. | 44°64 AF 
} 1,304 Tb. | I: | 
_ |Bushels.} Bushels. j 
Potatoes 67-3 | After crimson 345 15 aa 
| | clover, 102°2. | j 
j | bushels. | 
Oats <a S4 {After velvet 23-2 9 30 
; | Deans, 33-6 | | D 
| | bushels. | | { 
lye “a 4:5 |After pear, 235) 19 | 9°85 | 400 
| bushels. . | 
Wheat ..} 186 [After, melilotus,; $3 | 650 | 46 
| 23°9 bushele, ! the 
natal Le Sea eee 
OPERATIONS FOR MARCH. 
eal 
By W. J. ALien, 
The latter part of this month will fiad the 
fruit-grower congratulating himself on the: 
fact that the rush of his summer work is 
just about over, the stone fruits, with but 
few exceptions, having been marketed, und 
in many districts the apples and pears also. 
In the cooler districts there may be some 
growers who are holding such fruits, but, 
generally speaking, the growers of good 
fruits find a ready sale for same as socom as: 
they are in a marketable condition, andi 
they are sent to market as soon as they are 
ready. Some of those who hold the fruit. 
for atime simply pick it, put it in cases, 
and allow it to remain under the tree and im 
‘the shade; the boxes are then covered up 
and exposed to all kinds of weather, yet 
notwithstanding this apparently rough 
treatment I heve seen apples kept in perfect 
condition for some months in this way. 
