Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-08-19
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
BY DR.. ANDREW M. SOUlE

ments in which it may be deficient
and so make it possible to continue
its productivity as long as the world
may last.
Another factor which caused a
great many failures with alfalfa was
due to the deficiency of calcium in
our soils. AS a result many of them
were strongly acid and so the bac-
terra mentioned above could not eX-
list in a soil of this character In
enough calcium to supply the re-
quirements of leguminouS crop
like alfalfa. hence the supply of food
in the soil was out of balance, ana
as in the Ease of the child which IS
improperly fed, mal-nutrition deVel-
ops and unless this is remedied the
child soon dies. So it is with the
alfalfa plant which suffers from
mal-nutrition due to the deficiency in
the soil of some elements essential
to it's welfare. Ordinarily we sup
ply calcium to the soil through APP
plfcations of lime. There are vast
mountains of lime throughout the
south and all we have to do is to
take this raw rock, crush it to
fine degree so that all of it will
pass we will say through a sieve of
forty meshes to the inch, and apply
it to the soil. This overcomes the
natural defect which has prevented
us from growing alfalfa extensively
and prof1tably in the past.
This seems like a very simple
story. 1t is an interesting recital of
facts, however, which has engaged
cational leaders for many years. 1t
took a long time to establish the
fact that bacteria have anything to
do with the assimilation of atmos-
pheric nitrogen. 1t took much long
er to prove that unless they exist
in the soil leguminous crops such
as alfalfa could not live. For many
years the little white knots on the
roots of alfalfa were thought to be
due to some form of disease. NO
greater economic discovery has been
made than that which definitely
shows the relation of a nitrogen
gathering bacteria to the successful
production not only of alfalfa but Of
other legumes as we'll The first in
oculation often failed and it was sup
posed that cultures were defective.
In some cases this may have been
true. In many other cases. however,
the inoculating material was all
right but the soil was unfriendly,
due to it's acidity brought about by
the deficiency in calcium. After a
and painstaking research that when
lime was added to the soil and the
acidity corrected the bacteria in the
soil thrived amazingly and the al
falfa could be cultivated on the land
where one failure after another had
marked the attempt to secure a
stand.
Have you ever thought. kind read
err, of the days and hours of patient
effort expended on the solution of
these problems by men we are dis
posed to regard as scientists, to class
as theorists, and to believe imprac-
ticable? The men who made the dis
coveries in question were the only
really practical men who did any
work in connection with making it
possible for US to grow alfalfa al
most anywhere in the south. They
are the men who took from Natures
bosom the secret that she had so
long and carefully guarded and the
lack of knowledge of which rendered
man impotent to deal with the pro-
duction of this crop on profita BILE
basis. When these facts became
known and were definitely establish
cd the problem was easy of solution.
Have you ever thought, kind reader,
that it took a wonderful amount of
patience, sacrifice and courage of
the highest type to win these secrets
from nature? Have you ever thought
of the long days spent in the lab
oratory where one failure after an
other was recorded by the anxious in