Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-21
MICROBES AND MANKIND.

Discovery of MicrO-Organfsms ON
Which All Human Life Depends.
The most important subject discussed last
week at the meeting of the Association of
Official Agricultural Chemists in this city
was a new discovery which may fairly be
termed sensational.
This discovery relates to a species of
microbe which actually makes plants grow.
In it has been found the mysterious agent
to absorb nitrogen. which Is their chief
food. Without its assistance plant life
would disappear entirely from the earth.
and in consequence animal life. including
beneficent micro-organism Is SO small that
it can only be seen when magnifaed $40
diameters. 1t is a bacterium and a micro
coccus-that Is to say. shaped like little
ball
An experiment is now being made in the
breeding Of these microbes by Prof. Wiley
Of the chemistry division Of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture. They multiply at an
enormous rate when furnished with proper
food, and to produce them in indefinite
quantities is easy. Their business in life is
to absorb nitrogen from the soil and from
the air and to transform it into nitric
acid. In this shape it is taken up by the
tissues of the plants, which are not able
to consume the nitrogen in the crude. Re-
Gently q trial was made with a field Of
several acres in Florida on which nothing
would grow. Analyses proved that the soil
was very rich in nitrogen, but none OF the
micrococci were present. So a small amount
Of stable manure was applied thinly to the
surface Of the ground. and 10! q wonderful
crop was the result.
The secret Of it was that stable manure
Is full of these peculiar bacteria. The lat
ter went to work at once upon the nitrogen
lying idle in >the hitherto barren soil and
transformed it into available plant food.
1t has long been known that stable manure
contained very little plant food, and SO
until now its great efficiency as a fertilizer
has been mystery. The day may yet ar
rive when the farmer will apply solution
of microbes instead OF q fertilizer to his
soil. Obviously, such a method would only
be tried in cases where the bacteria were
found to be lacking.
Without the help Of microbes of this spe-
cies plants will die in the richest soil. With
their assistance certain kinds Of plants are
able to absorb and utilize the nitrogen In
the atmosphere This Is most particularly
true of the peas. beans. clover and other
leguminous plants. Farmers have long
known that there was no better way to
enrich field than to plant it with clover,
or beans, or peas. The reason why Is
simply that heterogeneous of the sort
described infest these plants in great num-
bers. Living in the rootlets, they ply the
trade of agricultural chemists on a small
scale, but most efficiently. Their colonies
are marked by little excrescences or pimples
on the roots. They are manufacturers OF
nitric acid. They do NOT live In the roots
Of cereals-henee- the aesirability Of rotat-
ing corn with clover.
In furnishing nitrogen to the soil the
farmer Is supplying stun for the microbes
to work on. 1t has been stated already
that nitrogen is the most valuable of
plant foods. 1t is also the most expensive.
costing from 16 to IS cents pound. Some
times 1t is applied to the land in the shape
OF waste from packing establishments and
abattoirs, scraps of intestines. ETC., which
are boiled to get out the oil and finally
dried and ground. At the slaughter houses
nothing is wasted. Every drop of blood is
is the best of all materials for yielding nj.
trogen. 1t may be said in rough way
that nitrogen makes the flesh of plants
while phosphoric acid makes the fat.