Agricultural Conjurers 59 



the Federal Government, or from State agri- 

 cultural or other laboratories, artificial living 

 cultures of these wonder working germs with 

 which he may inoculate his field. Then he 

 may leave them in the rootlets of his crops 

 to conjure from the air, by day and by night, 

 this precious atmospheric nitrogen. This the 

 higher plant will thrive upon and thriftily store 

 away for the future uses of man and beast. 



There are certain other bacteria in the 

 ground which can fix the atmospheric nitro- 

 gen as they grow and so enrich the soil. In 

 this way fields, which have plenty of vege- 

 table mould, may improve when allowed to go 

 fallow for a time. But the various forms of 

 nodule bacteria which join forces with the 

 peas and beans and clovers in turning air 

 into gold are the more dramatic conjurers 

 which modern science has presented to the 

 farmer. You will find plenty of pictures in 

 the books which deal with scientific agricul- 

 ture, showing lean beans with their nodule- 

 less roots beside others, the nodular and 

 leafy opulence of which betokens their silent 

 partnership with the atmosphere. 



