Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 February 1912 — Nitro-Fxing Bacteria. [ARTICLE]

Nitro-Fxing Bacteria.

Mr. O. C. Given discussed the nitro-gen-fixing organisms that are not associated with the legumes. We have heard much about the ones that work in connection with clover, peas, etc., giving us cheap nitrogen, but there are groups of bacteria engaged in the same work that are hot associated with legumes, and they are effective agents in supplying the land with nitrogen when the soli is kept rich in humus and does not lack any lime. Moisture and soil aeration are important to these bacteria. In the aggregate, big stores of nitrogen are supplied to the soil by these bacteria, of which relatively little has been said. It is the soil in fine tilth that profits most by these little friends of the farmer.