"And when you plow under the Japan clover, you get one or two good
crops of grain," said Percy, "because this clover has stored up some
much needed nitrogen and the soil is rich in all other necessary
elements. Have you ever tried alfalfa on that kind of land? That is
a crop that ought to do well there, especially if limestone were
applied."

"Yes, I have tried alfalfa," replied Mr. West, "and I tried it on a
strip that ran across one of those steep slopes; but it failed
completely, and, as I remember it, it was poorer on that hillside
than on the more level land."

"Did you inoculate it?" Percy asked.

"Inoculate it? No. I didn't do anything to it, but just sow it the
same as I sow red clover."

"What does it mean to inoculate it?" asked Adelaide.

"It means to put some bugs on it," said the grandmother; "some germs
or microbes, or whatever they are called. Don't you remember,
Adelaide, that I told you about that when I read it in the magazine
a while ago? Don't you remember that somebody was making it and a
man could carry enough in his vest pocket to fertilize an acre and
he wanted $2 a package. Charles said that $1.50 a hundred was more
than he could afford to pay for fertilizer, and he didn't care to
pay $2 for a vest pocket package. Isn't that the stuff, Mr.
Johnston?"

"It listens like it, as the Swedes say," said Percy, "but the