The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-06-20

We use oxygen in breathing, but dis
merely as material for diluting the
oxygen, which would otherwise be too
strong for our use. All attempts econ
omically to render this nitrogen avail
able for plant food by chemical means
have been unsuccessful Recently it
has been discovered that the so-ealled
feguminous plants-clever, peas, beans,
lupines, vetcheS, etc--can take up this
nitrogen of the air, and can grew with
out being manured with nitrogen If
MANFRED with phosphoric acid and
potash The manner in which this nj
trogen assimilation takes place has
been carefully and patiently studied by
scientists, and although the details are
not fully understood the primary cause
has been found. 1t is believed that
plants are enabled to get this nitrogen
through the activity of the lower forms
Of life, bacteria or microbes These
organizations live in the soil and are to
be found where leguminous plants have
been grown They produce, or cause
the plant to produce. little nodules, or
tubercles on the roots. 1t is through these
tubercles that the plant gets its atmos-
pheric nitrogen. BY just what phys
Illogical process the nitrogen assimila-
ton takes place is a question still in
dispute among scientists. 1t is a
peculiar fact that few, if any root
tubercles are formed when leguminous
plants are manured with nitrogen: the
plants must first hunger for nitrogen
before the tubercles are formed, and
the presence OF tubercles indicates that
the plant is taking nitrogen from the
mir.
Now, curious as it may seem, there
appear TO be different forms OF bacteria
for different kinds of plants Hence it
sometimes becomes necessary to pro-
vide crops with the necessary bacteria
before they can use the nitrogen of the
air. This is done by applying light
dressing of soil in which the kind of
plants it is wished to grow have been
previously grown. This is called soil
incubation. 1t is sometimes necessary
in growing crop on piece of land for
the first time in several years. Suppose,
for instance, that peas which had been
sown on land MANFRED with phosphates
and potash, but without nitrogen,
failed to grow luxuriantly. II the
other conditions were favorable the in
ference would be that bacteria of the
right kind were lacking in the soil and
a light dressing of soil in which peas
had previously been successfully grown
might be applied. Such treatment as
this has repeatedly been tried with sue
cess on a large scale. These discoveries
throw new light on green manuring
and on plants best adapted for green
manuring. They recommend it more
highly than ever before as soil rem
ovater and a cheap means of maintain
ing the fertility of soil. They show
that while both leguminous and nom
legumineus plants enrich the soil alike
in transforming materials, in proper
ton to the size of the crop, they differ
in respect to the source of their nitro
genous materials. While non-legumin-
GUS plants derive their nitrogen supply
almost exclusively from the soil, legum-
nous plants may take theirs largely
from the air. Consequently if spurry,
SuCh NhSdt, unuSea u, &C tAOfi-lSS uHiiu@
Gus plantsl, are grown on the soil and
the crop plowed In tho soil is not ma
terially enriched in nitrogen, the pro-
cess is simply returning to the soil all
the nitrogen which the crop took from
it. But since leguminous plants may
derive the larger proportion of their
nitrogen from without the soil; that is,
from the air, their use for green ma
nuring actually enriehes the sell in nj.
tregenous matter.
1T will thus be seen that by green
manuring with leguminous crops it 10
possible to manure the soil with nitro
gen from the air, free and inexhaust.
ible source, and thus avoid buying fer.
filters containing much nitrogen.
This greatly lessons the expense for
fertilizers. for nitrogen il
the most expensive element the farmer
has to buy. 1t costs from fifteen ia
twenty cents pound, while potash
and phosphoric acid cost only Ave To
seven cents, or even less Although |
grains, grasses, corn, cotton, root crops,
etc, cannot use the nitrogen |
Of the air, green manuring enables |
them to benefit by il indirectly.