The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-09-01

the seed. Two of the legumes, how
ever, had done exceedingly well. These
are hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) and
sweet clover (Melilotus Alba). The
scarlet vetch had done fairly well. The
other plants had done no good, not
withstanding they came up fairly we'll.
Evidently the soil where these seeds
were planted had been nearly ex-
hausted of it's nitrogen, and as the
cultures did not produce the bacteria
needed, no nitrogen could be secured
from the atmosphere. 1t has often
happened that an effort has been
made to grow alfalfa in sections of
country where it had never grown,
when it would come up and then look
sickly and turn yellow and make but
little growth. By going to an old al
falfa field where the plant had done
we'll and taking a few bushels of dirt
and scattering it over the sickly field
it would be found in a few days that
the plants would turn to dark green
and make a fine growth. If the sickly
plants are examined it will be found
that there are no nodules on their
roots but the healthy plants will show
working on the roots that produce
these nodules, and these nodules are
full of nitrates.
Il
No blame attaches to anyone, so
far as 1 know, because the culture
sent with some of these seeds did not
develop bacteria that produce the nod
ules. I am not fully informed what
steps are taken in producing these
cultures. This work is not done in
Prof Piper's department. If he had
any fault to find with those who pre-
pared these cultures he did not init
mate it to us. My son, who used the
cultures according to direction, may
have missed some point in the pro-
cess. While these cultures failed, it
is not certain that they failed abso-
lutely. The chances are that If we
kept on sowing the same legume on
the same piece of ground from year to
year, the necessary bacteria would
finally appear They are very minute
plants but multiply very rapidly and
with any start at all they would, in
few years, at most, be very numer-
Gus.
Z
But the chances are that we will
not resow any of the legumes that
failed to properly develop this year
and for another reason. In our con-
ference regarding legumes, Prof. Piper
made very valuable suggestion-and
that simply is that we must try to
find what legumes we can use without
Of
is a very valuable legume where it
does we'll, and would no doubt do well
in the Yakima valley and similar val
legs when once it got well inoculated.
But the objection to this very valu-
able legume is that the seed is very
expensive. The cost of reseeding with
COW peas from year to year would
make it almost prohibitive. The
sweet clover will reseed itself and the
seed is cheap if we had to seed an
nually. There is one serious objection
to this plant, and that is it becomes
a troublesome Weed-Or is so regarded
by many farmers. If it were valu-
able forage plant it would be different,
but the hay made from it is very bit
ter and unless cut when about half
grown the hay is very woody. 1t is
very fine nitrogen gatherer and will
enrich any field where it grows. The
same bacteria that works on alfalfa
works on the sweet clover. If any
one who reads these notes is troubled
with sweet clover and considers it a
nuisance, as | know some do, he may
console himself with the thought that
this tweed" is making his soil very
rich in nitrogen.
+
Prof. Piper thinks that the hairy
vetch will reseed itself. We expect