Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-07-19

to care abou it. I could probably in
terest the farmer and his boys.
1t may interest my readers to know.
say Henry Wallace in Wallace,s
Farmer. how long it took a very careful
Investigator to prove beyond any uues-
zion or doubt whence the legumes OBJ
tanned their nitrogen. In 1862 DR.. He'll
riegel undertook to verify the theory
that If certain elements of fertiljtv
We're given in definite proportions ~
growing crops, the same results wo,,Id
follow under like conditions. He fo,,nd
TINS theory correct for everything ex-
cept the legumes. He found that when
ne decreased the nitrogen in pots
growing grain. the crop decreased in
proportion. and that there was no
growth after the amount was exhaust
ed. lie found, however. that clover
would grow and thrive under CERTAIN
conditions in pots from which nitrogen
was carefully excluded. and that the
plant obtained the usual supply FROM
some source. Where did it get it, Va
worked at this for ten years. and
proved TO his own satisfaction thar
where soils We're entirely destitute of
nitrogen. the legumes were able to OH
Itln IL from the atmosphere by means
OF bacteria living in the tubercl.s nn
their roots. Having proved his no;nt
ne dropped it for ten years, and tool,
a. up AT the experiment station at
nerilpufg, Germany. in 1883. where no
repeated his former experiments an ,
i'lSe scale ana verified his conclusions
The discovery then began To attrant
attention. Professor Atwater Of Ha q
r-hsiahd took up the subject in the
ialer eighties ana verified DR.. He'll
liesels conclusion. AS n result tba
average farmer h reads a first class
agricultural paper has a WORKING
Maomieuse on a subject that twenty
tsiT ago mad intnrnsf e.. "
nan a dozen experimenters, and then
oiIly as a purely scientific study.
WHAT nave been the practical re-
SUITS: No wise MAJ now thinks of
uuyl's nitrogen, the most costly ele-
ineht IN commercial fertilizers. He
h H,ows ne can get all his crop needs
py growing legumes such as clover
alfalfa. peas and beans, wbichever
VIII grow best on his farm. This ha.
saved many millions of dollars 70
who heretofore had been COM
PEELED to buy nitrogen in commercial
or IN the form of costly
leeds for cattle. for the purpose ~
increasing the fertility of their land
The world no longer fears starv,-
tlon when the nitrate beds are a "
lauSted. The farmer now sows clover
Iteiilt'ently instead of doing it as his
lather did He knows he can ret the
leSh-forming. Matchmaking nnrt of h;s
''UV SNS VIA lTG clover
route. He does not fear To ,1ndar.
take to build up a Worn out farm nro-
tlded he finds that clover will proN,
is not willing to buy a farm in sec.
lions where no leSume will grow.
This. again. opens up the subject op
Soil inoculation. Can they be made tn
grow by i%noculating the soil? BY in.
we mean the supplying OF
by means of which the
egumes use the nitrogen of the air
This discovery, which Professor Henry
las rightly called the greatest die,
'overy of the age. has given farmers
more confidence in the teachings of
he scientist, and has brought into
lose touch two classes who were max
ig faces at each other twenty wears
lgo. The scientist often regarded tho
allner as a stupid ignoramus follow
the motto. LAS our fathers done
20 do We" and the farmer regarded
he cientis as an aristocratic snob or
crack-brained theorist.
Looking back over 1t all. I regard
ny work in promulgating and POPULAR
zing the results of this discovery. and
out its practical bearing on
arm problems. as among the best
york l have ever done.