Show BACTERIA IN THE SOIL I 1 farmer owes immense debt to little germs waterlogged water logged land and becomes worth lea for many purposes because of inability of organisms to develop owing to moisture Molt turc by in E 0 PE rE TEnSON laboratory of 0 bacteriology utah agricultural col logo the average farmer armor seldom realizes to the fullest extent the immense debt he be owes to the bacteria of the soil it la Is very often a surprise to him to hour bear that the continued fertility of at the soil bolt la Is due almost wholly to these theao minute organisms which lie he never les bees but which aro are present in astounding numbers in every handful of soil eoll on hla his farm A soil exceptionally for tile la Is exceptionally rich in those these organisms gan gani lams sms A dead worn out a soli all to la ono olio in which the organisms do not occur or it if they do occur refuse to grow successful farm practice consists quite largely in supplying condl tlona eions ln in the soil which are favorable tayo rable for the growth ot of beneficial organisms and detrimental to the growth of harmful organisms cultivation of tho the soil la Is a method tu supply air to the organisms which demand air tho the application ot of a certain amount of moisture to tho the soil la is it a beneat in ono one way because of tho the tact fact that the bacteria of tho the soil sell demand a certain amount of moisture for or their beat growth A soil boll which becomes waterlogged water logged becomes worth aas for many purposes because of tho the inability of tho the organisms to develop duo due to the overabundance of moisture find and other secondary influences the presence of at too mush muja alkali in a soil or of at an add acid soil eoll to la likewise harmful to the development of the organisms in other words the bacteria ol of the soil boll are ara nn an index to its fertility and every farmer whether ho he knows it or not la Is a bacteriologist in that lie ho la is continually trying to cultivate these unseen friends of his by ordinary farm methods me t cods hods recent advances in soil bacteriology indicate that wo we aro are on tho the eve ot of a now era regarding our knowledge of at soft boll processes Che chenista mista havo have dew dem rated that certain western solla soils are immensely fertile due to tho the presence la in them of exceptionally largo large quantities of at fityo nitrogen a inow bacteriologists lor t it iii known that I 1 in n uta utah es acl ally and similar western soils there to la a germ called which thrives with remarkable vigor this germ ba has 2 the power of at drawing d directly plant food from the air and 11 storing it in the soil without the aid of any other plant the mysteries of at are remarkable it sometimes can be found in large numbers in fit tho soil and sometimes about abou to disappear exactly what this var variation ladou Is s due to la Is not known but undoubtedly much ot of the mystery surrounding soil boll fertility cal cai be solved ed by finding out how these wonderful borms act it Is a part of every farmers information n that such crops as alfalfa beans pens peas clover and vetch add remarkably mar kably to the fertility of the soil boll the observant agriculturist knows also that on the roots of at tb those re plants are small nodules or swellings which it has haa been found oro are tho the breeding i places of bacteria which feed the plant upon which they live dl gettly from the air it if these bacteria are absent from the soil the plant in some cases refuses to develop to its full vigor this action or of the bacteria places in the farmers far merB hands a weapon for always keeping hla his soil eoll at a i high point of fertility by the proper rotation of crops in order to utilize these powerful germs germa to his bis advantage bacteriologists are attempting to discover the exact number ot of germs which are important in soil eoll fertility maintenance and further more what ones are detrimental to the soil eoll they hope to be able ultimately to diagnose the soil exactly as aa we now dlag nase the human body by finding what germs are growing ira in it they havo have already devised methods of enriching the toll soil by growing la in the laboratory lea ies bottles full ot of bene beneficial Acla I 1 organisms hild and pouring these on the seed before it la Is sown any visitor to the bacteria laboratory of the agricultural college can see these germs germa growing in small flasks flacks ach containing from three million to four billi billions ont bd bacteria etorla fortunately most intermountain inter liter mountain soils contain these germs gerins in abend anaf sq a it may never be necessary to use tetra froni from the tha laboratory on tho the toll soil however wo we may bo be able to develop germs in the laboratory of an exceptionally high power ot of soil eo 11 ll enrichment rich ment even tho the most conservative scientist realizes that tb tho future of df scientific agriculture Is very closely associated with the future ot of soil bacteriology teri along with probable methods of 0 may come of protection of the soil by artificial inoculation with bacteria and methods of coil cure troia from diseases by bacterial inoculation these statements read tike like romance but the development at 0 bacteriology as aa a virbin the last fast two or three decades his has thrown open a field so immense thai the bold tot at imagination Is 1 staggered aggred et |