1912 . 
the: rural new-vorker 
09 
II 
YOUR LAND is wortkTEN MILLION DOLLARS 
PER ACRE 
W HAT would you say, what would you think 
-—if you were told in all seriousness, that 
your land was worth TEN MILLION DOL¬ 
LARS PER ACRE? And yet at the price 
you are paying for commercial fertilizers, 
there is ten million dollars’ worth of nitrogen 
belonging to every acre of land you own. 
Going into the market and paying big prices for 
nitrogen when you have such a large supply right 
on your farm is not the best business policy, though 
hundreds of thousands of farmers are doing this very 
thing. 
Perhaps you have not known your farm was so 
valuable, or if you did know of the great riches be¬ 
longing to it. you may not have seen just how to 
avail yourself of this immense wealth. 
Now nitrogen is the most essential thing in the 
world. It is demanded by all crops; it forms the 
chief material of all plants ; it is the cause of the rich 
green color and the luxurious growth of all foliage. 
The fertility of all soil is dependent upon the amount 
and form of its nitrogen contents. 
The Great Inexhaustible Source 
of Nitrogen is the Air 
Four-fifths of the air is nitrogen. It is estimated 
that there are more than 75,000,000 pounds of atmos¬ 
pheric nitrogen resting over overv acre of land, there¬ 
fore there are more than THIRTY-SEVEN THOUSAND 
TONS of nitrogen over every acre of your land, and 
this nitrogen, figured on a basis of the prevailing price 
of nitrogen fertilizers, is worth fully TEN MILLION 
DOLLARS per acre. 
Put the great drawback is. these riches are not 
easily available—they cannot be grasped—they are 
like a gold-mine in the bottom of the ocean, and yet 
it is certain the nitrogen is there, floating over your 
land, yours by every riyht, millions of dollars worth 
of it, and yet many of you go to town every year. 
exchange gold for nitrogen which you haul back to 
your farms and spread over your fields. 
Now there is one way to profit by these riches—a 
positive, simple and economical way and this is what 
we are leading to. 
Let us explain— 
How Legume Crops Enrich the Soil 
Fo>‘ centuries it has been known that turning 
clover under was a good way to manure land, but 
no one knew why. 
Less than fifty years ago German agriculturists 
discovered that clover and other legumes had the 
power of gaining nitrogen from sonic unknown source, 
Still later. Willfarth 
and llellriegel, German 
scientists, established 
the fact that clover. Al¬ 
falfa, peas, beans and 
other legumes might. 
through the agency of 
genns, or bacteria, make 
use of the free nitrogen 
of the air. 
Then followed a most 
important discovery— 
that these bacteria 
which lived on the 
roots of the legumes in 
little nodules or tuber¬ 
cles, not only made the 
crop richer, hut put 
more nitrogen into the 
so/? than the crop took 
away. 
For a while it looked 
as though a way had 
been found whereby 
every farmer could 
prpduec his own nitrogen right on his farm at no 
trouble or expense. The scientific world was stirred 
«5' the possibilities of this discovery. 
Difficulties arose, however. The bacteria must first 
be supplied. Few soils contained such bacteria, and 
still worse, each legume must have its own particular 
bacteria. 
It was then proposed to inoculate the soil which 
contained no bacteria by scattering over it some soil 
which was known to contain bacteria. This was and 
is now called 
Soil Inoculation 
But again troubles arose. Hauling quantities of 
soil considerable distances and spreading it over large 
areas was expensive and burdensome. Dozens of plant 
diseases such as club-root, brown-rot, leaf-spot, as 
well as many noxious weeds and insect pests were 
transferred to the soil. In short, inoculation by the 
soil transfer method was too expensive, too uncertain 
and too dangerous. 
Then came the next step.—the most important of 
all -which promised to clear away all troubles. In¬ 
stead of transferring soil from field to field why not 
inoculate the seed before it is sown ! This is exactly 
what Nobhe and Ililtner proposed and put into effect, 
and all literature on this subject gives these two 
German bacteriologists and soil experts credit for 
being the originators of this, the pure culture 
METHOD OF SOIL INOCULATION. 
The soil could now be inoculated with certainty 
and with little expense. The scientific world stamped 
this step as final and the whole problem was marked: 
“solved.” NITROGEN-COULD FINALLY BE MADE 
ON THE FARM. 
Use of Pure Cultures for Inoculation 
The commercial production and distribution of these 
pure cultures was at once undertaken by Nobbe and 
Ililtner. The bacteria were carefully selected, highly 
bred in a jelly or food and sent out in bottles. The 
farmer had only to dilute the contents of the bottle 
with milk, wet the seed with the diluted solution 
Nodules on Roots of 
Soy-Bean 
when, after drying, the seed could be sown in the 
usual manner. In other words, he sowed the bacteria 
with the seed. 
Nobbe and Ililtner named this product “NITRAGIN” 
(pronounced NI-TRA-GENE), which name they regis¬ 
tered all over the world as a trade mark. It was 
registered in the United States December G, 1S9S, 
as No. 32,212. 
The name “NITRAGIN” comes from the word nitro¬ 
gen. In one sense it means nitrogen; for it repre¬ 
sents a product that enables a farmer to put nitrogen 
into his soil and into his crops by nature’s own 
method. 
Early Use of “NITRAGIN” 
“NITRAGIN" was sold all over the old world and 
in Germany. France, England and other countries; 
thousands of acres of land were inoculated by this 
Nobbe-Hiltner method. 
“NITRAGIN” was not for a few years marketed in 
tlie United States and Canada, but these governments 
undertook the introduction of the pure culture method 
of soil inoculation on their own account, in order to 
encourage this safer, easier and more practical 
method. The United States Department of Agricul¬ 
ture distributed these organisms in the dry or dor¬ 
mant form on bits of cotton. 
Thus practically the whole world accepted, endorsed 
and adopted the Nobbe-IIiltner seed-inoculation 
method. 
However, many disappointments followed these early 
experiences, and in spite of this, world-wide endorse¬ 
ment. the problem had not yet been entirely solved. 
To select the proper bacteria for each legume, 
breed them to a high point of nitrogen-gathering 
ability and then transport these organisms from the 
laboratory to the farm, without loss of virulence was 
a greater problem than it first appeared. The cul¬ 
tures sent out on cotton by our government were 
found practically useless, as were the cultures mar¬ 
keted in the U. S. and Canada by two or three com¬ 
mercial concerns. Even “NITRAGIN” did not come 
up to the early expectations of Nobbe and Ililtner. 
“NITRAGIN” Finally a Complete 
Success 
Meanwhile Nobbe and Ililtner continued in the 
great work they had undertaken, and gradually, year 
by year, they overcame the obstacles in their way. 
Obstacles always inherent in problems so profound 
as this were one by one swept away. Though always 
to a degree successful, “NITRAGIN” was not a per¬ 
fected product until it had gone through the evolu¬ 
tionary stages incident to all great improvements. 
Fifteen years were devoted to this work by Nobbe and 
Ililtner. 
Right here let another finish this story. 
Jacob G. Lipman, in his latest work published in 
1911. entitled “Bacteria in Relation to Country Life.” 
page 229, says: “A gradual improvement has been 
made in the character of artificial cultures and has 
led, within the last two or three years, to very 
gratifying returns from their use in Germany. The 
so-called new ‘NITRAGIN’ is restoring the confidence 
in artificial culture. Extensive experiments with such 
cultures, conducted throughout Germany, and espe¬ 
cially Bavaria, have yielded very promising results 
within the last three years. A positive increase from 
inoculation has been obtained, not only on soils that 
have never borne legumes, but also on-'cultivated soils 
in which these crops (legumes) have been raised 
more or less extensively The latter fact is of con¬ 
siderable significance because it shows that the intro¬ 
duction of artificial culture into the soil may add to 
it not only a large number of organisms, but also the 
kind that are more vigorous and more efficient than 
those already present there.” (The italics in the 
above are ours.) 
Use of “NITRAGIN” Now World 
Wide 
During the past five years “NITRAGIN” in its im¬ 
proved form has been successfully, used by all the 
great nations in the world. Last year, in Europe 
alone, over one million acres of land were “NITRA¬ 
GIN” treated. 
The new “NITRAGIN” has been marketed in 
America some three years by the German-Ainerican 
“NITRAGIN” Co., of Milwaukee, Wis., under the direct 
supervision of Dr. M. O. Reiche, soil expert and bac¬ 
teriologist. Dr. Reiche was for many years a student 
of and later an assistant to Dr. Ililtner, Dean of the 
Royal Agricultural Experiment Station of Munich. 
Germany, co-inventor and associate of Nobbe—during 
which time ho assisted Dr. Ililtner in perfecting 
“NITRAGIN” and is therefore familiar, in every de¬ 
tail. with all the best methods used in preparing this 
product for the market. This brings us to the final 
state. 
“NITRAGIN” Now Supplied in Im¬ 
proved Form and Its Virulence 
Guaranteed 
Though “NITRAGIN,” to all intents and purposes, 
was a perfected product four years ago. Dr. Ililtner 
was still trying to find a medium other than a liquid, 
in which the cultures could be bred and shipped, 
which would be less liable to injury by breakage, 
freezing, etc., and more convenient to use. This 
problem he has solved during the past few years and 
“NITRAGIN” will hereafter be marketed all over the 
world in powdered or granulated form packed in 
strong tin receptacles. 
Dr. Reiche went to Munich last Summer to learn 
from Dr. Ililtner direct all about this improved 
method. 
The German-American “NITRAGIN” Co., a Wis¬ 
consin corporation, owns the trade naVne “NTTRAGIN” 
and the exclusive right to produce in the United 
GERMAN-AMERICAN “NITRAGIN” CO. 
States, Canada and Mexico, pure bacteria cultures as 
prepared by the improved Nobbe-Hiltner process. 
The stockholders of this Company are representa¬ 
tive business men. Their chief aim is to deliver this 
product to the people of America in as complete and 
perfect form as possible, and give them the same bene¬ 
fits that are accruing to the countless users of 
“NITRAGIN” throughout the old world. 
What “NITRAGIN” is—How Used 
“NITRAGIN” is a pure culture of the various bac¬ 
teria needed to inoculate legume crops. It comes in 
powdered or granulated form and. after being mixed 
with a little sugar and water, is applied to the seeds 
before sowing. A distinct strain of bacteria is needed 
for each type of legume. We prepare a special 
“NITRAGIN ' for Alfalfa, another for each of the 
clovers, another for cowpeas, and so on for all the 
legumes, including Alfalfa, red clover, mammoth 
clover, crimson clover, Alsike clover, white clover, 
yellow clover, garden peas, Canada field peas, cow- 
peas, navy beans, lima beans, soy beans, the vetches 
and serradella. 
What “NITRAGIN” Does 
As explained in preceding paragraphs these bacteria 
(“NITRAGIN”) invade the roots of legumes, form 
nodules there, draw in the nitrogen from the air and 
convert it into form available for plant food. In ad¬ 
dition to supplying all the nitrogen needed by the grow¬ 
ing crop of legumes a deposit of 150 to 200 pounds 
of pure nitrogen is put into the soil for the benefit 
of succeeding crops. This amount of nitrogen, if 
bought in commercial fertilizers, as you well know, 
would cost you $20 to $30. Why pay out $20 to $30 
per acre for fertilizers when you liave ten million 
dollars’ worth of nitrogen over every acre of your 
farm? 
By using “NITRAGIN” to inoculate legume crops, 
and then turning these crops under as green-manure, 
you can 
Enrich the Soil 
Improve the Crops 
Enhance the Value of Your Land 
Maintain Fertility in the Soil 
Revitalize “Worn-out” Land 
Get a “Catch” 
of Alfalfa 
Anywhere 
In other words, 
there is no longer 
a need to worry 
about your hind 
wearing out, no 
need to buy ex¬ 
pensive fertilizers 
which cost you 
as much as the 
crop is worth, no 
need to think of 
abandoning land 
that now seems 
wort hi ess be¬ 
cause it produces 
so little. “NI¬ 
TRAGIN” solves 
the problem of 
restoring and maintaining 
all. 
Convincing Proof of What 
“NITRAGIN” Will Do 
soil fertility once and for 
Special Introductory Offer 
In order to convince you that “NITRAGIN” is a 
success—that it will do all or more than we claim, 
we have decided upon a most liberal plan of sharing 
the cost with farmers who will write us at once, mail¬ 
ing the coupon below, carefully filled out. This offer 
is open to you, no matter where you live or what 
legume crop you want to plant. But you must act 
quickly for this offer is for a limited time only. To 
avoid disappointment, send the coupon note. 
Free Bulletin Tells All 
What we have said about “NITRAGIN,” soil inocu¬ 
lation and legume crops as fertility maintainers, in 
this advertisement, is merely a scratching of the sur¬ 
face. We can't tell you half the facts in this limited 
space so we have prepared a special three-color bulle¬ 
tin, “Old Farms Made New” which shows, by actual 
photograph and bona-fide testimonial letters from 
prominent users, just what “NITRAGIN” will do. 
In short, it proves all we have said here. 
It will be to the advantage of every man who culti¬ 
vates land to see and read this bulletin. It explains 
and proves the most remarkable agricultural dis¬ 
covery of the 20th century. We want you to have 
a copy of this bulletin whether you ever use a ^ 
cent’s worth of “NITRAGIN” or not. Send ▼ 
for the bulletin now—take time to read it— 
profit by 1 he truths it con I ains—prepare to 
make a bigger success of farming next 
year. 
The bulletin is free —just send the 
coupon, that’s all. 
of> 
o*V 
f German- 
American 
“NITRAGIN” 
Company 
261 Mason Street 
Milwaukee, Wis. 
In addition to sending you 
the bulletin, we will explain ^ 
our interesting lntroduc- ~ Gentlemen:— 
tory Offer on “NIT It A- -v 4 , , Please send me your 
GIN,” which you can W bulletin, “Old Farms Made 
take advantage of or New,” and full particulars of 
not,, just as vou o W , your cost sharing offer to inocu- 
wish. Fill out ± of m Y land with 
and mail the V* W “NITRAGIN.” 
coupon now A + err ( x jin one oh;thk squares below 
‘ t I I I am not familiar with experiments 
gets mis- , + [_J with “NITRAGIN” for soil inocu¬ 
lation. 
laid. 
261 MASON STREET 
MILWAUKEE, WIS., U. S. A. 
V □ wltt 
✓ 
j Name. 
Address. 
