1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
21 1 
THE PLANT AND ITS NITROGEN. 
WHY IT IS NEEDED ! HOW PROVIDED ! 
The Story of the Bacteria. 
Nitrogen and Motion. —In an address before the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Prof. G. C. Cald¬ 
well gave some interesting facts about nitrogen. No 
plant, high or low, can grow without this element. 
The new nitrogen compounds made by the plants play 
a vitally important part in the production of plant 
substance, therefore in the growth of the plant. This 
great work is carried on in the contents of the cells of 
the plant. It is a curious characteristic of these par¬ 
ticular chemical compounds of nitrogen that they are 
closely associated with the power of motion in animal 
life, and also in plant life ; all members of the animal 
kingdom have the power of motion, and their bodies 
consist mostly of these compounds of nitrogen. Plants 
generally have not the piwer of motion, and cannot 
move any of their parts; but the contents of young 
cells of plants are in constant motion, and those con¬ 
tents contain very much of the same nitrogen com¬ 
pounds. It is upon this very need of certaia com¬ 
pounds of nitrogen that the animal kingdom depends 
for its sustenance, since no animal can make even the 
smallest quantity of them. The leaves of the plant, 
with their multitude of microscopic cells, are the 
laboratories in which these so-important nitrogen 
compounds are produced; for all day as well as by 
night the work is going on, especially with the aid of 
sunlight by day. 
Sources of Nitrogen. —The most natural source 
is the soil in which the plants grow. There are enor¬ 
mous quantities of nitrogen in chemical combination 
in all fairly good soils—several thousands of pounds 
per acre, and in some of the rich prairie soils of the 
West, we can express the quantity in tons ; we can 
go as high as 21 tons in our estimate. An acre’s crop 
contains less than 150 pounds, and in many cases, very 
much less. There is only one defect in this supply, 
which is that it must be made available to the plant 
by means of certain chemical changes that are slowly 
going on in the soil—and so very slowly that, as a 
rule, in our ordinary soils, it is not made available as 
fast as a rapidly-growing crop needs it; hence, as a 
rule, we must supply nitrogen in fertilizers, or we 
may spend much labor in frequently tilling the soil, 
stirring it and exposing fresh surfaces to the air, and 
get as good a crop, which labor may or may not cost 
more than the fertilizer. By buying fertilizers con¬ 
taining nitrogen, by frequent tillage of a soil con¬ 
taining a fair quantity of nitrogen compounds, or 
moving farther and farther westward and planting 
seed in fresh prairie soil, we can supply the needed 
nitrogen to any crop. But all around us in the air in 
which we live is an enormous quantity of nitrogen 
which is not in chemical combination ; the stock is 
big enough to bear an ad libitum draft for an indefinite 
time. 
The Nitrogen Catchers. —One of the most inter¬ 
esting discoveries of recent times, and an exceedingly 
important one for all tillers of the soil, was made in 
1887 by two German agricultural chemists. The dis¬ 
covery was simply this : Certain plants—such as peas, 
beans, clover, vetch, lucern and lupine—belonging 
to the great family of Leguminosae, will grow luxuri¬ 
antly in a soil containing no nitrogen whatever, if 
they are generously supplied with all the other foods 
that they need, and their nitrogen is taken from the 
uncombined nitrogen in the air. In order that this 
could be accomplished, however, the soil was treated 
with a very little of an extract of a good garden soil. 
At the same time that this experiment was made, an¬ 
other with oats and buckwheat was made in the same 
manner; they grew only as long as the nitrogen in 
the seed lasted ; the extract of soil was of no use to 
them. In one of these experiments, a pea, an oat 
seed and a buckwheat seed were planted in a little 
pile of sand at the bottom of a large flask ; to the sand, 
all the foods except nitrogen were added, and also a 
little extract of soil; the flask was tightly closed, and 
put in the sunshine. The pea grew well, and was 
happy ; the other two plants soon gave up the struggle 
for life, notwithstanding that they were growing in 
closest proximity to the pea plant, and that their roots 
were mingled with the pea roots. 
This taking up of free, uncombined nitrogen from 
the atmosphere and making use of it for food is ac¬ 
complished by means of a partnership between the 
plant and bacteria. The bacteria, so to speak, build 
for themselves little houses on the roots of the plant, 
which, being round in shape, are called tubercles. It 
is supposed that the bacteria absorb the nitrogen, and 
use it with other substances that the higher plant 
may supply, to build up their own little bodies ; after 
a certain time, the plant consumes them and the nitro¬ 
gen compounds that they have made. Thus the 
higher plant is supplied with combined nitrogen, and 
can, without any other supply, grow in a normal 
manner. 
How They Get About.—A very large quantity of 
free nitrogen can thus be transformed into just those 
compounds which the plant requires and must make 
for itself. Calculations based on the result of pot ex¬ 
periments, and estimated for an acre, have shown 
that these quantities may be equal to the nitrogen in 
from 400 to 3,885 pounds of nitrate of soda ; the high¬ 
est yield was obtained with lucern ; a dressing of 
about 200 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre is usually 
considered sufficient. 
These tubercle bacteria are widely diffused in most 
arable soils, and especially in such as have been crop¬ 
ped with any leguminous crop. The bacteria do not 
spread rapidly through the soil; having no organs of 
locomotion, they cannot crawl or fly from one place to 
another. Currents of water in the soil may assist in 
their distribution. There are enough of them, one 
would say, if told that, in one case, 78,000 were found 
in a cubic inch of soil, and in another case, 143,000. 
The tubercles are developed on the roots, where they 
come in contact with these bacteria as they make 
their outward growth through the soil. They appear 
to have great resistant power against death and decay, 
for they have been found in soils which have not 
borne any leguminous crops for many years; the 
coldest weather of the Winter does not kill them. 
It is evident that an important practical use can be 
made by the farmer of this copartnership between 
certain leguminous crops and these bacteria. In Ger¬ 
many, reclaimed bog-lands have been very much im¬ 
proved by stocking them with nitrogen in this way, 
using the crops either as fodder or for green manur¬ 
ing ; but no trials have been successful in case the 
soil already contained a good supply of nitrogen, 
neither was there any better success on soils poor in 
nitrogen, if potash and phosphate were not present in 
sufficient quantity for a good crop. 
Events of the Week. 
Domestic.—A wrought-iron pipe combine, to be called the 
National Tube Company, is formed, with a capital of $60,000,000. 
Other recent trusts are Havana tobacco, salmon, whisky, vinegar, 
chewing gum and coffins. . . A cotton fire at Charlotte, N. C., 
March 2, caused a loss of $300,000. . . Six persons were buried 
by an avalanche March 3, at White Pine, Col. . . A New York 
thief was arrested March 4 for taking an overdose of Paris-green; 
he stole three cases of the poison, valued at $550, together with 
a truck and team of horses. . . At Binghamton, N. Y., the son 
of a well-to-do farmer was arrested March 4 for attempting to 
wreck a passenger train by placing a railroad tie on the rails. 
. . . Three trains were wrecked simultaneously by a landslide 
on the Pennsylvania railroad near Altoona March 5. Two men 
were killed; 30 passengers escaped. . . The rising rivers in 
Kentucky are inundating bottom lands. Several lives have been 
lost, and farmers will suffer much damage. March 6 several 
streams were higher than since 1862. The Ohio River was rising 
slowly. Charleston, W. Va., was flooded March 6, and several 
hundred families were quartered in the State House, City Hall, 
Court House, and other buildings. Richmond, Va., was also 
flooded. . . Wyoming was suffering from a snow blockade 
March* 6, all trains on the Union Pacific being tied up. . . 
Prairie fires are burning in Nueces, Starr, and Duval Counties, 
Tex , and several persons have been burned to death. In that 
section it has not rained for six months. . . Not less than 
20,000 persons in Louisville, Ky., have been vaccinated, in con¬ 
sequence of the smallpox epidemic, and fully one-fourth of this 
number of persons have been obliged to take to their beds with 
vaccination fever. . . The Old Dominion steamer Jamestown, 
with 68 passengers, raced into New York Harbor March 7 with 
her hold on fire. The Mallory Line steamer Leona, bound for 
Galveston, also came back on fire, but in both cases, the fire was 
subdued without loss of life. . . The Portuguese steamer Vega 
arrived at New York March 7, with 54 passengers from the dis¬ 
abled Cunard steamer Pavonia. The Pavonia left Liverpool for 
Boston January 24, and was not heard from until she was towed 
intoPunta Delgada, Azores, February 18. She had been battered 
by storms for 24 days, the boilers breaking loose, and battering 
the ship. Men worked waist-deep in water to fasten the boilers in 
place. Owing to the terrific sea, several steamers were unable 
to give any aid to the Pavonia, but she was finally towed to the 
Azores, under great difficulties, by the British steamer Wolviston. 
. . . The ocean tug James Bowen foundered off Hampton 
Roads during the snowstorm March 8; 11 lives lost. . . A nitro¬ 
glycerin bomb was found in front of a large office building at 
Cleveland, O., March 8. . . Riotous negro soldiers, mustered 
out at Macon, Ga., March 8, fired at the citizens from their train 
when passing through several towns. At Griffin, militia held 
them in check, but they continued their outrageous conduct after 
leaving this town. There was a serious riot at Chattanooga. 
Congress.—The River and Harbor bill caused bitter discussion, 
owing to the Nicaragua Canal amendment. The Army Appro¬ 
priation bill was passed March 3, the last day of the Fifty-fifth 
Congress being marked by hot discussions and general disorder. 
At the adjournment March 4, all of the great appropriation bills 
were passed, after each house had made concessions. The Naval 
bill provides for 12 new warships-, but no ship shall be begun 
until contracts are made for armor plate at $300 a ton. The 
Senate failed to confirm the promotions for gallantry in the army 
during the Santiago campaign. It is said that fully 900 of these 
promotions were desired, but they were all laid aside wlthou t 
action. A number of naval officers who failed to receive the ad¬ 
vance expected, included Sampson, Schley, Hobson, Evans, and 
others. It is not expected that a special session will be called 
unless there is an extraordinary change in public affairs. The 
grand total of actual appropriations for this Congress amounts 
to $1,566,899,016, of which $482,562,083 is chargeable to the war. Or¬ 
dinary appropriations are $30,747,000 over those of the previous 
Congress. Mr. Dockery predicts a deficit of $100,000,000. 
Army and Supplies—Officers and enlisted men of the volun¬ 
teers gave testimony before the Court of Inquiry March 2. A 
private of engineers, who went with the expedition to Porto Rico, 
said that the canned roast beef had a foul odor, that after eating 
it, he was ill, that after being opened but a short time, there were 
worms in the meat, and that in one can, he found the entrails of 
the animal. A can in possession of the court was shown to this 
witness, and he said that it was not the same as that issued. 
The native Porto Rico beef was not good, because cooked before 
the animal heat was out of it. A lieutenant who followed this 
witness said that the men were insufficiently fed; they subsisted 
chiefly on bacon and canned tomatoes, because the beef was bad; 
sometimes the bacon was bad, also, and there were no facilities 
for cooking it. A private, with the Cuban expedition, said that 
the canned beef was bad, and the refrigerated beef was bad; he 
said: “Ithad a nasty taste, and when eaten gave me the same 
taste as you would have after eating a bad egg. It had a green¬ 
ish mold on it. Often the fellows would refuse to take it, and a 
detail worild have to be made to bury it. There was no use kick¬ 
ing, the officers were all eating it, and we were not'there to kick.” 
The canned corned beef was said to be good. Even the Cubans 
refused the canned roast beef. . . March 3 another witness de¬ 
scribed the canned roast beef as “ bleached”, and said that some 
of it was absolutely putrid. The refrigerated beef was also 
described as very bad. On board the transport Yale, the refrig¬ 
erated beef was so offensive that it was repulsive, even in soups 
and stews. The only contrary testimony was given by a regi 
mental commissary, who said that the food was good. 
March 4 Col. Guild stated that while at Jacksonville he had re¬ 
jected 42,000 pounds of canned roast beef as unfit for use. A ser¬ 
geant of the Ninth Massachusetts testified that the canned roast 
beef had no more nutriment than boiled rope, while the refriger¬ 
ated beef had “ a deathly odor ”. Being asked to explain, he said 
that it was not the odor of putrefaction, but a sickly smell. The 
Court of Inquiry will now study conditions and processes in the 
Chicago packinghouses. 
Cuba.—The Cuban Assembly held a stormy session at Mari- 
anao March 2, the question under discussion being the payment 
of the Cuban army. It was finally decided not to accept the 
$3,000,000 offered by President McKinley as the total payment for 
the army, but to raise in addition $12,000,000, the entire $15,000,000 
being due the troops. The question is whether the Assembly can 
raise a loan without American permission. . . At Santiago, 
conditions are extremely serious. Gen. Wood is not allowed, by 
Governor-General Brooke, appropriations sufficient for the pub¬ 
lic works of the Province, consequently he will be obliged to 
throw a large number of men out of work. Owing to the lack of 
ready money in private enterprises, public employment is the 
only resource for many thousands, and their discharge will mean 
the increase of brigandage. Many Cubans say that the condi¬ 
tions are as bad as under Spanish rule, and the discontent has 
continued to grow ever since the centralization order was issued. 
. . It is said that many officers of the Cuban army are black, 
mailing the planters and other citizens, who are compelled to 
support them, in spite of American guards. . . For the month 
of March, the various Provinces, exclusive of Santiago, have 
made requisition for 2,000,000 rations. The requisition has dou¬ 
bled since that of January 1. This is due partly to the fact that 
the Cubans use every pretext to obtain rations under false pre¬ 
tenses, and partly because the distributors cannot distinguish 
between impostors and the really necessitous. . . The Govern¬ 
ment at Washington declines emphatically to be responsible for 
any loan negotiated by the Cuban Assembly. It is not likely that 
the Cubans could obtain any loan without a guarantee from our 
Government. . . Cuban shipmasters have been warned not to 
proceed to foreign ports flying the Cuban flag, as we cannot 
promise protection or recognition for it. . . The municipal 
government of Havana has decided to discharge all its employees, 
to fill their places with Cubans from the army. Many of those 
discharged are Cubans. . . March 8 the New York Sub-Treas¬ 
ury received a warrant for $3,000,000 in coin, to be distributed to 
the Cuban army. Each Cuban soldier who was in service before 
the declaration of an armistice between the United States and 
Spain is to receive $100; there are said to be 30,000 of them. Gen. 
Gomez says that it will be necessary to explain to the men that 
this $100 is merely a present from the United States, and that 
their arrears of pay will be settled by the future government of 
Cuba. . . The Havana police went on strike March 8, because 
they had not been paid for February. . . Lucien Joseph Je¬ 
rome, acting British Consul at Havana, complained to Gen. 
Brooke of insults offered him by American soldiers. Mr. Jerome 
rendered valuable services to Americans during the war, when 
he represented the United States, and is much admired by the 
Cubans because of work in behalf of their starving countrymen 
during the blockade. Gen. Brooke promises investigation into 
Mr. Jerome’s causes of complaint. 
Philippines.—The transport Morgan City, from San Francisco, 
arrived at Manila March 2. The wives and families of officers on 
board were not allowed to land, by order of Gen. Otis. Five regi¬ 
ments of infantry and part of a regiment of artillery have been 
ordered to Manila, in addition to troops already on the way. . . 
March 3, the rebels again fired on our outposts from Gaudaloupe 
church. A gunboat advanced and cleared away the enemy with 
Gatling guns. The gunboat Concord arrived at Manila after a 
week’s cruise on the west coast of Luzon. At Dagupan the Con¬ 
cord burned a schooner loaded with supplies for the rebels. . . 
The transport Sheridan, on her way to Manila, was quarantined 
at Gibraltar March 3, owing to sickness on board. The disease 
was measles, and precautions were taken merely to avoid com¬ 
municating the disease to tbe British garrison. . . The new 
shore batteries of the insurgents at Malabon opened fire on the 
gunboat Bennington March 4; the gunboat responded, demolish¬ 
ing the battery, and setting the native portion of the town on fire. 
There was also a fight at San Pedro Macati, the rebels being re¬ 
pulsed. . . March 6 a party of Oregon troops were taken in 
ambush near Manila, but after a sharp fight, the rebels were dis¬ 
persed. The rebels are throwing up defenses in all directions, 
and appear to have obtained a new supply of smokeless powder. 
• . . The Spanish commissioners, who are trying to obtain 
the release of prisoners held by the Filipinos, have offered a 
ransom of $2,000,000, but Aguinaldo demands $7,000,000. . . Active 
fighting continued for two hours near the Manila waterworks, 
March 7; the rebels were finally driven back. It is estimated that 
250 natives were killed; no American fatalities. The weather 
was extremely hot, and several of our men were prostrated. The 
natives drew out some of our men with a flag of truce, and would 
have murdered them had not the ambush been discovered. Brig.- 
Gen. Hale has withdrawn his lines to the positions they pre¬ 
viously occupied, and the insurgents have reoccupied their lost 
ground. Skirmishes continue at Iloilo. 
The Navy.—Admiral Dewey has again asked for more light- 
draught gunboats to be used in policing the Philippines. The 
Navy Department has no more light-draught vessels available 
except converted yachts, and It is feared that these are unfitted 
for the long voyage. The auxiliary gunboat Vixen will be sent, 
and possibly, the converted yacht Mayflower. . . The North 
Atlantic Squadron, under Admiral Sampson, has been ordered to 
Honduras. The appearance of the fleet is expected to hasten 
indemnity for the recent murder of an American citizen by a 
soldier during the late revolution. 
