The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-19
BACTERIA FREE FOR FARMERS
UNCLE SAM rs GOING HIS seen
DISTRIBUTION ONE BETTER.
Packages for Soil incubation to Aid I,
Growing Rich Crops 10 He sent Ou,
Next 1ear-It Means Greatly Increased
Values I'm Crops for the Fu,ure

vellous.
In 1885 a German scientist. HelliiegeL
announced that he had discovered that there
exist in the soil vast number Of mInuts
microscopic organisms which rake their
homes in tubercles, or nodules, on the roots
Of leguminous plants, such as clovers
vetches, peas, beans and locust trees These
little creatures, he showed, perform a vain.
able service for the plants in which they
live They pay for their subsistence nv
catching from the air nitrogen which tho
legumes could not themselves take into the;r
systems in gaseous form, reducing it 10 a
nitrate in combination with some other ele-
ment taken up from the ground. and the
legumes easily digest this plant food and
make rapid and luxuriant growth.
All this was taken up quickly by scientists
throughout the world, and especially in this
country. Hundreds of experiments were
carried forward, and it is now Fundamentally
established that this is one of the greatest
discoveries known to scientific and practical
agriculture.
Nitrogen is the most expensive fertilizer
required in farming The average price
per pound is II cents, while phosphorus
and potash. the two other requisite fer
tilizers, are to be had for two and three cents
a pound. On every square inch Of the
earth's surface there rests column of air
consisting largely of nitrogen and weighing
about fourteen pounds. With this at hand.
and with the means to catch il, the farmer
has most abundant source of the most
important fertilizer he needs.
fCha UNIV in which tho (,nynrpp,a,,i ~
tends to make Use of these particular bac-
terra is by propagating them under artih-
cial conditions and sending them out in small
quantities in all parts of the country for
the use of farmers. A large laboratory
has been provided in Washir gton with a
competent staff Of psychologists who
have already made nearly all preparations
for the work proposed. In small paste-
board box four inches by six and half
an inch deep. they will be sent free wher-
ever the United States mail goes, to ths
farmer who desires to introduce legum-
nous crop hitherto impossible of culture
in his region.
The box will contain three packages
done up in tin foil. In one is wad Of
cotton on which the cultures or germs
of the bacteria have been dried and in this
other two are nutrient salts which ars
usually magnesium sulphate, potassium
phosphate or ammonium phosphate wltha
small mixture of sugar 70 solidify and hold
the cultures. A sheet of instructions and
franked envelope accompany the package.
The Department asks every farmer who
receives cultures in this way to take notes
on the result of his experiment and report
The instructions are simple and practically
admit of no failure. Package No. of the
l.< lsnGn 1N-ef
half gallon of pure water AT ordinary TEN"
perature. The salts dissolve in a very Few
minutes. Then the wad of cotton is TO ba
placed in the solution and left 10 stand
for twenty-four hours and next the other
package of nutrient salts is emptied into
the solution. In another twenty-elghn
hours the cultures are ready for Use; The
solution, if no mishap has occurred. viii
have turned milky cloudy white very
| much like the LIQUOR Of oysters.
There are two ways in which the cultures
| may be applied The applicant must
| specify what particular variety Of leguml.
nous crops he desires to establish. II has
been found that the bacteria common to
certain families of legumes will NOT make
their-home on the roots of legumes OF other
families. For instance. the bacteria, that
subsist on the roots OF alfalfa will nos
live on the roots of red clover. The oac-
terra on red clover, however, will lnocu-
late white clover. crimson clover. alsiFe.
buffalo clover and all of the trifoium
! clovers. The bacteria on bird clover,
| which is common in some parts OF the coun'
try, will inoculate alfalfa The bacteria
of soy beans will work on COW peas ana
similar members of the bean family.
The first way of applying the cultures
| is 10 spread the seed ont thinly on the tabs
and sprinkle the solution over H. Them
when dry, to SOW as usual. The other way
is to take quantity of soil in place out
Of the sunshine, sprinkle the solution over
il. stir II up and scatter IT hroadcaS' over
the ground TO be seeded.
Successful incubation can be secures
by taking soil from thrifty field OF leg'iine'
such as alfalfa, clover or vetches ana scat
tering il over the field where either OF Theses
crops may be desired. Owing 10 me cost
of freight this is an expensive method nun
il has been pracis'd with success many
times.
The experiment stations in Illinois ann
Ohio after wears of failure to establish
alfalfa sent out beyond the Missouri ahs
secured quantities of soil from tlne helur
of alfalfa and then succeeded in making
alfalfa grow. These stations have III turn
supplied earth for inoculating purposes 10
farmers and other stations further eaH'
This method is one which the indlvdnal
farmer can Use 10 advantage after he mas
once established a small area of any par
ticular crop he desires.
River farmers find that they cannot make
alfalfa grow, though il is the most proht-
able forage crop known. Anywhere from
ten to forty acres of it will yield large
income. whether sold as hay or fed 70 i've
stock In the alkaline soils Of the Tar
West the bacteria multiply SO rapidly ana
are so favored in the environment ina"
alfalfa may he sowed anywhere success
fully But in the East, without inoculail4n
the root tuberCles do not form anu mo
little alfalfa plants wither and die,
II will not be until next year that ms
Government will undertake to supply cpl'-
ures generally. Accurate tests are now
being made of all cultures employed a;!I,
every safeguard will be taken ~ ibtii
expectations. The Government has iorhn
a new method of producing the cultures
in what is called "a ntrogen-free medium
the benefits may be enjoyed by the "h''
country without cost or favor
II has been found that il is not 50 mu'h
the quantity of bacteria as the character
which tells for success. IT the cultures
are fresh and virient they perform lher
service more thoroughly aud the returns
are satisfactory The amount seu' "N
in the packages described are usually moss
required for a bushel of seed OF H." plu'-
nary sort. such as clover or alfalfa; hut lNo
applicant may increase the quantity Wy
increasing the amount of water and keeping
a part of the solution over very ml'h ~
yeast may be increased by the h",is'"""
or the baker.
Grass being the money crop Of the roIu-
try, whether sold in hay or livestock mon
lation il expected 10 add untold mI'I"iS
to the grass and hay crop of 'h' VINO"