BACTERIZED PEAT 95 



connection with the nutrition of plants, and perhaps 

 also so far as the treated peat is concerned in con- 

 nection with the nutrition of animals, I am reserving 

 it for a special chapter. 



To conclude the present chapter it may perhaps be 

 convenient to the reader if I append a summarized 

 statement by Mr. Alfred Machen, who has been 

 closely associated with Professor Bottomley in the 

 later stages of the research, as to the claims that can 

 be made on behalf of bacterized peat or humogen. 

 It appears in the course of an article contributed to 

 the Fruit, Flower, and Vegetable Trades Journal for 

 June of this year, and is as follows : 



" Manure has been discovered which possesses the 

 following remarkable properties : 



i. Humogen is an entirely organic material 

 (humus), a large proportion of which is soluble 

 ammonium humate. 



"2. It directly introduces into the soil the Nitro- 

 gen-fixing organisms, and provides the food necessary 

 for their rapid multiplication. 



"3. During the bacterial decomposition of the 

 peat comparatively large quantities of ' accessory 

 food bodies ' are liberated. These bodies enable the 

 plant to utilize the food in the soil by stimulating the 

 natural growth activities. 



"4. It is free from smell, dust, weed seeds, disease 

 spores, and insect pests, and is clean and pleasant to 

 handle. 



''5. An ideal and complete liquid manure is made 

 by steeping in water. So efficient is this liquid that 

 plants will actually grow in it. 



"6. The soil is made more fertile without subse- 

 quent dressing, owing to the continual bacterial 

 action." 



