Magazine  of  the  School  of  Agriculture. 
77 
GENERAL  ITEMS. 
Mr.  Falconer  Ring,  City  Analyst,  Edinburgh, 
lecturiug  on  the  work  of  bacteria  in  the  soil, 
said  that  bacteria  were  of  advantage  to  the  farmer 
in  the  manipulation  of  his  soil,  as  well  as  in 
the  manipulation  of  his  dairy  produce.  In  all 
fertile  soils,  bacteria  was  present  doing  useful 
work.  They  had  also  a good  deal  to  do  with 
the  nourishing  of  plant  life.  In  the  atmosphere 
there  existed  practically  an  inexhaustive  supply 
of  nitrogen  (the  most  costly  manurial  substance 
that  farmers  had  to  buy),  but  it  was  not  in  a 
form  in  which  plants  by  themselves  could  make 
substantial  use  of  it.  Bacteria,  however,  came 
to  the  assistance  of  the  plants,  and  enabled  them 
to  assimilate  atmospheric  nitrogen,  and  to  use 
it  in  building  up  their  structures.  In  the  soil 
also  bacteria  changed  such  substances  as  urine, 
which  was  of  no  use  to  the  plant  itself,  into 
a most  valuable  ammonia  salt.  Another  change, 
the  importance  of  which  to  the  farmer  it  was 
impossible  to  over-estimate,  was  the  reduction 
of  the  nitrogenous  compounds  in  the  soil  to  the 
condition  of  soluble  nitrates.  In  the  case  of 
other  forms  of  plant  food,  the  germs  also  per- 
formed most  useful  work.  Such  substances  as 
phosphates  and  potassium  salts  were  broken  up 
by  them,  and  in  all  probability  handed  over  to 
the  plant  in  a form  fitted  for  assimilation.  One 
of  these  bacteria  fed  on  sulphur  and  another  on 
iron  compounds,  and  it  was  possible  that  the 
plant  supply  of  sulphur  and  iron  necessary  for 
its  existence  was  obtained  from  these  bacteria. 
Seeing  that  these  organisms  were  extremely 
minute,  and  that  they  did  a vast  amount  of 
work,  it  followed  that  in  all  soil  they  must  be 
very  plentiful.  It  had  been  calculated  that  every 
fertile  soil  would  contain  in  as  much  as  would 
lie  on  a sixpence  no  less  than  two  millions  of 
them.  To  do  their  work  properly  these  bacteria 
must  be  under  certain  conditions.  Some  of  them, 
for  example,  required  fresh  supplies  of  nitrogen. 
They  all  required  nourishing  materials  contain- 
ing certain  chemical  elements.  They  all  required 
water,  and  they  all  required  a certain  temperature, 
many  of  them  being  killed  by  frost.  In  con- 
clusion, Mr.  King  pointed  to  the  great  advantage 
it  would  be  if  farmers  knew  and  were  able  to 
control  the  working  of  these  different  kinds  of 
bacteria.  They  talked  of  different  treatment  of 
soils,  of  different  kinds  of  soils,  and  of  manures 
suitable  for  different  crops.  What  if  this  difference 
of  treatment  of  soil,  and  difference  of  manuring 
was  but  an  assisting  or  helping  of  the  proper 
organisms  to  do  the  work  required  of  them  in 
feeding  their  crops  P He  could  not  help  thinking 
that  in  a great  measure  it  was,  and  he  hoped 
the  day  was  not  far  distant  when  a greatly 
extended  knowledge  of  bacteria  would  enable 
them  to  farm  in  a much  more  scientific,  and, 
he  hoped,  a more  profitable  manner  than  they 
did  at  present. 
The  New  South  Wales  Agricultural  Gazette 
refers  to  Crinum  asiaticum  (S.  telaboo)  as  follows : — 
“Another  plant,  Crinum  tovicarium,  Roxb.,  is 
cultivated  in  Indian  gardens,  and  has  been  admitted 
into  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India  as  an  emetic. 
It  has  handsome  white  flowers  and  fine  foliage, 
growing  wild  in  some  parts  of  India  and  Ceylon.” 
C'  asiaticum  is  not  commonly  found  in  a wild 
condition,  though  it  is  often  used  as  a hedge 
plant.  The  juice  of  the  leaves  is  used  by  the 
Sinhalese  in  ear-ache,  while  the  bulb  is  externally 
used  for  boils  and  internally  as  an  emetic. 
What  is  known  as  “ Blady  grass  ” in  Australia 
is  the  Sinhalese  “iluk”  ( Imperata  arundinea), 
one  of  the  greatest  enemies  of  the  cultivator 
in  some  parts  of  the  island.  It  is  looked  upon 
as  a good  stand-by  in  droughty  weather  in 
Australia,  and  if  old  stems  and  leaves  are  burnt 
off,  it  produces  a fine  growth  of  succulent  herbage 
which  cattle  are  said  to  relish. 
Tomato  leaves  have  proved  to  be  of  value  in 
an  unexpected  direction.  It  has  been  found  that 
water  in  which  a quantity  of  fresh  tomato  leaves 
have  been  steeped,  when  sprinkled  over  peach, 
roses  and  orange  trees  had  the  effect  of  totally 
routing  the  numerous  insects  of  all  kinds  which 
infested  the  trees,  and  in  two  days’  time  not 
one  of  these  pests  was  to  be  found. 
In  the  last  quarterly  issue  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Journal,  to  which  we  referred  in  our 
last  number,  Mr.  James  Mason  contributes  an 
article  on  “ Field  Experiments  on  the  Fixation  of 
Free  Nitrogen.”  Mr.  Mason  does  not  bring  out 
any  new  points  as  throwing  fresh  light  on  this 
subject,  but  gives  the  results  of  careful  experi- 
ments, among  which  are  that  in  three  crops — 
beans,  clover,  clover, — he  collected  a quantity 
of  nitrogen  equal  to  376  lb.  per  acre,  or  more 
than  1 ton  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  over  a 
period  of  three  years,  equal  to  about  750  lb.  of 
nitrate  of  soda  per  acre  per  annum.  He  con- 
cludes that  these  crops  are  capable  of  accumulat- 
ing nitrogen  in  the  soil  itself,  and  by  their 
roots  afterwards  able  to  support  so  voracious  a 
nitrogen  consuming  crop  as  potatoes. 
In  the  same  Journal  Mr.  Archibald  discourses 
on  “Wild  Birds:  Useful  and  Injurious,”  a subject 
he  began  to  treat  of  in  the  previous  quarterly 
issue.  He  is  eloquent  in  his  defence  of  the 
owl,  and  speaks  glowingly  of  the  services  this 
bird  renders  to  agriculture.  He  recalls  the  fact 
that  those  of  an  older  generation  knew  the  value 
of  the  owl,  and  left  entrances  in  their  barns 
for  its  special  convenience.  He  characterises  this 
bird  of  darkness  as  zealous  for  the  extermination 
of  mice  and  other  plagues,  and  remarks  that 
while  the  habits  of  the  owl  will  bear  the  strictest 
investigation,  this  much-maligned  bird  bears  the 
highest  character  for  honesty  and  industry.  Mr. 
Archibald  finds  himself  unable  to  make  out  a 
good  case  for  the  black-bird,  which,  though  a 
sweet  warbler  and  of  excellent  attainments,  is 
of  very  doubtful  morality. 
The  utilisation  of  straw  as  food  for  cattle  is 
the  subject  of  another  contribution  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Darby.  The  writer  quotes  Dr.  Yoelcker  to  the 
effect,  that  it  is  undoubtedly  a fact  that  some 
practical  feeders  are  in  possession  of  the  secret 
of  converting  considerable  quantities  of  straw 
into  beef,  and  Mr.  John  Coleman  ■who  has  stated 
that  by  tha  proper  admixture  of  chopped  straw 
with  other  foods,  from  i to  ^ more  cattle  9SU 
be  kept  on  a given  area  of  land, 
