Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1905-03-30
vACCINATING The GROUND.

In Pearson's Magazine for April
RAYMOND Porter has written the fol-
lowing interesting article describing
the wonderful new discovery that will
enable the farmer to do away with
nitrogen fertilizers. This article was
revised by and has received the ap-
proval of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture. We republish
it in full, as follows
The up-to-date farmer no longer
spends hundreds of dollars annually
in buying fertilizers for his acres.
Instead, he sends to the Department
of Agriculture in Washington and re-
ceives little package Of bacteria and
with these he vaccinates his soil, en-
ables his plants to draw their nitrogen
from the air instead of from the
ground, and Increases his crops from
100 to 1000 per cent.
What this invention means in dol
lars and cents to the country at large
and to the farmer in particular is some
thing almost beyond computation.
Imagine each acre of wheat and each
acre of potatoes, following a crop of
inoculated legumes, producing as
many bushels as two acres formerly
produced. Imagine each acre Of peas,
of beans, of clover, of vetch and Of
alfalfa producing as much as ten acres
formerly produced. Imagine the In
crease in the income of the farmer.
Imagine the decrease in the price of
food stuffs for the general consumer.
Imagine thousands upon thousands OF
acres that have been abandoned be-
cause of worked out" soil, that now
may be worked at profit far greater
than ever.
Nothing experimentative remains
about the application ofthese bacteria.
The invention is settled and practi-
cable beyond dispute, Tor, the United
States Agricultural Department itself
says so. Farmers throughout the
entire land have experimental with
the bacteria during the past two years
and the results have proved simply
marvellous. From two to twsnty-fold
crops have been grown on these vac
cinated lands. Worthless, burden
GROUND, literally too poor to growweedst
has been vaccinated and made to
produce crops four times as large
as those taken from the average un'
vaccinated soils. Here are a few
specific instances:
A field of poor ground was divided
into halves, and one of the halves wa;
vaccinated by the new method. The
untreated half of the field produced
only 200 pounds of clover to the acre
The inoculated field produced 2,00C
pounds to the acre.
Similarly, two fields Of vetch were
experimental with, the untrested
patch yielding 58l pounds and the
treated patch 4,50l pounds to the acre
or an increase of almost 800 per cent
"a single vaccinated acre producing
as much as eight unvaccinated acres
Again, adjacent fields were treated
and left untreated, the soils producing
respectively 6,292 and 372 pounds o.
crimson clover to the acre. In other
words, the vaccinating repaid very
nearly $40 for 81.
a Maryland farmer who had beer
obliged to abandon twO-thirds of biz
farm because it was worked out, In
creased his output 500 per cent, sim
ply by vaccinating his soils. Scores o.
similarly abandoned farms were re-
claimed.
To understand the simple principle
of this revolution in agriculture it II
necessary only to bear in mind that
nitrogen is one of the chief foods o.
plants. Potash, iron, ETC., a plan