Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-06
GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE
VALUABLE DISCOVERY OF DIR.
GEORGE T. MOORE.
Process for Enriching Soils So That
Their Productiveness is Large
ly Increased.

A patented process for enrichng soils so
that their productiveness is largely in
creased has been presented to the people of
the United States through deed of trust
to the Department of Agriculture by DR..
George T. Moore ofithe department.
This process was patented nearly a year
ago by DR.. Moore, who has been since that
time actively engaged in further developing
his work which he now gives absolutely to
the people, relinquishing his opportunities
to enrich himself. 1t is said that had ne
retained his rights to the discovery he could
undoubtedly have made a very large for
tune, since the power to preserve for use
anywhere the bacteria which have the
power of fixing the nitrogen upon which
plants feed has long been sought by agri-
culturists
Nitrogen from the air is absorbed by the
soil through the medium of certain bac-
terra. DIR. Moore has succeeded in making
cultures of this interesting organism and
drying them, that they may be shipped
to any part of the world and introduced
into any soil Once at work they draw from
the atmosphere the nitrogen required and
which otherwise could not be secured by
the plants The principle upon the bac-
terra work is to draw from the air the
gaseous nitrogen and transform it into a
soluble plant food. They live at the roots
of leguminous plants and have for long
covery of Dr. Moore. it had been found inn
practicable to preserve them for transpor-
tation to other places from their natural
habitat :
Prof. Noble a German scientist, some
time since thought that he had solved the
problem, but experiments showed that he
was unable to keep the tiny animals alive
for any length of time. His manner of
preservation was to inoculate certain leg
luminous roots upon which the bacteria did
not naturally grow with the living organ
isms which he gathered from their natural
abodes. He then isolated the bacteria and
found that he could breed them in large
colonies. This he did and attempted 70
preserve them in bottled form. But they
did not long thrive and failure was the end
of this plan.
DR.. Moore in experimenting along the
same lines not only discovered way in
which he could breed the bacteria. but he
found type which possessed a power ten
times as great in taking from the air the
nitrogen and fixing it so that the plants
might feed upon it. In other words. his
new animals took ten times as much nj
trogen from the air as their ancestors had
been able to draw. His next step was to
determine upon some plan by which they
could be kept until they were wanted in
| some other part of the country. He soaked
| small pieces of cotton in the solution in
| which he had cultured the bacteria and
| found that the pieces of cotton upon dryin g
held millions of the animalculae which
could be sent to any part of the world.
Experiments made by the department
| have shown that where the bacteria are
used the increase in the crops is enormous
and the expense is very small. Letters
| have been received from farmers in all
, parts of the country saying that their crops
! of alfalfa red clover, cow peas. garden
| peas beans, peanuts and other leguminous
plants have been highly developed since
| the introduction of the bacteria and that
| the result of their Introduction has been
| also noticeable on succeeding crops.