Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1897-10-18
Hoods SarsaparilIa
Nnnh1e piIIe do not cause pain o
MYSTERY SOLVED BY SCIENCE.
Microbes Can Draw Nitrogen from
the Air and Give It to Plants,

Besides buying well-selected fertil-
izers, the progressive farmer Of the fu-
ture will also provide himself with bot
tied billions Of the microbes which en-
able plants to obtain nitrogen from the
air. 1t was long puzzle to chemists
to learn how nitrogen is absorbed. 1t
was clear thai under ordinary clrcum-
stances plants are unable to appropri-
ate directly from the air the nitrogen
they absolutely require for their
growth. The air In the pores of the
soil contains plenty Of it, but the roots
are not capable of causing 1t to be-
come constituent of the sap or fiber.
Leguminous plants, such as beans,
peas, and clover, require great deal
of nitrogen, and 1t was of special In
terest to provide them artiflcially, if
possible, with this important constit-
uent.
The mystery was dispelled by re-
cent discovery that the roots of plants
capable of absorbing nitrogen bear lit
tie protuberances, and 1t is through
these protuberanccs that the nitrogen
is taken in. Further study with the
help of the microscope revealed the
fact that the protuberances contain
millions of bacteria, and that 1t Is these
bacteria that absorb the nitrogen and
give 1t to the roots of plants in form
in which it can be used by them. To
the activity of these beneficent bacte.
ria, plants-particularly leguminous
plants-owe their vigor and perhaps
their existence in their present form.
The plant life In this view, is a result,
in incidental product, Of the vital pro,
cesses of microbes, a million of which
could swim with comfort in single
drop of water. The next step was to
isolate, by methods with which bac-
teriologists are familiar, the varieties
of bacteria suited to each crop, and to
breed them artiticially in paying quan.
titles.
This has been done. A German firm
breeds seventeen species of bacteria of
the nitrogen-absorbing species and
sells them to agriculturists in bottles
under the name OF "nitragin." A bot
tie containing some thousand billions
of the useful bacteria and selling for
$1.25 will "inoculate," it is said, an
acre of ground. The experience of far
mers with 'nitragin" is too brief to
qualify them to speak with certainty
of its practical utility. Some have OBJ.
tained encouraging results, while 9th.
ers have not. 1t has been on the mar
ket less than a year and began to be
used too late in the season for fair
test. "Nitragin" ought to be used be.
fore it is two months old. and its vital
ity Is impaired, If not wholly lost, when
1t Is four months old. 1t must be kept
In cool place, and Is best applied, per-
haps, at night, since 1t is injured by ex-
posure to the light Its function is to
assist terminating seeds and small
roots to put forth the desired protuber-
ances.
1t is accordingly useless for growing
plants, and in soils already we'll sup.
piled with nitrogen in the required
form. Under favorable conditions sew
eral experimenters have obtained, 1t Is
said, excellent results. Cereals have
not been found susceptible to its inhu.
ence to an appreciable extent. Much
remains to be determined as to the ex.
tent of Its utility. 1t is yet undecided,
1t seems, whether the seed or the soil
Is to be Observation-Disclosures the seed
should be mixed with the gelatlne con.
tanning the "nitragln," or whether the
''nitragin" should be mixed with
quantity of the latter scattered over
the area to be treated. In any case,
agriculturists have in nitragin an in,
teresting subject of experiment-Ba
timore Sun.