Part 4 (1/2)
There are still other methods by which nitrogen is being lost from the food cycle. First, we may notice that the ordinary processes of vegetation result in a gradual draining of the soil and a throwing of its nitrogen into the ocean. The body of any animal or any plant that chances to fall into a brook or river is eventually carried to the sea, and the products of its decomposition pa.s.s into the ocean and are, of course, lost to the soil. Now, while this gradual extraction of nitrogen from the soil by drainage is a slow one, it is nevertheless a sure one. It is far more rapid in these years of civilized life than in former times, since the products of the soil are given to the city, and then are thrown into its sewage Our cities, then, with our present system of disposing of sewage, are draining from the soil the nitrogen compounds and throwing them away.
In yet another direction must it be noticed that our nitrogen compounds are being lost to plant life--viz., by the use of various nitrogen compounds to form explosives. Gunpowder, nitro-glycerine, dynamite, in fact, nearly all the explosives that are used the world over for all sorts of purposes, are nitrogen compounds. When they are exploded the nitrogen of the compound is dissipated into the air in the form of gas, much of it in the form of free nitrogen. The basis from which explosive compounds are made contains nitrogen in the form in which it can be used by plants.
Saltpetre, for example, is equally good as a fertilizer and as a basis for gunpowder. The products of the explosion are gases no longer capable of use by plants, and thus every explosion of nitrogen compounds aids in this gradual dissipation of nitrogen products, taking them from the store of plant foods and throwing them away.
All of these agencies contribute to reduce the amount of material circulating in the food cycle of Nature, and thus seem to tend inevitably in the end toward a termination of the processes of life; for as soon as the soil becomes exhausted of its nitrogen compounds, so soon will plant life cease from lack of nutrition, and the disappearance of animal life will follow rapidly. It is this loss of nitrogen in large measure that is forcing our agriculturists to purchase fertilizers. The last fifteen years have shown us, however, that here again we may look upon our friends, the bacteria, as agents for counteracting this dissipating tendency in the general processes of Nature. Bacterial life in at least two different ways appears to have the function of reclaiming from the atmosphere more or less of this dissipated free nitrogen.
In the first place, it has been found in the last few years that soil entirely free from all common plants, but containing certain kinds of bacteria, if allowed to stand in contact with the air, will slowly but surely gain in the amount of nitrogen compounds that it contains. These nitrogen compounds are plainly manufactured by the bacteria in the soil; for unless the bacteria are present they do not acc.u.mulate, and they do acc.u.mulate inevitably if the bacteria are present in the proper quant.i.ty and the proper species. It appears that, as a rule, this fixation of nitrogen is not performed by any one species of microorganisms, but by two or three of them acting together. Certain combinations of bacteria have been found which, when inoculated in the soil, will bring about this fixation of nitrogen, but no one of the species is capable of producing this result alone. We do not know to what extent these organisms are distributed in the soil, nor how widely this nitrogen fixation through bacterial life is going on. It is only within a short time that it has been demonstrated to exist, but we must look upon bacteria in the soil as one of the factors in reclaiming from the atmosphere the dissipated free nitrogen.
The second method by which bacteria aid in the reclaiming of this lost nitrogen is by a combined action of certain species of bacteria and some of the higher plants. Ordinary green plants, as already noted, are unable to make use of the free nitrogen of the atmosphere It was found, however, some fifteen years ago that some species of plants, chiefly the great family of legumes, which contains the pea plant, the bean, the clover, etc, are able, when growing in soil that is poor in nitrogen, to obtain nitrogen from some source other than the soil in which they grow. A pea plant in soil that contains no nitrogen products and watered with water that contains no nitrogen, will, after sprouting and growing for a length of time, be found to have acc.u.mulated a considerable quant.i.ty of fixed nitrogen in its tissues The only source of this nitrogen has been evidently from the air which bathes the leaves of the plant or permeates the soil and bathes its roots This fact was at first disputed, but subsequently demonstrated to be true, and was found later to be a.s.sociated with the combined action of these legumes and certain soil bacteria. When a legume thus gains nitrogen from the air, it develops upon its roots little bunches known as root nodules or root tubercles. The nodules are sometimes the size of the head of a pm, and sometimes much larger than this, occasionally reaching the size of a large pea, or even larger.
Upon microscopic examination they are found to be little nests of bacteria In some way the soil organisms (Fig 27) make their way into the roots of the sprouting plant, and finding there congenial environment, develop in considerable quant.i.ties and produce root tubercles in the root. Now, by some entirely unknown process, the legume and the bacteria growing together succeed in extracting the nitrogen from the atmosphere which permeates the soil, and fixing this nitrogen in the tubercles and the roots in the form of nitrogen compounds. The result is that, after a proper period of growth, the amount of fixed nitrogen in the plant is found to have very decidedly increased (Fig 25 E).
This, of course, furnishes a starting point for the reclaiming of the lost atmospheric nitrogen. The legume continues to live its usual life, perhaps increasing the store of nitrogen in its roots and stems and leaves during the whole of its normal growth.
Subsequently, after having finished its ordinary life, the plant will die, and then the roots and stems and leaves, falling upon the ground and becoming buried, will be seized upon by the decomposition bacteria already mentioned. The nitrogen which has thus become fixed in their tissues will undergo the destructive changes already described. This will result eventually in the production of nitrates. Thus some of the lost nitrogen is restored again to the soil in the form of nitrates, and may now start on its route once more around the cycle of food.
It will be seen, then, that the food cycle is a complete one.
Beginning with the mineral ingredients in the soil, the food matter may start on its circulation from the soil to the plant, from the plant to the animal, from the animal to the bacterium and from the bacterium through a series of other bacteria back again to the soil in the condition in which it started. If, perchance, in this progress around the circle some of the nitrogen is thrown off at a tangent, this, too, is brought back again to the circle through the agency of bacterial life. And so the food material of animals and plants continues in this never-ceasing circulation. It is the sunlight that furnishes the energy for the motion. It is the sunlight that forces the food around the circle and keeps up the endless change; and so long as, the sun continues to s.h.i.+ne upon the earth there seems to be no reason why the process should ever cease. It is this repeated circulation that has made the continuation of life possible for the millions and millions of years of the earth's history. It is this continued circulation that makes life possible still, and it is only this fact that the food is thus capable of ever circulating from animal to plant and from plant to animal that makes it possible for the living world to continue its existence. But, ah we have seen, one half of this great circle of food change is dependent upon bacterial life.
Without the bacterial life the animal body and the animal excretion could never be brought back again within the reach of the plant; and thus, were it not for the action of these micro- organisms the food cycle would be incomplete and life could not continue indefinitely upon the surface of the earth. At the very foundation, the continuation of the present condition of Nature and the existence of life during the past history of the world has been fundamentally based upon the ubiquitous presence of bacteria and upon their continual action in connection with both destructive and constructive processes.
RELATION OF BACTERIA TO AGRICULTURE.
We have already noticed that bacteria play an important part in some of the agricultural industries, particularly in the dairy.
From the consideration of the matters just discussed, it is manifest that these organisms must have an even more intimate relation to the farmer's occupation. At the foundation, farming consists in the cultivation of plants and animals, and we have already seen how essential are the bacteria in the continuance of animal and plant life. But aside from these theoretical considerations, a little study shows that in a very practical manner the farmer is ever making use of bacteria, as a rule, quite unconsciously, but none the less positively.
SPROUTING OF SEEDS.
Even in the sprouting of seeds after they are sown in the soil bacterial life has its influence. When seeds are placed m moist soil they germinate under the influence of heat. The rich alb.u.minous material in the seeds furnishes excellent food, and inasmuch as bacteria abound in the soil, it is inevitable that they should grow in and feed upon the seed. If the moisture is excessive and the heat considerable, they very frequently grow so rapidly in the seed as to destroy its life as a seedling. The seed rots in the ground as a result. This does not commonly occur, however, in ordinary soil. But even here bacteria do grow in the seed, though not so abundantly as to produce any injury. Indeed, it has been claimed that their presence in the seed in small quant.i.ties is a necessity for the proper sprouting of the seed. It has been claimed that their growth tends to soften the food material in the seed, so that the young seedling can more readily absorb it for its own food, and that without such a softening the seed remains too hard for the plant to use. This may well be doubted, however, for seeds can apparently sprout well enough without the aid of bacteria. But, nevertheless, bacteria do grow in the seed during its germination, and thus do aid the plant in the softening of the food material. We can not regard them as essential to seed germination. It may well be claimed that they ordinarily play at least an incidental part in this fundamental life process, although it is uncertain whether the growth of seedlings is to any considerable extent aided thereby.
THE SILO.
In the management of a silo the farmer has undoubtedly another great bacteriological problem. In the attempt to preserve his summer-grown food for the winter use of his animals, he is hindered by the activity of common bacteria. If the food is kept moist, it is sure to undergo decomposition and be ruined in a short time as animal food. The farmer finds it necessary, therefore, to dry some kinds of foods, like hay. While he can thus preserve some foods, others can not be so treated. Much of the rank growth of the farm, like cornstalks, is good food while it is fresh, but is of little value when dried. The farmer has from experience and observation discovered a method of managing bacterial growth which enables him to avoid their ordinary evil effects. This is by the use of the silo. The silo is a large, heavily built box, which is open only at the top. In the silo the green food is packed tightly, and when full all access of air is excluded, except at its surface. Under these conditions the food remains moist, but nevertheless does not undergo its ordinary fermentations and putrefactions, and may be preserved for months without being ruined. The food in such a silo may be taken out months after it is packed, and will still be found to be in good condition for food. It is true that it has changed its character somewhat, but it is not decayed, and is eagerly eaten by cattle.
We are yet very ignorant of the nature of the changes which occur m the food while in the silo. The food is not preserved from fermentation. When the siloxis packed slowly, a very decided fermentation occurs by which the ma.s.s is raised to a high temperature (140 degrees F. to 160 degrees F.). This heating is produced by certain species of bacteria which grow readily even at this high temperature. The fermentation uses up the air in the silo to a certain extent and produces a settling of the material which still further excludes air. The first fermentation soon ceases, and afterward only slow changes occur. Certain acid- producing bacteria after a little begin to grow slowly, and in time the silage is rendered somewhat sour by the production of acetic acid. But the exclusion of air, the close packing, and the small amount of moisture appear to prevent the growth of the common putrefactive bacteria, and the silage remains good for a long time. In other methods of filling the silo, the food is very quickly packed and densely crowded together so as to exclude as much air as possible from the beginning. Under these conditions the lack of moisture and air prevents fermentative action very largely. Only certain acid-producing organisms grow, and these very slowly. The essential result in either case is that the common putrefactive bacteria are prevented from growing, probably by lack of sufficient oxygen and moisture, and thus the decay is prevented. The closely packed food offers just the same unfavourable condition for the growth of common putrefactive bacteria that we have already seen offered by the hard-pressed cheese, and the bacteria growth is in the same way held in check.
Our knowledge of the matter is as yet very slight, but we do know enough to understand that the successful management of a silo is dependent upon the manipulation of bacteria.
THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL.
The farmer's sole duty is to extract food from the soil. This he does either directly by raising crops, or indirectly by raising animals which feed upon the products of the soil. In either case the fertility of the soil is the fundamental factor in his success. This fertility is a gift to him from the bacteria.
Even in the first formation of soil he is in a measure dependent upon bacteria. Soil, as is well known, is produced in large part by the crumbling of the rocks into powder. This crumbling we generally call weathering, and regard it as due to the effect of moisture and cold upon the rocks, together with the oxidizing action of the air. Doubtless this is true, and the weathering action is largely a physical and chemical one. Nevertheless, in this fundamental process of rock disintegration bacterial action plays a part, though perhaps a small one. Some species of bacteria, as we have seen, can live upon very simple foods, finding in free nitrogen and carbonates sufficiently highly complex material for their life. These organisms appear to grow on the bare surface of rocks, a.s.similating nitrogen from the air, and carbon from some widely diffused carbonates or from the CO2 in the air. Their secreted products of an acid nature help to soften the rocks, and thus aid in performing the first step in weathering.
The soil is not, however, all made up of disintegrated rocks. It contains, besides, various ingredients which combine to make it fertile. Among these are various sulphates which form important parts of plant foods. These sulphates appear to be formed, in part, at least, by bacterial agency. The decomposition of proteids gives rise, among other things, to hydrogen sulphide (H2S). This gas, which is of common occurrence in the atmosphere, is oxidized by bacterial growth into sulphuric acid, and this is the basis of part of the soil sulphates. The deposition of iron phosphates and iron silicates is probably also in a measure aided by bacterial action. All of these processes are factors in the formation of soil. Beyond much question the rock disintegration which occurs everywhere in Nature is chiefly the result of physical and chemical changes, but there is reason for believing that the physical and chemical processes are, to a slight extent at least, a.s.sisted by bacterial life.
A more important factor of soil fertility is its nitrogen content, without which it is completely barren. The origin of these nitrogen ingredients has been more or less of a puzzle. Fertile soil everywhere contains nitrates and other nitrogen compounds, and in certain parts of the world there are large acc.u.mulations of these compounds, like the nitrate beds of Chili. That they have come ultimately from the free atmospheric nitrogen seems certain, and various attempts have been made to explain a method of this nitrogen fixation. It has been suggested that electrical discharges in the air may form nitric acid, which would readily then unite with soil ingredients to form nitrates. There is little reason, however, for believing this to be a very important factor But in the soil bacteria we find undoubtedly an efficient agency m this nitrogen fixation. As already seen, the bacteria are able to seize the free atmospheric nitrogen, converting it into nitrite and nitrates. We have also learned that they can act in connection with legumes and some other plants, enabling them to fix atmospheric nitrogen and store it m their roots. By these two means the nitrogen ingredient in the soil is prevented from becoming exhausted by the processes of dissipation constantly going on. Further, by some such agency must we imagine the original nitrogen soil ingredient to have been derived. Such an organic agency is the only one yet discerned which appears to have been efficient in furnis.h.i.+ng virgin soil with its nitrates, and we must therefore look upon bacteria as essential to the original fertility of the soil. But in another direction still does the farmer depend directly upon bacteria The most important factor in the fertility of the soil is the part of it called humus. This humus is very complex, and never alike in different soils It contains nitrogen compounds in abundance, together with sulphates, phosphates, sugar, and many other substances. It is this which makes the garden soil different from sand, or the rich soil different from the sterile soil. If the soil is cultivated year after year, its food ingredients are slowly but surely exhausted.
Something is taken from the humus each year, and unless this be replaced the soil ceases to be able to support life. To keep up a constant yield from the soil the farmer understands that he must apply fertilizers more or less constantly.
This application of fertilizers is simply feeding the crops. Some of these fertilizers the farmer purchases, and knows little or nothing as to their origin. The most common method of feeding the crops is, however, by the use of ordinary barnyard manure. The reason why this material contains plant food we can understand, since it is made of the undigested part of food, together with all the urea and other excretions of animals, and contains, therefore, besides various minerals, all of the nitrogenous waste of animal life. These secretions are not at first fit for plant food. The farmer has learned by experience that such excretions, before they are of any use on his fields, must undergo a process of slow change, which is sometimes called ripening. Fresh manure is sometimes used on the fields, but it is only made use of by the plants after the ripening process has occurred. Fresh animal excretions are of little or no value as a fertilizer. The farmer, therefore, commonly allows it to remain in heaps for some time, and it undergoes a slow change, which gradually converts it into a condition in which it can be used by plants. This ripening is readily explained by the facts already considered The fresh animal secretions consist of various highly complex compounds of nitrogen, and the ripening is a process of their decomposition.