The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-31
EHn T1nLEs- DsPAToH R1oHMoN vA sUNpAY MAROON ST. 1907
Some Of the Important and Help
full Facts Investigation Brings
to Light.
LATE DISCOVERIES IN SOIL.

-
Proper Treatment Of Earth, from,
Which Comes Food, Is a
Science.
tDy MEADE FERGUSON, Bactcriolo-
4 ristO
That soils are not inert, stable mix
tupre Of definite compounds from.
which plants may draw certain mu-
tritive materials which happen to be
In soluble form, but that they are con-
stnntly undergoing changes which In
volvc tho most complex relations OF
tho various constituents, has long
since been an established fact. The
assemblnge OF changes taking place in.
soils. from any cause whatever may be
| expressed by the term Metabolism,
which is conveniently used by ply
siologists to indicate that transfor-
4 nation Of constituents Of living or
i ganisms or those that take place in
their processes of nutrition without
attempting todesignate them.as chem
zeal or physical reactions, or purely
biological activities. The chemical
and physical changes OF soils have
been extensively investigated, and we
now know the ultimate results that
may be obtained by special methods OF
treatment under great variety Of
| conditions, but the sequence OF trans.
formations taking place or tho real
causes OF the observed changes are
us yet somewhat obscure
Reasoning on Facts.
/ Our philosophy OF soil N1etabolism
has been largely developed by de.
ductivc reasoning on large array Of
facts, which in the progress Of science
must be reviewed from many different
standpoints, and wider knowledge
Of their relations may lead to a differ.
ont Interpretation from that which at
the first glance seemed to be the OBJ.
| vious one. Until within the last thirty
years, the biological factors OF soil
Netabolsnl have been almost entirely
neglected. 3
It was the dawning OF a glorious
day when Sachs found by direct ex-
pertinent that roots OF plants had
disintegrating influence on marble and
several forms of lines tone, and Die
trich obtained similar results with
basalt and sandstones. When Pasteur-
made the important discovery that the
| processes OF fermentation and putri-
isms, the decomposition of organic
matters In the soil was readily ex-
planned. He also proved that these
organisms We're not limited to organic
matters for their food supply, but they
were able to live on inorganic sub
stances. and these substances are often
used as culture media for various
| species OF microbes.
From these facts, attention has been
attracted for several years. past to the
relation of micro-organisms of the soil
to the nutrition Of plants and many
made by number OF experimenters,
which we need not now stop to men
ton. The weight Of evidence has been
| to- empha size the Importance Of mi
.crobes In the elaboration OF plant
food.
What Investigation Shows.
Tho work Of Investigators too
numerous to mention, has thrown full
light on the processes OF nitrfication,
the essential factors in the Metabol-
ism of the soil nitrogen. My. own ex-
perimcnts with soil microbes during
! the last six, years, in Ivy hich4thc mi
! crobes of nitrlfication have been grown
! in every variety OF liquid and solid
given convincing results as to their
value In assimilating and storing nj
trogen for plant food.
With nitrate of soda. our principal
source Of nitrogen, Mt sixty odd dol
lars per ton and the end Of the worlds
T. F.
generation, this knowledge has not
come too soon. Without nitrogen,
plants will not grow. Very few soils
contain enough to produce maximuln
or even fair crops OF cereals. It is
| by FAR the most expensive element of
fertilizers. and consequently, in IAN
available form for plans, the most diff
ticult to obtain, except through tho In
| Prevention OF microbes. Vet mature
has not been SO lavish in her supply
OF any other element necessary to
plant growth as something like
| thirty-six thousands tons of free nj
trogen OF the air rests on every acre
| Of tho earths surface.
| Man has been racklng, his brain for
years for methods other than those
of Nature by which this atmospheric
nitrogen could be combined and rem
dercd available for plant food
| Bradley harnessed the Niagara Falls
Ito run power electrical machinery for
this purpose; Siemen's and lIalskc in
/ Berlin have succeeded in putting on
the market calcium nitrate which
has acted well on plants. However,
all the manufacturing methods are cx-
penslve, and as yet from CONNER
|clal standpoint, uncertain. While
scientists have been busy in devising
means by which atmospheric nitrogen
could be combined by electricity into
plant food. microbes-the minutest
been Quietly at work. From time i'm
memorial, they have been working
for nothing, boarding themselves, and
paying for the privilege" In tho leaf
mould and humus OF tho woods, my
raids Of them have been gathering
nitrogen from the air and rendering
1 It available for the higher plants thus
| feeding the trees of the forest and
! storing a surplus In the soil for the
1 use OF future generations. In culti-
waited fields where conditions have been
favorable for their reproduction, they
nave been doing the same thing
! Where lesumes ARC grown, they are
particularly active. They have a Gu
rious kind of liking for this family Of
plants, and with them asslmllutc and
Istorc In the soil large quantities Of
4 nitrogen.
When conditions are right, nitrogen
liking bacteria VIII supply a lcgumin.
Gus crop. like alfalfa. clover. or peas.
with nitrogen for Its own perfect de-
|velopmcnt. and at the same time as