The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-03-23

GIVES UP VALUABLE RIGHT.

GIVES UP VALUABLE RIGHT.
Dr.. Moore Donates His bacteria Dis
covery to the Use Of the Amer
i:an Farmer.
DR.. George T. Moore, Of Washington,
secured in March Of last year patent
on methods he had discovered of making
cultures of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, of
increasing their nitrogen-txing power
and of drying them so that they may be
sent all over the world, while at the
same time their activity is indefinitely
preserved. So
The department of agriculture has
just issued bulletin No. Il, in which it
makes known that these patented proc
esses have been decided by DR.. Moore to
the department. to be held in trust for
the use of the general public. The
American Agriculturist of this week
says that DR.. Moore could undoubtedly
have made very great fortune if he had
formed company and exploited the
patent. But he chose to make gift of
it to the farmers of America.
The bulletin tells how soils may be
enriched by introducing into them
certain kind of bacteria which havo4he
power of fixing In the soil nitrd ~
from the air SO that it is axailab lee3ol
plant food. Nitrogen is sue of H.
principal plant foods. and 1t formsa
three-fourths of the weight OF thesair
The Sun told about year a&u how it
had been discovered that the bacteria
living in the roots of leguminous plants
change atmospheric nitrogen into solu-
BILE form for plant food SO that plants
may get from the air the nitrogen they
need.
But how could these nitrogen-fixing
bacteria be artificially multiplied and
distributed to farmers SO that they
might enrich the soil? This question
had to be answered before the discov-
cry could be of large practical utility.
Prof. Noble, Of Germany, thought he
had solved the problem. He found that
bystaking the nodules of tubercles con-
tanning the bacteria which develop on
the roots of legumes he could inoculate
other legumes on which the bacteria
did not develop without incubation.
Then he found that he could isolate
the bacteria and breed them in large
colonies. He made great sensation
among German farmers when he adver-
tised his discoveries and there was a
large demand for his bacteria, which
he sold in bottles at one dollar each.
But his bottled bacteria did not
prove satisfactory. The microscopic
animals died and thesfarmers who ex-
pected wonderful results were disap-
pointed.
Our department OF agriculture sent
an agent to Germany to report on these
experiments. He found that they were
not successful, but the department still
hoped that some method might be per-
fected of utilizing the discovery.
The services of DR.. Moore were at
last secured and he gave his whole at
tention to the investigation. He has
succeeded" says the bulletin, lin per-
fecting the pure culture method of
multiplying and distributing the bac-
terra even beyond our expectations"
DR.. Moore discovered the weak points
in Prof. Mobiles methods and began a
long series of experiments Without
following the minutiae of his work, it
is enough to say that he originated a
new method offeedingby which he devel-
oped type of bacteria possessing from
five to ten times as much power to fix
free nitrogen as the original colonies
had possessed.
The next step was to discover some
simple means by which these bacteria
| might be distributed far and wide with
out deterioration. He found at last that
he could dry them and later revive them
in a liquid medium and that they re-
tanned their high activity. He soaked
small bits of cotton in his cultures and
discovered that when dried out they
retained millions of bacteria that could
be sent to any part of the world.
AS result of this work it is now
possible to inoculate at very small ex-
pense the seed of all leguminous
plants. Last spring the department be-
gan the distribution of bacteria to a
very large number of applicants living
in nearly every part of this country
and in many foreign countries.
The results obtained have been ex-
tremely satisfactory. The pamphlet
prints some hundreds of letters showing
that the crops of alfalfa, red clover, cow
peas, garden peas, beans, soy beans.
crimson clover, field peas, sweet peas,
velvet beans, peanuts and other legumes
were greatly increased by the use of the
cultures, and the result upon suocsed-
ing crops is beneficial
Thus Investigations in this country
have led to a practical method of in
PRODUCING atmospheric nitrogen into the
soil in form in which it may be util-
ICED for plant food.