Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1908-03-05

CIyRI MS LITTLE , 3,
1NODULES THAT rao1 !, ~ |;
MAKE SOILS editorial n
~ hEILE. coLLlER's WEEKLY


X Whom Hellriegel and Wilfarth lrst
sdtecoysred ! number Of curious little
nodules upon the roots 0f common
clover, they believed them to be q
sigh of disease; and when microscopic
examination showed that they were
.swarming With and produced by bac.
teria. they were sure Of II. Arguing
that to stop this disease the most ef.
fective way would be simply to ster-
ilixe the soil, they treated q boxful OF
rich. well-fertiliEed earth, by baking
at high temperature, until they
were sure all life was absolutely de.
stroyed, Then they took fresh, clean
seed. washed It with an antiseptic,
and sowed It In this soil. Judge Of
their astonishment when the plants
dwindled and died. A study Of the
exact effect Of these bacteria was at
once made, and the astounding fact
was revealed that they were manufac-
turing nitrates and nitric acid, COM
Oined nitrogen. the most valuable and
scarcest single element in soil fertil.
lty. Where did this nitrogen come
from? 1t was promptly proved that
these little chemists were not taking
It from that already combined In the
soil, because a given box Of earth
seeded with them, and In which they
were encouraged to grow. not only
,ost no nitrogen or nitrates, but mark.
edly increased the amount It pos
sessed. Another step. and 1t was
shown that these little marvel-work-
ers were actually absorbing nitrogen
from the air contained in the soil,
and causing It to combine with the
formation Of nitric acid, nitrates and
ammonia. Here was triumph. in
deed, and one whose far-reaching i'm
portance may be gathered from the
fact that while nitrogen in combina-
tion is the rarest and dearest of all
the elements In the soil. we are livir =
and breathing in an ocean Of 1t. mas
much as three-fourths of the air Is
nitrogen. 1t is, however, so absolute
ly inert that 1t is only with the great
est difficulty that 1t can be got to en-
ter into those combinations in which
1t can alone be utilized by living mat
ter.
Every crop of grain that we take
from the soil. every animal that we
kill and eat that has been nourished
with the grasses OF the soil, repre-
sents the destruction of SO much nj
trogen; inasmuch as the products OF
that nitrogen go into human bodies,
and three-fourths of 1t passes as
waste, and under our Incredibly
spendthrift method Of sewage dis.
posal, is simply swept into the rear
est river and out to sea, every civil
ICED country Is sucking nitrogen out
of its soil and spreading 1t over the
floor Of the ocean. Half century
ago. men OF science .ointed out that
at the present rate we should soon be
inhabiting nitrogenless and sterile
globe. A temporary check was pro-
vided by the first guano deposits in
South America, and later by the great
nitre beds Of Chile. But the guano is
all gone. and the nitre beds are with
in visible reach of exhaustion. so
that, when this little nitrifying bac-
terium stepped upon The stage, he was
hailed as a veritable god from the
clouds. Expert breeders set to work
at once upon his stock, and have al
ready succeeded In producing i'm
proved breeds of him. Every nation
al and most State Departments OF Ag-
riculture have laboratories for breed
ing these little wonders, and they
are then distributed to farmers who
are sufficiently intelligent to apply
for them. A culture OF these which
can readily be sent by mail upon cot
ton wool, when properly fed with
solution of grape sugar, will inoculate
half an acre Of land, and not only is
the incubation permanent, but it I'M
proves with years, provided that they
are given the proper plants to which
they may attach themselves. While
these organisms will live for months
and even years in the soil. they are
entirely unable to fix Gny adequate
amounts Of nitrogen unless they have
the roots Of some one Of the great
clover family to which they can at
tach themselves. The relation of the
two Is evidently not that Of host and
parasite, but of partners and cowork-
ers, for which new name was In
vented about twenty years ago
symbiosis, literally "liying together.
The more closely we study biology,
the more we are impressed with the
mutual helpfulness Of organisms. in.
stead OF with their antagonisms.