New Britain herald., 1928-04-24
d H0lu an LUisibIe World 0f Industrious Anin1nzs

per cent of water! In "air-dry" silt ? to { per cent! And in clay, 8 to l2 per cent!
 Around each mineral particle" Dr. Lipman explains. ''is film of moisture known as 'hygro. scopic water This film in even seemingly dry an inch thick"
 The underground empire grows to best ad- vantage in moderately coarse, well-irrigated soils, where the mixture of air and water s most favorable.
 Tho soil census shows . wide range. Tn newly.broken peat, like that of . Minnesota bog, the population may he scanty-650, ,0O0 to soils, such as are found around New Brunswick, N. J.. it runs up to 1oo,ooo.ooo 0. more.
 Dr. Lpman says that most of these under. ground soil creatures live near the surface The first half inch or 50 is not 10 populous, because 1t dries out too fast, but after that the number where it is greatest. Then 1t diminishes again down to two or three feet, where it usually stops entirely. Below that there is not enough cir. more marvellous thing Is how the life of the soil prepares food for the larger plants and animals
 Since there is only limited amount of plant food in the world, the continual return of plant and animal forms to the earth is abso !utsly necessary for further life and growth" Dr. Lipman says Most people think of tho it comes about only through the presence of the micro-organisms and is lely their work Wherever they are killed of. or not present. it does not occur.
 "All plants. insect. and animals are com. posed of fats, sugars, proteins and other tngre. dients. After they die and before they can be used as food by other plants they have to be broken down into their simple chemical con. stituents; the proteins have to be separated into amino-acids. and 90 on. With the ingredients into which they separate organic matter the nicro-orsansms mix various necessary minerals from the particles of the soil.
 Every dried leaf, every cornstak, every dead rat, every particle of organic matter from withdrawn from circulation If it were not re. stored to circulation. the whole volume of ma. terial available for new life would be lessened. After while we would have only an earth piled high with carcssses and dead plants"
 Dr. Lpman says that man can stop for . population When food Is canned. for example, the micro-organisms are killed by heating, and the sealed-up contents will keep indefinitely. But open the can and . new set of tho micro scoptc workers gets at it from the air or from water or from the earth.
 We can also use extremely low tempera- tures-freesing or cold storage" he says "We can use poisons-as with embalming, or preserv- ing in alcohol or pckling We can use disin.
 "Mummies have resisted decay for thousands of years; embaning killed of the micro-organ. isms. The Egyptians were aided by tho fact that the air of the Nile Valley is very dry.
 "Sciencs is not alone in checking, at least temporarily, the work of the invisible empire Since the microscopic workes require moisture, Nature dries out the things she needs to protect against the processes of decay the plant seeds that have to be kept from season to season."
 Tn the world of the soil are both plants and animals. There arc different races and nations
 and tribes. Some clans are bitterly at war.
 soms arc friendly
 'sThs biggest class" Dr. Lipman says, ''s
 made up of bacteria. Some can move about.