The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-11-29
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SOIL INCUBATION.

Information on a Subject just Now
Prominent In Agriculture.
In bulletin No. SO of the Alabama
station on experiments with oats and
hairy vetch Professor J. F. Duggar pre-
sents in his usual clear and concise style
informant of value to all who are in
terested-and who is not?-in the i'm
portant matter of soil incubation as
means of increasing the power Of le-
gumes to appropriate nitrogen from the
air. The detailed desert ption Of the ex-
periments affords useful, practical sug
gestions to farmers and a subject of
thought out of the ordinary, but I'M
doubtedly profitable. Following is a
partial summary of Professor Duggar's
report:
Glover, vetch and similar leguminous
plants are able to draw much of their
nitrogen from the air when enlarge
ments called tubercles or nodules are
found ON their roots. They are unable to
do this or to store up fertility when tu-
bercles are absent.
In order for tubercles to develop spe-
cif1o germs or bacteria must be present
in the soil or seed or come in contact
with the young rootlets. In the regions
where the olovers, vetch, alfalfa, ETC.,
are extensively grown these germs be-
come generally distributed in the soil
Of the entire region. In number OF
localities in Alabama, where these
legumes are not grown to any great ex-
tent, these germs are absent from some
soils or present in insufficient numbers.
incubation is the process of supply
ing these germs either by scattering in
a field some of the germ laden soil from
field where these rarely grown legumes
have borne tubercles or by the use Of
the prepared material called nitragin.
Nitragin Is concentrated germ fer
tilizer containing myriads Of germs
which are able to cause the growth of
tuberoles on the roots Of certain legu-
minous or soil improving plants. Both
nitragin and germ laden earth were
very prof1tably used in our experiments.
Crimson clover inoculated with clio
yer nitragin afforded crop of 4, O57
pounds of hay per acre, while ordinary
or untreated seed gave-including many
accidentally inoculated plants-only 761
pounds of hay. This is gain of at
least 8, 900 pounds of hay per acre as
the result of incubation.
Seed of hairy vetch inoculated with
vetch nitragin produced hay at the rate
of 3,270 pounds per acre, against 564
pounds with ordinary or untreated seed.
This is an increase Of 2,706 pounds OF
hay per acre as the result of incubation.
The cost of incubation, using nj
tragin as above, was at the rate of So. %
per acre, leaving a large profit
In an earlier experiment here hairy
vetch was inoculated with soil from an
old vetch field without expense except a
small item for labor. This home grown
inoculating material effected an increase
Of 2, 808 pounds of hay per acre.
A field once inoculated, whether nat
urally or artificially. remains inooulated
for years.
AS general rule, each division or
genus of leguminous plant has its own
specific OF adapted germ.
Nitragin is very perishable, especial
ly in warm weather, and this may cause
frequent failure in using it.
Natural agencies are constantly at
work spreading root tubercle bacteria
and inoculating soils. If given sufficient
time (several years. most legumes will
probably develop tubercles without help
from man. Artificial incubation brings
quicker success in the culture Of rarely
grown legumes.
Inoculated hairy vetch yielded slight
ly less dry material in the above ground
portion and a considerably smaller
weight of roots than nearly mature rye.
However the inoculated vetch con-
tanned in both tops and roots much
higher percentage of the valuable ele-
ment, nitrogen, than did rye and also
more than did noninoculated vetch
plants.