The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-12-01
.soIL 5AcTERIA-THE FARMERS
FRIEND"
Nv Theodore Day Beckwith, Professor Of
A RacteriologY. O. "A. G. ...l

= e
BY Theodore Day Beckwith. Professor Of
Bacteriology. O. A. c.
Oregon Agricultural College, Cor
Wallis, Oregon.-It has been stated
by certain authorities that the soil is
la great workshop, and this statement
lis well founded on fact because re-
cent development, during the last
twenty years particularly, have shown
definitely that every farmer who tills
his land properly is raising great
crop which he cannot see, the magni-
tude of which he little understands,
and the volume Of which, numerically
speaking, Is far beyond his possible
conception. Likewise, another author
II ty recently has told us that the
farmer who follows the older meth
DDS, and many Of them still do follow
them, is simply a miner who is delv-
ing into the soil, removing from 1t
the fertility and its wealth without re-
placing it properly. Thus a man may
be raising this great crop which he
knows little about, and at the same
time may be undoing its work as
rapidly as he can.
It will surprise many to know that
soil is filled, in its upper layers, with
small growing plants, altogether too
minute to be seen with the naked eye.
These plants are called germs, or
bacteria, and upon their successful
and well-regulated activities depends
much OF the fertility Of the soil. In
fact, although farmer naturally
thinks that by his blowing, harrow
ing, under drainage, etc., he is work
| ing directly toward lettering his
crops, in reality the benefit is OBJ
tanned Indirectly, for he is lettering
the conditions for the growth of these
bacteria upon which depends much
of the fertility of the soil.
| It has been found that in the layer
of soil which is most densely filled
with these germs, or microbes, there
are approximately three hundred mil
lion germs per ounce Of dry fertile
soil. When one considers the fact
that the first six inches of soil per
acre will weigh nine hundred tons,
one can, if he feels automatically
inclined, arrive at asome idea OF the
extent of this crop which he is Gull
tivating but which he never sees.
These bacteria are, as has been
stated, exceedingly small. They are
so microscopic that approximately
twelve thousand of them might be
placed together, just touching each
other, end to end, and the line would
be about one inch long. Most OF
them are little rods, possibly twice as
long as they are wide, consequently
one may also arrive at some possible
conclusion as to how many would be
necessary to make pile large enough
to be seen with the naked eye, re-
membering that an average human
| eye does not distinguish anything
readily which is smaller than .OO5 OF
an inch.
Also it must be borne in mind that
each single germ is living organism,
having it's own processes of life, per-
forming its own duty, subject to gen.
eral changes in its life history just as
| the higher animals and plants under
go change.
! People generally have misconcep-
ton concerning bacteria; they asso-
ciate germs with diseases, when as a
matter of fact very small proper
| ton of the entire number of bacteria
ever produce diseases. Just as there
are thousands Of kinds of plants, so
there are many kinds of germs, which
] indeed are but very low plants,
speaking now from the standpoint of
classification. Because there are a
few poisonous herbs like poison ivy
we do not consider that all shrubs
are harmful to health and produce
diseases, and there is no more reason
for considering that bacteria produce
diseases simply because there are a
few transgressors in this respect in
the total number known. On the
other hand, germs produce a great
deal of good in the world; they ret
our flax so that we are able to pro-
duce fine linen; they cause our milk
to sour instead Of undergoing other
changes which sometimes take place
instead OF ordinary souring and which
make such milk poisonous; they cause
garbage and other offal, thrown on
the soil SO carelessly in most rural
communities, to disappear, and there.
by they are preserving health; in
fact, our very life depends upon them
because occurring in such immense
quantities in the intestines as they
do they are very beneficial helpers in
the processes of digestion of food.
Likewise it is through their action
that soil is rendered fertile, that it
becomes enriched in nitrogen, car.
Donates, sulfates and humus.
Speaking now more particularly OF
bacteria In relation to the soil itself,
we may see that they are governed
by certain physical conditions and
laws, and upon these points depends
the success of the ordinary farmers
methods OF tilling and cultivating. In
the first place, tho ordinary bacteria
which produce humus require air.
Some kinds OF bacteria there are
which grow better without the pres
ence Of free air, but almost all of
those which work to the best advan-
tage in soil depend upon an open
texture, consequently we find that q
hard and compact soil does not turn
black as readily, is not as fertile as q
soil which Is laid open and light. Air
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