Nitrogen Bacteria and Legumes

Nitrogen Bacteria and Legumes by Cyril G. Hopkins is about various beans and bacteria which help to keep Illinois soil fertile. Excerpt: «1. Soil nitrogen cannot be used by plants until it is changed to the form of nitrate nitrogen by the nitrifying bacteria. Page 307 2. Atmospheric nitrogen cannot be used by any agricultural plants, except legumes, and even leguminous plants have no power to obtain nitrogen from the air unless they are provided with the proper nitrogen-gathering bacteria. Page 309 3. As a rule, each important agricultural legume must have its own particular species of bacteria.»