Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-09-17
PLAN TO |NOCULATE
PLANTS WITH BACTERIA
Corporation Being Formed to Manu-
facture Plant Food for
~ LcgumeS.
EXTRACT NITROGEN FROM AIR
Method of Preparing Farmogerm
and Phosphogcrm Bacteria Has
Been Perfected, and Distributing
Plan Will Soon Be Announced.

prices OF leTtlilzerS ana the SteduiiS
increasing demand upon the nitrate de-
Siposits of the world by the munitions
.'Innkers the farmers OF Virginia and
(. the South. in fact of the entire coun-
~ try. are fortunate. in that seHerai
prominent Richmond capitalists aro
about to incorporate a SloOo.o0o COM
rpany for the manufacture OF plant
food for leCumeS inoculatcd with bac-
terra which will extract nitrogen from
: the air. thereby replacing the mineral
fertilizers. and at a much less cost
than these can he purchased
The cultures of these bacteria are or
= two kinds. farmogerm and phospho-
germ and the method or preparing
them has been patented by Dr. q. II.
Earp-Thomas. who came to America
from New Zealand in 1905.
The theory of extracting nitrogen
from the air and employing II as pan,
food is not new. but the successful pro-
cess Of SO doing. which DR.. carp
Thomas has evolved, is new
Like most OF the discoveries pertain
Ing in the slightest Way to the manu-
=. facture or use of chemicals. we arc
indebted to Germany for the sugges-
tion that nitrogen could be extracted
from the air.
In 1903, German scientist named
Thaer stated that leguninous crops
: peas, beans. clover. alfalfa and the like
enriched the soil by drawing nitro
gen from the air and depositinG It In
1.-the soil through the decay OF the roots
and stubblc. Other scientists CONFIRM
=. ed ThaerS theory. ano demonstrated
that legumcs Increased the amount OF
nitrogen in the soil, but none OF them
could explain the reason until Woro-
min. in 1866. proved that II was by
means of the nodules, or swellinSs, On
the roots Of leEumes that the nitrogen
extracting organisms. or bacteria. led
the nitrogen to the soil
RESULT OF LONG
SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS
Successful use of the bacteria was
not perfected. however. until 1898.
when Noble conceived the idea or
causing incubation of seed by means
of leeume bacteria. Through rrm
OF chemists in Germany Noble offered
10 supply the bacteria for certain ie-
EumiMous crops.
His scheme. however. was not so
commercially profitable because the
medium in which hcgrew his bacteria
was SO rich in nitrogen ;hat the
bacteria. from feeding on The nitrates.
instead OF extracting the nitrogen gas
from the air. failed TO produce suill-
rient nodules 10 increase the yield of
the legumcs. After some time these
cultures were Withdrawn from the
I.i.rkct.
,n inglishman, pr George Is. Moore.
took up the effort At culture oi the
bacteria, and in 1904 came to this coun-
,ry and was employed by the United
States Department Of Agriculture to
develop q successful method Of culti-
waiting the bacteria
Or. Moore evolved q plan OF drying
the bacteria in cotton. which was sent
OCT 10 farmers with instructions for de-
veioping them in certain solution of
salts also supplied by the department.
But this process necessitated the APP
.hica,ion Of ammonium phosphate on
growth,
Some Of these packages of cotton
!, distributed at large among farmers
raising ieEuminous crops produced very
.. Satisfactory results. but the majority
wc-e inter failures, and the govern
n.ent&.gave Np III. distribution At the
eud-uf.. year. Later II was found that
many OF the bacteria had died during
the process OF drying in the cotton.
However, the success OF some of the
packages: tina, IS those in whic. the
bacteria had remained alive. indica ed
the practicabiiity Of inoculating the
seeds of eSumcs with bacteria. which
would extract nitrogen from the air,
provided that satisfactory method
cpOll ne devised tOr tnelr distribution.
BEGAN HIS EXPERIMENTS
WHILE IN SEW ZEALAND
In the meantime, in New ZealaIl.
Or. carp Thomas Was taking a course
in industry and medicine at Dunedine
College. He had heard Of the efforts
Of Noble TO grow cultures OF nitrogen
extracting bacteria and during his col
leEe course ne devoted practically all
his time to similar experiments,
Coming to America in 1905. he took
course at Trinity College. Toronto.
Can. and ;hen came to the United
States Having been successful in
growing the bactcri;, cultures in "a GER
tain Kind OF jelly, Dr. EarpThomas
Got into communication with the De
parimeut o: Agriculture at Washing
ton. but failed To make arrangements
that were satisfactory 10 him. He
however. obtained patents on his cnl-
- ture growing and soon sough, t. in
terest capitalists in his plan. establish
ing laboratories and experiment sta
lions at Bloomfield y. !.
After a while Representatives Of the
fertilizer companies came to him and
asked TO have their experts expert.
ment with his culture. To this the
doctor agreed, and after q series Of
very severe tests their agents offered
him $3.50, 600 for his patents DR. Earn.
holders, held out for 100000. TIL,
compa nies refused TO pay this price.
The bacteria raised by the doctor.
process about one-twenty- five
thousandth OF an inch in length anc
will add 10 the soil in single season
as much nitrogen as could be obtatnet
from half ton OF nitratcs. at "A COS
per acre for the bacteria OF about 81
against $50 or $50 for the mineral fer
tilizer.
METHOD DEVISED FOR
DISTRIBUTION OF BACTERIl
The method the doctor has devise,
for the distribution Of the bacteria
which 10 the ail-important thing. con
Bists Of a bottle in which is placed
certain amount OF Il specially prepare
jelly and this jei-y is inoculated wiz
culture OF the bacteria In order I
keep out deleterious substances. Dl
Earp-Thomas has devised a specia
rubber StODDtr through which iC -,