75 8 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 30, 1907. 
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Bdifopiol. 
from JttmospUw. 
For some years past a supply of nitro¬ 
gen for agricultural and horticultural 
purposes has been a serious question. It 
is well known that four-fifths of the atmo¬ 
sphere consists of this valuable fertilising 
element, but in 1886 Hellriegel made the 
discovery that microbes in the nodules 
of the roots of the Pea family were cap¬ 
able of combining the free nitrogen of the 
atmosphere and storing.it up in the roots. 
On September nth 1897, we gave an 
account of the discoveries so far as they 
had been made. Some German doctors 
some< years ago also made experiments 
with metal carbides with the object of 
fixing the nitrogen of the atmosphere. 
Again, on January 14th, 1905, p. 33, we 
gave the general history of the fixation of 
nitrogen by microbes in the roots of the 
Pea family. At this time Dr. George T. 
Moore, of the Laboratory of Plant Physi¬ 
ology, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
had taken up the subject where the Ger¬ 
man doctors left it off. The plan of these 
great professors was to cultivate the or¬ 
ganisms that fixed the nitrogen, and Dr. 
Moore found that by reducing the amount 
of nitrogen in the food supply of organ¬ 
isms it made them more active in fixing 
the nitrogen of the atmosphere. 
For some time past we have been noting 
the experiments and lectures of Professor 
W. B. Bottomley. of King's College, Lon¬ 
don. He is the only scientific professor in 
this country who has taken the subject up. 
He makes no new claim to the discovery, 
according to the account given by Mr. W. 
T. Stead in the “Review of Reviews.” His 
claim is that he has merely taken up the 
subject where the United States professors 
left it. His idea is that by increasing the 
organisms in any particular culture until 
they are in a starving condition, they then 
become extremely active in fixing the 
nitrogen of the atmosphere on their own 
behalf. This remarkable organism he 
calls Pseudomonas radicicola, and says 
that it would take twenty-five thousand of 
them placed end on end to make a lineal 
inch. He does not pretend that cultures 
of these organisms put into an already 
fertile soil would produce strikingly good 
results, because when they find plenty of 
combined nitrogen to hand they simply 
become lazy. His plan is to dip*or steep 
seeds of Peas or Beans in the liquid con¬ 
taining the microbes and then to sow or 
plant these in the usual way after the 
seed becomes sufficiently dry for the pur¬ 
pose. Mr. Stead relates that “the inocu¬ 
lated seed grows faster, ripens more 
rapidly, produces larger crops of better 
quality, and leaves the soil richer than 
before.” 
Some readers may be inclined to ask 
what is the value of the discovery if it is 
only applied to members of the Pea 
family. The last sentence of the previous 
paragraph really answers the question. 
Nitrogen is an element that is always in 
request for the manuring of any kind of 
plant whatever, and should the soil have 
an insufficient quantity of this it will be 
considerably enriched by an application 
of nitrogen in some form or other. For 
instance, in poor land, whether that of a 
garden or field, if a crop of Peas, Beans, 
Tares, and presumably Scarlet Runners, 
or all of them, are first grown in the field 
and the crops removed, any other crop 
may follow next year, for the soil is by 
this time richer in nitrogen than it was 
before the Pea or Bean crops were sown. 
We are surprised that scientific men 
have not seen their way in this country to 
a much greater extent in taking up this 
subject of the fertilisation of the soil. Our 
thanks, therefore, are due all the more to 
the activity of Professor Bottomley in 
bringing this subject so prominently be¬ 
fore the British public. When the nitrate 
fields of the world are completely ex¬ 
hausted, it will be absolutely necessary 
to procure nitrogen in some way or other 
if the fertility of the fields and gardens is 
to be kept up. It is even a question of 
food supply, because Wheat and other 
kinds of grain require a large supply of 
nitrate to enable them to produce'any¬ 
thing like satisfactory crops. 
-- 
Seeds, plants, bulbs, and tubers, for 
planting or sowing, enter free of duty in 
all the South African Colonies. 
Exhibition of Market Chrysanthemums. 
A special exhibition of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums as grown for market will be held, 
under the auspices of the National Chry¬ 
santhemum Society, on December nth. in 
the Foreign Flower Market, Covent Gar¬ 
den, London, when valuable gold, silver- 
gilt and silver medals will be awarded as 
prizes. As the expenses of this Market 
Show will be defrayed by voluntary sub¬ 
scriptions, contributions to the prize fund 
are earnestly requested. A special sched¬ 
ule has,been issued, and may be obtained 
from the Secretary, Mr. Richard A. 
Witty, St. Tames’ Villa, Swains Lane, 
Highgate, N. 
THREE SETS OF . . 
Apple Blossom 
In One Year. 
It is sometimes difficult to account for | 
the behaviour of young Apple trees in 
certain seasons, as many cultivators have 1 
had a peculiar experience in this respect. 
A correspondent, Mr. B. T. Chaplin, 22, 
Brodie Road, Guildford, writes concern¬ 
ing one of his trees : — 
“ I thought you would like to see the 
enclosed photograph of a young Apple 
tree that has bloomed three times this sea- J 
son. It is Lord Suffield, and No. 1 in the I 
photograph shows a fruit from the first < 
blossom ; No. 2 small fruits from the 
second blossoming; and No. 3 shows that , 
the tree is now in bloom again (3rd No- ■ 
vember). I have had a great many come 
to see it.” 
Three sets of Apple. Blossom in one season; 
1 , fruit of the first set; 2 , 2 , small fruits of 
the second set; 3 , 3 , third set of. flowers 111 
November. 
We have seen instances of trees' pro - 1 
ducing two crops of bloom during the 
year, but they were trees that had recently 
been transplanted; some of them were 
young, but others were of good size. 
When the season happens to turn out a 
dry one during the first summer’s growth 
the tree does not seem to put forth all its 
energies, owing to the dry state of the soil 
and the damaged condition of the roots. 
Should some good showers of rain fall 
later on the tree makes fresh growth and 
flowers again, but this is usually in au¬ 
tumn rather than in summer. In other 
cases the soil may naturally be of dry 
character, and we should suspect that our 
correspondent's trees are planted either 
in the chalky soil which prevails on the 
high ground at Guildford, or on the sand 
to the south of the chalk, or on the allu¬ 
vial margin of the river. 
