The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-08-15


could not always be depended on. Be-
sides, there is a cheaper and better
way-and that is by growing legumes
in our orchards. What is a 1egume?
1t is a plant bearing it's seeds in a
pod, or it might better be said that
all pod-bearing plants are legumes.
Clovers, peas, beans and vetches are
the legumes that we want to consider,
for, while some trees, shrubs and
plants belong to the legumes, besides
the ones named above, they can not be
used in renovating our orchards. The
advantage in using the legumes men
toned grows out of the fact that these
plants have the power of taking nitro
gen from the air and storing it up
in their roots. This is broad state
ment and needs some qualification.
Without the presence of some minute
organisms in the soil these plants
can not gather nitrogen from the air.
There must be present certain kinds
of bacteria to do the work for the
plants in order that this gathering of
nitrogen may go on. So we might be
more nearly correct in saying that
certain kinds of bacteria can work on
the roots of these legumes and can
gather nitrogen from the air and store
it up in the soil. These bacteria cause
little knobs, warts, nodules or tuber-
cles to form on the roots of these
leguminous plants and these nodules
are found to be full of nitrogen in
such condition that it is available for
plant food.
This nitrogen not only furnishes
nutriment for the plants on which
these nodules are formed but it is
SO abundant that other plants and
trees growing in the same ground can
be supplied with this important plant
food. Not only is this true, but when
these legumes are removed they leave
a supply of available nitrogen in the
soil that can be used for years after
ward What wonderful thing this
is-a workshop within the reach of
all where the nitrogen of the air,
which can not be used by plants for
their growth, is so worked over that
plants can feed on it and grow with
great vigOr
What are bacteria? The singular is
bacterium and denotes a very low or
der of vegetable growth-the very low
est, some say. There are very errone-
GUS ideas prevalent about bacteria.
Many think they are minute insects
and are always dangerous. They are
not animals, but vegetable forms, and
are often beneficial but sometimes are
very dangerous, as in the case of
diphtheria and tuberculosis or con-
sumption. The air, the water and the
earth are full of them and we eat
them and breathe them by the million
and are not harmed in the least. With
out these minute organisms the great
work-house of nature would become an
idle shop.
Prof. w. F. Massey, in the Practical
Farmer, recently said "Of late there
is nothing more talked about than
bacteria, and many people have form
ed the notion that these minute forms
are some kind of crawling insect
Hence we have thought that a few
words in regard to the nature and
work of bacteria might not be unin-
teresting Bacteria are the smallest
of known plants. They have the power
of motion, too, when in fluids. Some
of them are so small as to defy almost
the highest powers of the best micro
scopic detectives, and some are prob
ably so small as to have yet COM
pletely eluded observation. Not all OF
them are harmful, for there are many
of them essential to the breaking
down of organic matter in the soil so
that it's plant food can be used over
again, and untold millions are at work
for the farmer in carrying on the work
of nitrification in the soil Others are