MICROBES MAN S MIGHTY MIDGETS 49 



culosis and syphilis and the debilitating effects of prolonged fevers, the ad- 

 vances of surgery made possible by the almost complete control of secondary 

 infections, and the increased productivity of our population which stems in 

 substantial measure from improvements in our national health and nutrition. 

 The foregoing account represents in no wise a complete picture of the 

 contributions of microorganisms to man's progress during the past half cen- 

 tury. We have said nothing about the many ways in which microorganisms 

 have contributed to our basic knowledge of vital processes such as cellular 

 metabolism and heredity. We have not included, except indirectly, their vast 

 contributions to agriculture. Our coverage of industrial application has been 

 incomplete, for we have not included the alcoholic fermentation, the oldest 

 and largest application of all. We have said nothing about the possible use 

 of microbial cells as a source of protein for human and animal feed. But what 

 has been said, I believe, will provide a basis for a truer appreciation of their 

 increasing contributions to our economy and well-being. Considered as indi- 

 viduals the microorganisms are midgets in the extreme ; considered collectively 

 these smallest plants constitute a mighty and often unbelievably ingenuous 

 labor force for us to enlist and direct. As we learn more and more about the 

 hidden secrets of their life processes and the diversity of the reactions they 

 can perform, it is inevitable that they should become used on an ever-widening 

 scale. We have hardly crossed the threshold of the microbiological age. 



LITERATURE CITED 



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Blakiston. New York. 

 LocKwooD, L. B. 1952. Industrial enzymes — Production and use. Trans. N.Y. Acad. 



Sci. Ser. II, 15:2-5. 

 Raper, Kenneth B. 1952. A decade of antibiotics in America. Mycologia 44:1-59. 

 Stodola, F. H., and R. W. Jackson. 1950-51. Fermentation acids in industry, pp. 



84-92, in Yearbook of Agriculture (Crops in peace and war). 

 Underkofler, L. a., and R. J. Hickey (Eds.). 1954. Industrial fermentations. 



Vol. 1, pp. 1-565; Vol. 2, pp. 1-578. Chemical Publishing Co. New York. 

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