Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1904-09-29
THE AGRICULTURAL IMPORTANCE OF
BACTERIA.

THE AGRICULTURAL IMPORTANCE or
BACTERIA.
Nitrogen is TO the soil in which our
plants grow much what the oxygen Of
the air is TO us; for without 1t the death
OF vegetation must ultimately ensae.
For that reason we add the necessary
quantity of nitrogen to the titled soil
in the form OF fertilizers. II happens,
however, that the supply Of fertilizers,
which in turn is dependent upon the
supply of nitrates In the world, Is linz
tied. Like the coal fields OF Pennsyl-
vania, the nitrate beds from which
nitrogen compounds are obtained must
ultimately be exhausted. And because
the free nitrogen OF the air In its ele-
mental state cannot be assimilated by
vegetation, it is no wonder that the ag-
ricultural chemist has taken 1t upon
himself to devise. some means for re-
storing to the earth the nitrogen which
Ii must give up to the growing plant,
and without which the plant could not
grow.
Just how the nitrogen OF the air
could be converted into nitrates suit
able for fertilization, is problem that
has been attacked time and time again
with scant success. Crookes proposed
plan not without merit, q plan by
which the nitrogen OF the air was con-
verted into nitric acid through the
agency OF the electric spark. In the
current issue of the Supplement another
solution of the vexing problem is out
lined, which comes from an entirely
different quarter OF the scientific world.
For centuries farmers have known that
different crops should be grown In the
same field with each succeeding year.
Some crops following clover and other
plants were found to flourish admira-
! bly,. Careful analyses by agricultural
| chemists have shown that the benefits
derived by this rotation are due direct
| ly to the increased stores OF nitrogen
placed at the disposal of the benefited
plants. 1t would have necessarily fol-
lowed that plants of the clover type
were able to render available nitrogen
which would otherwise be unassimilat.
ed. Further investigation showed that
this nitrogen was fixed In manner en-
tirely unsupported, and that we need
have no fear of the exhaustion of the
nitrate beds which supply us with the
chief ingredients OF our fertilizers.
The Legunaiaosl@ family OF plants
among other distinctions, have well de
| fined nodnles at their roots, highly
charged with nitrogen and constitut
| ing the habitat OF certain bacteria in
dispensable in nitrogen assimilation
Elaborate experiments proved that the
destruction of these bacteria was equiv
alent to the destruction OF the plan
life itself. Bacterial life, then, and
nothing else, contains the secret o
nitrogen production. 1t having beer
settled with reasonable certainty tina
the tixation OF nitrogen In the case o
Legunataosig Is directly traceable K
bacteria, the next investigation to b,
carried out had for its determination
the life process OF these bacteria-th'
conditions under which they thrive
the amount of light, heat and moistur,
that they require, the manner in whicl
the plant appropriated the nitrogel
brought to 1t from the air, and finally
the possibility OF artifcially stimulat
ing plant life by inoculating plant lif
by inoculating soil with the bacteria
These Investigations have been carrie
out with striking success. At no YER
distant day the farmer will either ir
Oculate his field with culture OF bac
teria adapted to the crop he wishes I
grow, or incorporate with his so
earth of field where the crop has a
: ready been successful. The uncertain
ty OF good crop will then have vanish
ed, and farmer will be assured of th
best ootainable crops from the see
which he has planted. Guessworl wi
: have given place to absolute certaint.
Scientific American, Sept. 10, 1904.