The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-04-22
TOoNoLUDED FROM PAGE IL

has DS0u Known bQa6 Wuhb Is OOu
monty called resting land Is in man,
places beneficial TO it, but at th
the length Of time was allowed
Amusing efforts have been made {
explain in what way such benefit
were derived. One theory (and pos
sibly the most plausible one), wa
that it gave the mineral matters II
the soil time TO dissolve and beoomr
available for plant food. Otherl
contended that the soil needed rest
etc. But it was all ~guesswork unit
experiment and the microscope
brought the truth so light.
THE soI BACTERIA AND KIND OF OR
GANIsMs.
The nitric organisms in the soil
exist in common with hundreds of
others, many of which are doubtless
active in the solvent work. The
nitrifying organisms themselves, as
: will be mentioned further on, have
such important relations in the sup.
ply of nitr ogenoUs food, as TO have
escaped attention in their more
purely solvent action. The atten-
ton of bacteriologists has been de
voted mostly TO a study of the nitri-
flying organisms as regards their re
lation TO albuminoid and ammoniacal
bodies. For this reason the action
of these organisms and others relat-
ing thereto as q solvent for mineral
particles in preparing them for plant
absorption, has not received the at
tention which it's merits; but the
work is being pushed.
THE NITRIFYING FERMENTs.
The micro-organisms of most i'm
portance TO agriculture, and those
so which attention is more particu-
larly called in this article, are the
bacteria which act upon heterogeneous
matters and oxidize them TO nitric
acid, or which exert a reducing effect
on nitric acid, bringing it to lower
forms of, or even to free nitrogen.
These organisms belong TO many
different species and act in many
different ways. The general growth
80 which these organisms belong is
known as nitro. bacteria. The classi
hcation of these organisms by genera
and species would prove of little in
terest to the reader of this article
In general it may be said that there
are three distinct genera, composing,
in the first place, those organisms
which form ammonia or carbona4e Of
ammonia from organic heterogeneous
compounds, such as albumen in the
second place, the organisms which
transform carbonate of ammonia into
nitrous acid and, in the third place,
those which transform nitrous into
nitric acid. Each genus is necessary
in the complete transformation Of
proteid matter into nitric acid, in
which latter form alone nitrogen is
chiefly available for plant food.
FORMATION OF AMMONIA.
The bacteria which are especially
active in the formation of ammonia
ar found constantly in surface soils
and in the air and rain waters. BIZ
the activity of these organisms in
the decomposition of albumen or of
an slbuminoid body large quantities
of ammonium carbonate are pro
duoed. The organic carbon, which
10 present in the compound, is also
acted upon during the decomposition
of the albumen, and by it's oxidation
certain organic acids are produced
together with carbon dioxide. ANY
organic sulphur which is present il
the general compound becomes con
verted into an acid. The ammonig
ferment naturally produces alkahn
ity in the media in which it Is active,
but it has been found that it's activ-
ity is not wholly destroyed even in
the presence of a slight excess of
acid, provided the amount of aoid
does not exceed one per cent. This
ammonia ferment has been found TO
be most active at temperature of
from 80 to 100 degrees F., and as the
temperature approaches the freezing
point the activity of the organisms
.iminishes and finally ceases alto
gether, but their vitality is not de-
stroyed, unless the temperature is
raised and kept at or above the boil.
Ing point for a time.
Now she demonstration of the fact
that the transformation of organic