The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1881-02-11
WHOLE NO. 1851:


receded from his thirsty lips whenever be at
tempted to drink. Just so is the plant tanta-
lized by the free nitrogen pressed to its very
lips, but which it is unable to drink in tho dy-
ING for want OF it.
Active nitrogen, that is nitrogen in chemical
form, OF ammons, nitrates, ETC., is one OF the
most costly and precious OF the elements of
plants life. 1t is also the element soonest ex-
hausted agriculturally. The elaborate investi-
cations by Laws and Gilbert, have shown that
where lands have exhausted by continual crop
ping, without manure or solution, 1t 10 the ac-
tive nitrogen which is deficient that the artifi-
cial supply OF all the other elements OF plant
growth usually fails to restore fertility, while
liberal supply OF amonia or the nitras will
bring the fertility TO something like Its original
fruitfuness. With an adequate supply of
combined nitrogen, all the other chemicals OF
agriculture become active, while a limited sup
pie OF combined nitrogen correspondngly linn
It's the action Of the RESI-. For high farming
and the raising Of exceptionally large crops,
the great want is an abundant and cheap sup
ply OF ammonia ana nitraes. With an unlimited
supply OF active nitrogen there is almost no
Limit TO the possibilities of modern agriculture
The man who shall harness this lazy Samson
and make him grind in the prison house Of ag-
riculture by devlsing some effective way OF
bringing atmosphere nitrogen into chemical
combination so that it shall furnish an ample
supply for vegetation, and so cheap that it may
be had for one cent pound instead of twenty,
viii be hailed as the benefactor OF his race. for
he will have doubled if not trebled the food
producing capacity OF every acre Of land Oh The
earths surface. We send ships to the Pacific
Tor guano and TO Chill for saltpetre but the
real thing sought in these materials is harness
ed nitrogen. For thirty years feet after fleet
has swept over the sea 10 carry to Europe or to
bring to our own shores this precious captive,
yet there rests on the College farm this very
hour more nitrogen than was ever brought
from the Pacific islands or ChIlian ntre- beds.
There is enough of this material, bat the trou-
bic is to harness the tricky colt,
But till the millennium OF agriculture comes
the farmer will have TO content himself with
the amount be may produce on bis farm by the
growing OF nitrogen producing crops, by nitri-
fcation in his soil, and by saving all that accu-
hAuiesoS uPOh A 70 iai IL III VIC 4Olul VI
The average amount OF nitrogen annual
| ly brought down by snow and rain is only sA
pounds per acre, while an acre OF wheat con-
tains 4516 pounds, and an acre Of red clover 1O8
pounds. The atmospheric supply OF combined
nitrogen is insufficient for any paying crop, and
wise farmer will not build his hopes OF profit
upon air. The accumulation Of nitrogen on the
farm is one Of the objects which every farmer
should place distinctly before him. There are
hundreds OF hungry and exhausted fields lifting
up their imploring hands for this inestmable
gift.
But the relation Of chemistry to agriculture
is not OF interest merely to chemists and agr-
culturists, but in its final sweep it touches ev-
cry citizen. Whoever eats food or wears cloth
ing is personally interested IN this matter. Not
only the present condition, but the future OF
our race, is determined by chemistry
class Of political economists, CT whom
Nautilus is the representative, are prophecyipg
hard things in store for the human family, and
extinction the best possible Outcome under the
circumstances. in the Mosaic account OF crea-
ton, after each grand step or creative develop
ment, we hear the approving benediction, God
saw it was good; - but after man was created, to
him was committed the mastery and govern
ment OF all He had created. We are told God
saw everything lie Lad created and behold it
was VERY GOOD The creation of man was not
bunder, and the suicide of the race is not the
high snd potent remedy for an infinite mis-
! take
The valley Of the Mississippi is capable or
! feeding the present population Of the entire
globe. When we think OF the vast regions where
only spontaneous productions of nature are Sc
cured, and the soil has never been harnessed
for real production by cultivation, We need not
worry about race starvation, but We may rely
upon the promises that come down 10 us from
the dawn OF history, "Whlle the earth remain
eth seed time and harvest aud cold and heat
and summer and winter and day and night shall
not cease
You will ask where is the fallscy in the rea-
soning OF the Mrlthusians atout the relation
OF the food-supply to population? Among 9TH
ers one serious fallacy is found in the assump-
ton that the consumption OF food is equivalent
to its annihilation. When I was child, and
had never heard of the Rev. Thomas Robert
| Aueehue, VI I-sSdy Ou tue OF
Population" l had embraced the Malthusian
view OF foodsupply. never took mouthful
o. food without guilty feeling that was de-
stroying part of the total food-supply OF the
race-that there was, for example, certain
sum total OF sugar in the world, aud that when
that was once consumed no sugar was possible
for all coming time, and the children Of that
dreadful future must live in a sugarless world
So of every other article used as food
In no proper sense DO We destroy the food We
sonsume,-we only extract the force derived
from the sua-light So far from food being
annbiated, given amount of food materials
is capable OF successiyely feeding an indefinite
number OF animals If only il Is excessively
transformed and purified by the processes Of
nature.
/ ~ ha ID. Five