Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-10-06
t,Ysrrav Eolvep sY so,shes

dicrobos Can Draw Nitrogen froD
the Ar and Give It to Plants.
Besides buying well-selected fertil.
.zers. the progressive farmer Of the fu.
ture viii also provide himself with bot.
tied billions Of the microbes which en-
able plants 10 obtain nitrogen from the
air. 1t was q long puzzle to chemists
to learn how nitrogen IL absorbed. II
was clear that under ordinary circum'
stances plants are unable to appropri'
ate directly from the air the nitrogen
they absolutely require for thelr
growth. The air in the pores Of the
soil contains plenty Of 1t, but the roots
are not capable of causing 1t to be-
come q constituent Of the sap or fiber
Lsguninous plants, such as beans
peas, and clover. require great deal
of nitrogen, and 1t was Of special In
terest to provide them artiicially, IL
possible. with this important constit
uent
The mystery was dispelled by a re-
cent discovery that the roots Of plants
capable Of absorbing nitrogen bear lit
tie prOtuberances, and 1t Is through
these protuberances 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 it Is these
bacteria that absorb the nitrogen and
give 1t to the roots of plants in form
In which 1t can be used by them. To
the activity Of these beneficent bacte
ria, plants-particular 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 a 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 artificially 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," 1t Is slid, an
acre of ground. The experience of far
mers with ''nitragin" is too brief to
qualify them to speak with certainty
of Is practical utility. Some have OBJ
tained encouraging results, while 9th
ers have not. II has been on the mar
ket less than q year and began to be
used too late in the season for a 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 il 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 well 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 influ-
ence to an appreciate 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 he noculated-whe neither the seed
should he mixed with the gelatine con-
tanning the ..nitragin.' or whether the
''nitragi 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.-Bal
timore Sun.