Newspaper Page Text
12 n
SUNDAY
11 KARST
AMERICAN*. ATLANTA. GA . SUNDAY. MAY 11. If 13.
News and Views by Experts of Finance, industry, Crops and Commerce
TRADE GROWS
RATHER SLACK
The Between-Seasons' Dulness
Settles Down on Business,
Though Not Too Rapidly,
COTTON REPORTS ARE MIXED
Some Replanting May Be Neces
sary—Textile Trade in South
Not Worried Over Outlook,
NEW COTTON PEST
CAUSE OF BAN ON
ALL FOREIGN SEED
BY M. A. ROSE.
Something akin to hetween-sea -
eons duJn* ss has settled on trade in
the Southeast, though the slowing
down Ip not startling.
It is not unnatural at this time of
year, but the slackening this season
perhaps is a bit more pronounced
than usual. Clearing* are at low
ebb, .showing decreases from week to
w*ek, and decreases as compared
with the same weeks of 1912. This
is rather a healthy sign than other
wise. It means prudence which
will prove its value this autumn.
The demand for loans continues
brisk. Deposits may be expected to
show decreases from now on until
the crop is In. That Is the regular
summer routine: deposits start
< limbing in the late autumn; reach
their apex in January or February,
ind then begin to recede Each year
howevei the low level is considera
bly a!/*ip' the low level of the pre
ceding tear, recording the steady
growth of the community.
Opinion i« in the formative stage
as to the forthcoming cotton crop.
In general, the outlook seems one
which will give pause to the bun tal
ent. On the oth«>r hand, there are
unencouraging reports from here and
there of replanting, lack of rains,
hard baked Linds. Some go so far
as to say that the early start in the
Southeast has been lost by the un-
j ropltiou* weather conditions. in
cluding the lack of rain and the cool
rights
Floods Recode Rapidly.
In the western belt, timely rains
seem to have improved a situation
which was causing some concern.
Less is heard of the flood, and v\here
the lands were overflowed, the wat
ers are receding rapidly enough to
permit of planting.
City trade seems unaffected by
general conditions. The retailers
report another excellent week, with
business stimulated by warmer
weather.
Gloom In the Hast over the tariff
situation, especially as it will affect
the textile industry, is not reflected
in the South.
Tariff agitation has one effect. It
has caused buyers to hesitate. Many
jobbers w ho will be needing big lines
before the season begins have not
placed an order. They want to wait
and see if the new bill will cause any
reduction in prices. With no orders,
stocks are puling up at the mills.
Hut the mills feel certain of their
position. No matter how the tariff
is settled, they say. a certain amount
of cloth will he needed and they feel
sure of r\'o< injr their entire output.
Southern Product*.
Few print cloths are made in the
South. Gnu goods for shoe and rum-
ber boot linings, for the pockets of
men’s suits; for table oil cloths, for
automobile tires, tire hose and the
other kind, belting sets and drills
are the products in which Southern
mills excel.
They fear only that foreign com
petition in the finer goods will cause
Eastern mills to turn to the products
now made in the South.
The dosing of Fall River mills had
no effect in the South. It is ex
tremely unlikely that any such move
will be made In tHis section Labor
troubles, poor equipment and une
conomical management have left'
•ome of the Fall River and Provl-j
dence mills In poor shaj*e
An Atlanta concern in this line
will issue $2**0.000 new stock to cover
,cnlargments. Other mills, notably
one of the few in th* South turning
cut fine print cloths, are making ad
ditions to their plants and equip
ment.
It has been stated often in the
past few months that no money Is
available for extensions or new en
terprises. In general, this Is true.
Atlanta, however, has proceded with
the organization of a new trust com
pany of considerable proportions, and
tome of the stock subscribers are
paying in full In advance.
Business Troubles Few.
Business troubles are few. One
financial institution is in the throes
of litigation attacking it from all
side*, hut this ts causing little stir.
The creditors of the concern now en
gaged in a battle for its life are. for
the most part, residents of Northern
States.
Determination of the farmers to
produce this crop cheaply, to borrow
a- little as possible and buy as lit
tle a.s possible; tight money every
where. and more or less caution in
view of political changes and tu iff
revision, are blame'd for the de
crease in clearings by D. G Jones,
who is manager of the Atlanta Clear
ing House.
The lively real es f ate market which
is v year kept the checks passing
fnrough the banks. i« a shade or two
• ss brisk at present, and trading in
securities ha* been practically at a
*-• mdstill. although it is beginning to
show signs of a revival.
Fruit Cleaned Up.
WASHINGTON. May 10.-—Impor
tation of cotton seed will be forbidden
by the United States after May 20
Experiments with Egyptian seed
will have to cense
Seed from Egypt. Sierra Leone.
Southern Nigeria. German East Af
rica and other cotton growing sec
tions of the Dark Continent and seed
from Hawaii, the Philippines, India
and Peru will be denied entrance to
the United States. This, in effect,
bars all foreign cotton seed, as no
varleJies of cotton more valuable
than the native staple exist else
where.
The pink boll worm, the Peruvian
cotton square weevil and the boll
weevils of East Africa and the Phil
ippines are the reasons for the quar
antine
With the Mexican boll weevil and
the native boll worm already doing
| incalculable damage In the United
’States, the department feels that the
American cotton farmer has enough
to fight. It believes that the danger
from new cotton pests would offset
any improvement In the grade to be
obtained by importation of new va
rieties.
THE NEWEST COTTON ENEMY.
The pink boll worm Is the newest
and most insidious enemy of cotton
discovered. It infests Egypt. Sierra
Leone, Southern Nigeria and other
portions of Africa, as well as Hawaii
and India
India, the only one of the affected
nations which has statistics of dam
age caused by it to offer, charges
against the tiny pink worm a damage
of $4,000,000 per year.
It is particularly dangerous because
It will remain dormant in the cotton
seed for six or seven months. Live
worms and pupa© have been found
In cotton seed after it had passed
through the gin.
It causes premature opening of the
boll, rotting and soiling of the lint.
It causes many bolls to drop off. and
destroys much seed.
Under such circumstances it would
he practically impossible for the ex
perts of the department to fumigate
seed well enough to kill the larvae, so
the department acted quickly and at
once forbade the Introduction of the
seed Into the United States. Owing
to the difficulty of fighting the pest/
the quarantine probablyy will be per
petual. •
ONE SHIPMENT CAUGHT.
At the time the Consul at Alex-
andri advised the Department of Ag
riculture of the discoveries in con
nection with the pink boll worm he
informed the department that a ship
ment of seed had Just been made
from Egypt to a point in Mississippi
Jor experimental purposes. The de
partment at once notified the con
signee thut the seed would not be
allowed to come into the United
States, unless the Government was
allowed to fumigate It. This permis
sion was readily given.
The young larva of the pink boll
worm is at first dirty white, becoming
flesh colored, suffused with pink in
the back at a later stag**. Each seg
ment then hears two darker pink
dorsal transverse liars, followed by
two pinkish spots mi the lateral por
tion. each sprit bearing a single'slmrt
hair. The perfect insect has golden
brown forewings sprinkled with dark
brown scales, and the hind wings are
dark grav with a continuous fringe.
GROWERS MUST BEWARE.
The Department of Agriculture has
as yet no knowledge of the presence
of thin pest in the United States, hut
cotton growers are advised to be on
the lookout, as shipments of seed
which have come into this country as
long ago as twelve months, might wtill
contain living larvae.
In its operation the larva enters
the large bolls when they are more
than half ripened, the egg being, prob
ably, though not certainly, laid on the
boll itself. The hole by which the
larva enters Is usually so email that
it is inconspicuous, and even when
dissection Is made of a boll which
contains a. full grown pink worm, the
passage of entry is often impossible
to find, owing to the wound having
healed up.
The larva feeds upon the unripe
seed in the boll, cm ting out the w*hole
of the interior of the seed and leavfYig
the ‘■•hell filled with excrement. It
passes from one seed to another,
usually only destroying the seed in
one cell of the boll. It forms a cocoon
in the Interior of the seed, in which
it remains dormant for months. In
the spring the larvae leave their first
cocoons and eat out new cells in
which they pupate about the middle
of May. There are at least two gen-
erations.N
HAS SOME PARASITES.
The only enemies of which the de
partment has record are found in
Sierra Leone and Southern Nigeria
and in Hawaii. In the firrt-named
sections an insect nas been observed
entering the opening of the bolls and
sucking the juices from the body of
the pink boll worm.
No record is given of the amount of
damage caused by the pink boll worm
in Egypt or Hawaii, hut it is esti
mated that it causes a loss of $4,000.-
000 a year In the cotton-growing sec
tions of India.
inciden’allv, the quarantine will
prevail also against the Peruvian Cot-
ton Square Weevil, the German-East
African cotton boll weevil, and the
Philippines cotton boll weevil. In
-hort, the actual effect of the depart
ment s order will be to establish a
quarantine against all foreign cotton
seed.
OF PROSPERITY
Chicago Banker Declares Na
tional and International Events
Point to Era of Strength.
TARIFF ISSUE IS SETTLED
Business Increasing and America
Looms as Trade Dictator in
Chinese Republic.
OUR RAILROADS
UNDER-OFFICERED
American Officials Attempt Too
Much Detail Says Expert Re
turning From Germany.
Most large railways in the Unit
ed States are under-office red. and
their detail work is sadly under-su
pervised. Too much detail is im
posed on the heads of departments,
and they are left with 'Insufficient
time' for going into close touch with
the territories they manage. ’
This criticism was made by Arthur
M. Waitt. formerly general Superin
tendent of motive power, rolling stock
and machinery of the New York On
tra! lines, in discussing the adminis
tration of the State railways of Prus
sia in comparison with those of the
United States. After 25 years serv
ice on American roads, and 10 years
freedom from any direct alliance with
them—and having, during the latter
period visited Germany many
and examined railroad
there. Mr. Waitt spoke
regarding the two ideas
ing;
“In this counry an insufficient force
provided to collect and collate dat i
time
conditions
as follows
of railroad
and to make comparisons and analy
sis of the results of the management.
Complaints, and special inquiries
front railroad and government offi
cials require unusual efforts and ex
penditure of lime to the detriment
of other necessary and important
routine work, in order to prepare the
proper feports and answers to the
special inquiries. There is a ten
dency also for higher supervising and
administrative officers to int Vro in
matters for w hie A they are not tech
nically trained.
if the railways in several of our
States had expended one-quarter of
the money for improved service in
supervision, that they will have to
expend in putting on additional men
on he locomotives. (with very
doubttul beneficial results) they
would nave taken one of the most
effective means of raising the stand
ard of efficiency of service and re
ducing as a consequence the mem
ber of accidents, vim their attend
ant injuries or death to employee and
passengers.
"1 belie \ • a more generally satis
factory passenger service would be
given in this country by the gradual
iniieduction of classified passenger
service not only in standard railway
service but also In the subway and
elevated service in our largo cities ’’
Fru
i
•eption of
s almost o
inn
Gross Earnings of Road Increase
but So Do Operating Expenses.
Dividends Earned.
in the market here, which is a
bare, with the possible exceptic
some cold storage stuff, which
may !m- expected to emerge to
— I
now i
take I
au vantage
Box apt
line, with
sional 'Mi
he
itt:active prices,
about all left in tha
ception of an ocom
-sets. Apple- wi
moved out
.;nii
denaru up) Leir.i ■
tng* > m«i I-i.m s «
high price! none uu<
From the viewpoint of gross earn
ings the Southern Railway Company
is holding its own with other rail
roads of the country, but the im
provement !r. net Is small, us com
pared with a year ago. In March
the company scored a gam In gross
of almost $500,000, nearly all of
whiijfh was offset by higher operating
expenses, so that the Increase in net
was less than $100,000 For the first
three-quarters of the current fiscal
year there was a gross gain of over
$4,000,000 but a net Increase of a tri
fle less than $700,000. From this it
is apparent that the company is pay
ing out a very large amount of it
increased gross revenues for operat
ing expenses.
It should be explained, however,
that the road is devoting a consid
erable amount of money each month
to the maintenance of it- property
which accounts in considerable meas
ure for the higher operating cost*.
Both maintenance of way and struc
tures and maintenance of equipment
thus far in the current fiscal period
have been much higher than in 1912.
Up to the close of March the outlays
for maintenance were considerably
more than $1,000,000 in excess of the
corresponding period i year ago,
while a like increase is shown in
transportation costs. Therefore, the
increase in expenses for the nine
months has been pretty evenly divid
ed between the two items referred
to.
But the Southern’s earnings are
sufficient to meet the 5 per cent, div
idend that is now being paid on the
$60,000,000 preferred stock with a
substantial balance to spare availa
ble for the common stock. On the
basis of figures reported to date antf
making allowances for any changes
<n charges, etc., the company is now-
earning at the rate of over 4 per
cent, per annum on its $120,000.noti
outstanding common stock. During
die nine months reported to date it
earned approximately 314 per cent,
on its common stock which is at the
annual rate of about 4 1-8 per cenlc
on the issue.
Double-tracking work is now being
pushed to completion on that portion
of the system between Monroe and
T> e River Th > new track Is par-
i lei to the old line the entire dis-
.ame and vvl! probably be complet
ed by December. When this is fin
ished the company w ill have about
50 mi!»»- of double-track in a stretch.
2«> mi>H of wnich will be north and
30 miles south of Lynchburg It Is
understood that in the future the
company will on- rue .;«uh! -track
(»!•■ under ixis'ia.; conditions and as
funds are available for such worn.
CHICAGO, May 10. Everything in
the field of international and national
events points to a season of increase !
business and financial prosperity in
tho United State.*', is the view ex
pressed by George M. Reynolds, one
of the foremost among Chicago finan
ciers, and {’resident of the Continental
&* Commercial National Bank.
President Reynolds, who has just
returned from a three and a half
months’ trip in California, where he
traveled more than ten thousand miles
in successive automobile tours and
found health and renewed youth,
names these among the reavofis that
presage a wave of prosperity:
The end of the Balkan-Turkish
War and the dissipation of fears
that it would lead to a general
European conflict.
Mexico's insurrection reduced
almost to a vanishing point.
Recuperation of the West and
Middle West after havoc by frost
and floods.
Practical certainty that the
American tariff question will be
settled very soon for years to
come, and that a compromise cur
rency reform measure will be en
acted.
General activity in business
throughout the United States, ac
companied by complete restora
tion of public confidence in credit.
Bright prospects for increased
trade with the Orient, due to the
friendly attitude of the United
States toward the Chinese repub
lic.
Health Greatly Improved.
“It has been most reassuring to me
to note how Urn various sections of
the country have quickly recuperated
from the severe losse/occasioned first
by frost, and then by flood*’.” s„»4
Air. Reynolds. •
“In all sections of the United State s
and in the world at large there is gen
eral activity in business, goad prices
for commodities, and a perfectly 'se
rene state of public confidence in
credit. For several months past the
renewed business activity has led
to. a very great demand for money
throughout the entire world, and the
banks have been put to the test to
furnish readily the credit which thi
large business extension has made
necessary.
“The end of the Balkan-Turkish
war. with the dissipation of the fear
which has hung over the civilized
world like a black cloud that the
great powers would be drawn into
a vaster conflict, Las done much to
brighten the general "outlook. The
collapse of the Mexican insurrection,
or rather its redu lion to the vanish
ing point, has also had a good ef
fect.
Reconciled to Tariff.
"I see nothing other than encour
aging in home affairs. There need be
no scare over tariff revision. Busi
ness men and financiers have become
generally reconciled to the changes
about to be made in th- -.riff sched
tiles and which it is hoped will settle
the question for years to come.
“1 do not prophesy as to the fu
ture. but I am frank to say that I
am of the opinion that the protec
tion theory has been overplayed and
I rep nothing to Ear in a wisp re
vision of the tariff, though I regret
it could not have been brought about
through a permanent tariff commis
sion such as the former President
proposed.
“Neither am 1 opposed to the in-
come tax feature of the tariff bill. Any
method of collecting the revenue nec
essary for the nation’s need is satis
factory to me if it is equitable, fair
and Just to all. with no one claso
singled out for persecution or favor
itism.
“I believe we can look with confi
dence for a reasonably good meas
ure of currency reform My views on
the currency reform question are well
known, so I will, need not repeat them.
1 will say, however, that 1 desire to
do all I can to co-operate with the
| present national administration to
secure currency reform legislation.
Oriental Situation Hopeful.
"Bankers generally will be wiling
to meet the administration half-way
in the Effort go provide some plan
under which there * an be proper elas
ticity in the credit system and the
bank note system. If that can be se
cured it w ill in* a long stop in the
right direction, it is to be presumed,
however, that the first legislation
enacted at this time will be only part
way legislation, in the nature of com
promise or instalment.
“The outlook for an extension of
our trade with the Orient nas been
greatly improved by the friendly at
titude of the United States Govern
ment towards the new Chinese repub
lic Many business met. on the Pa
cific coast whom 1 met recently give
me assurances that China -s looking
with marked favor upon the United
States because of our recent changed
attitude.’’
MORE*SAVING NEEDED.
There can be no doubt that more
saving and less spending would
quickly begin to cure some of the
conditions which have been finding
reflection in the adverse movement
of security values. The accumula
tion of capital ha* not been commen
surate with the degree of prosperity
which the country has enjoyed, and
th*- effect of this i*• seen in many
direction?
Pig Iron Prices
Not Satisfactory
No. 2 Foundry Sells Around $12,
Which Is Not Far Above Cost.
Steel in Demand.
BIRMINGHAM, AHA . May lu.
With the exception of a day-or two
Hhut flown at three or four furnaces
the past week, there has been no
curtailment in the pig iron produc
tion in the Southern territory lately,
and nt no time during this month
is any shortening of output looked
for. There is not much demand for
pig iron and the quotations still are
weak, but the manufacturers are con
fident that everything will come out
all right, and that the iron being ac
cumulated w ill be needed a little later.
Tariff revision talk will not down!
but no one is brave enough to pre
dict that the country is going to the
“bow-wows’’ by reason of the re
vision. It is not believed that foreign
irons will swamp this country. That
there will he a need for pig iron in
quantity before long is an expression
heard on all sides. Before the end of
the second quarter of the year, the
prediction is heard, there wilr be a
buying movement that will call for
a large tonnage of iron for delivery
during the last half of the year. With
pig iron at $12 per ton, No. 2 Foundry,
the manufacturers expect some good
business. Consumers, however, are
holding off and Indications point to
even lower prices for the product.
Two or three more shadings of quo
tations will bring the prices down
near the cost line.
There is a good demand for basic
iron, the steel market being quite
satisfactory with the brightest of
prospects. There will be steady oper
ations at the various steel works in
the South the business in hand and
in sight a. d the need of repairs and
improvements are enough to keep the
present army of employees at work
through the rest of the year. There
is a steady delivery of steel rails in
the South.
There is a good demand for wire
and rod. Sucn plants as are manu
facturing steel cotton ties are work
ing overtime, and so far show no
worry because of the tariff revision.
Much steel will be used by the cotton
tie manufacturers before the season
ends.
Good prices obtain for steel prod
nets with prospects'good for the rest
of the year in this direction.
There is much activity at coal and
ore mines, limestone quarries, coke
ovens and other sources of raw ma
terial. The Tennessee Coal. Iron and
Railroftd Company has lighted up 200
more coke ovens to care for an ad
ditional demand for coke. It is an
nounced that there will be an accu
mulation of the various raw mate
rials so that when the pig Iron pro
duction becomes very active again
there will be no heed for any inter
ruption. It will not be a hard mat
ter fo bring about a considerable ton
nage of ore. but coke and coal are
not so easily produced.
Charcoal iron is in fair demand,
what is being made. There is a good
demand with the ear wheel works,
and charcoal iron plays an important
part in this industry.
Foundries and machine shops are
requiring considerable pig iron and
coke. The prospects are reported
somewhat improved. Cast iron pipe
plants also are looking forward to
much activity and a strong melt of
pig iron.
Some export orders for pig iron are
under consideration in the South with
prospects of the negotiations result
ing in business.
Feeding Soil Bacteria Most Profitable
Practice Possible for Modern and
Progressive Southern Farmer
Greatest Modern Discovery of Agricultural Science—Immense Help in
Increasing Size and Standard of Crops of Every Variety.
Methods of Inoculation and Use Fully Described.
— By CHARLES A. WHITTLE.
Georgia State College of Agriculture.
VETERAN PAYERS
OE DIVIDENDS
Here are the most thoroughly sea
soned dividend payers, w ith the num
ber of consecutive years of dividend
disbursements, their present price,
and their yield at present levels
Stock.
Penna
HI. Cent
N Y. C. A H.
N. Y.. N H. &
(’hi. & Nwestern
D. L. * W
Del. & Hud. Co. .
Years. Price. Yield.
H.
. 4*
. 43
. 40
. . 35
.33
. .32
115
i 20
103
112
133
410
160
128
132
161
114
109
5.22
>.83
4.85
7.14
5.23
4.88
5.63
5.47
4.55
5.94
6.14
4.59
this ihi-'A-fo!.; \\. hi< •. would
- more if di-v vulu. yl'he rad
ius ait in this da vs.
(it. Nor. Ry. pfd. ... .32
Con. Gas of N. Y. ..28
Diamond Match Co. 24
Amor. Sugar Ref Co.22
C. M. & St. Paul ..21
The rates of course have varied in
different years, but with none of-the
companies selected has the rate *n
any one tear fallen below 2 per cent.
The extreme priod embrace? the
vears of severe depression of 1857,
1873. 1893 and 1907
FRED W. ELLSWORTH PLANS
TO MAKE ADDRESS HERE
The Atlanta branch of the Ameri
can Institute of Banking will have
Fred IV. Ellsworth, publicity mana
ger of th* Guaranty Trust Company.
New York, as its «ruest May 15. T. \Y
Townsend, of the Fourth National
bank has received a definite accept
ance from Mr. Ellswortl]. May 15
is the regu’ai meeting date of thm
local organization ind Mr. Ellsworth
will be the speaker of the evening.
Mr. Ellsworth has a grasp on finan
cial subjects which places him among
the best. ,
Mr. Ellsworth was one of th$ first
members of the American Institute
of Banking as well as one of the most
prominent men identified with it.
From Atlanta he goes to Macon
where he is one of the principal
speaker’s scheduled to appear before
the Georgia Bankers' convention May
16 and 17.
MEN TO TILL FIELDS
NEEDED IN BALKANS
one of the principal financial in
stitutions of Germany, having intl-
mau mnntviions with the Near Ea*t.
has just issued a report dealing with
trade * enditions in the Balkan States
The report states that the economic
development of these countries in
the near future depends largely on
how ':ir is possible to prepare the
land for the next crops. I
Se *re weather prevailed in Serviaj
up to a week or so ago. but condi
tions ap now quite -pringlike. and j
it is. therefore, highly desirable than
the troops return as soon as possible
! n order to get work in the fie id*, i
w hich for the most part an lying j
vet untouched. Sio k? of torn are!
so * ..all that Government re-
eenrh decided t»* suspend the import:
duty on fi-»ur. Tier* are large;
k f maize and thi- is proving
o- g at assistar.ee to pig breeders. |
How to feed bacteria and encour
age their development is the biggest
issue of modern agriculture. Via bac
teria plants get much of their im
portant fot>d. and via the plant we
live. Our invisible friends of the soil
world are middlemen in the cycle of
food preparation. If they thrive we
thrive. If they suffer we suffer.
Where-they die w e can not live.
Not until the last few years have
we come to learn of our dependence
upon soil bacteria and their depend
ence upon us in th* practice of agri
culture. Science has opened our eyes
and defined to some extent a compli
cated and confusing talicroscopical
world. revealing very wonderful
things, the use of which will prove pf
vast benefit to agriculture.
The discovery of nitrogen-fixing
bacteria was epochal. Subsequent dis
coveries of how to feed and energize
them mean more than any invention,
any legislation or any plant propaga
tion affecting soil husbandry ever con
ceived. And yet there is still much to
be discovered as to how many kinds
of bac teria fix nitrogen and convert it
into form .suited to plant food and
how to foster their growth and pro
tect them from natural enemies and
adverse conditions.
When we buy nitrates from ('title
we pay dearly for it, and if we con
tinue to depend upon this sole com
mercial deposit disaster awaits us. In
the air is plenty of nitrogen. With a
lot of electricity and lime, manufac
turing enterprise is attempting to ar
rest it irom the air on a commercial
busiu.. and in this they may succeed
but by the bacteria! process it can be
trarsferred from the air to the soil at
no .’ost whatever; indeed, at a profit
lice only from a crop that favors the
growth of the bacteria, but also the
profit that comes of permanent im
provement of the soil.
Feed on Organic Matter.
Bacteria can not live on inorganic
dust. They must have organic mat
ter. Turn under vegetable matter and
Mr. Bacterium will feast, swell up
and pop off into another bacterium,
which in turn pops off into another,
and* so on. rapidly ad infinitum, every
last one of them busy attacking vege
table matter and transforming it into
a combination suitable for plant food.
It is great business The fertilizer
factories are not in their class. As
fanners’ helpers they are always
ready and willing to manufacture
plant food for their board—and what
they eat is a small fraction of what
they produce. Indeed, what they ust
is most often what man can no longer
use.
So it is that soil is dead, weak o'
active to the extent that the bacteria
have been cut short or fed their nat
ural provender of organic matter, or
in some other way made inactive.
Plants are not cannibals. They can
not feed upon each other. No mat
ter how much vegetable matter is put
into the soil, if bac teria are not there
to ferment or rot it. the vegetable
matter would never become available
as food for growing plants.
J. Davorak. of Germany, recently
revealed some interesting facts show
ing to what extent nitrogen-fixing
bac teria prefer different forms of veg
etable matter. The older the vegeta
ble matter the less adapted to the nu
trition of the bacteria, but green
stuffs and to a lesser degree roots
and straw, which are easily changed
by water into forms adapted to con
sumption, are preferred.
Green Stuff* Best.
Green stuffs are best because th *
carbohydrates and nitrogen are there
found in mos-t favorable proportions,
and also because the carbohydrates
are in the form most easily trans
formed. Green manuring not only in
creases bacteria, but it raises the
temperature of the soil, srts <»ff a
greater amount of carbon -dioxide,
which in turn createat a porosity • f
the soil and admits water for a better
disintegration of Insoluble phosphates
and silicates. f
To what, extent and how rapidly
bacteria absorb and convert nitrogen
Into plant food is. of course, a very
important consideration. The sam
authority has found, by experiments.
that nitrogen in the form of ammonia | 0 f great tilings w
sulphate is most readily absorber;, pimps arp made
that sodium nitrafte is absorbed about
Tike calcium nitrate, that the absorp
tion of nitrogen is less active in an
acid soil and that the amount of car
bon dioxide produced is an index to
the bac terial absorption of the soil.
Soil sickness, believed* to be due to
reduced bacterial action, can be cur’d
by sterilization. Some have believed
that there were denitrifying bacteria
in the soil that brought out soil sick
ness. but this seems to have been dis
proved by Russel and Golding, of
England. * other organic life larger
than bacteria is held responsible by
these authorities in the case of a
sewerage sick soil. There they found
protozoa prevalent. When they ster
ilized or partially sterilzed the soil
these protozoa or hindering factors,
whatever they were, disappeared, or
were destroyed. Bacteria were then
able to multiply ten times their for
mer numbers in the soil.
Exposure to a temperature of 96 to
98 degrees for two hours not only
killed the protozoa or hindering cause,
but also harmful parasitic organisms,
affected a certain amount of decom
position thus assisting the bacteria
in their subsequent work of trans
forming it, and developed as a sec
ondary consideration a large number
of fibrous roots. A temperature of .»■»
degrees for three hours 'serves the
same purpose, except for the. forma
tion of the fibrous roots.
Antiseptic Destroys Factors.
The same authorities have discov?
ered that an antiseptic such as toluene
will also destroy the hindering fac
tors. indicating that, whatever they
may be. they are biological.
Lodge and Smith, of the Massachu
setts Experiment Station, assert that
it is not the protozoa that is the lim
iting factor, for they have taken care
to eliminate the protozoa from th ur
tests, and in spite of that obtained
different results, due, as they claim,
to the presence of a greater amount
of organic matter In one than the
other, the organic matter, of course,
favoring the development of the ba
tP (L u. Given found that nitrification
was twice as rapid in soil sterilized
and then relnocculated as in soil
which had not been sterilized.
While admitting the benefit to tne
growth of the plant by heating ta •
soil Sehver and Clark call attention
to the fact that heating soils tends
to increase the growth of harmful
fungi. ...
Which are the bacterial inhabitants
in the underworld that produce nitro
gen and what else happens when they
do their work in the way of chemical
changes is, of course, an important
HAVE A BAD WEEK
Field Agents Report Serious Need
nf Rains—Much Cotton Must
Be Replanted.
ATHENS. May 10.—Reports re-
eeived at the State College of Agri
culture from sixty-five agents in
farm demonstration work in Georgia
indicate an unfavorable week for the
farmer. Dry. cool weather which
prevailed throughout the State during
the last week of April and the first
of May militated against getting a
good stand of cotton. A great deal
will have to be replanted or already
has been replanted, but.unfortunately,
such replanting as has been done ha.-
poor promise of coming up. owing to
the dry weather.
Corn is reported quite generally
to have come up with a good stand.
Oats, generally speaking, have been
affected severely by rust, and are
greatly in need of rain. Wheat is
reported looking well.
Where farmers broke the crust aft
er rains by harrowing (he corn and
cotton, stands are very much better
than w here such treatment was neg
lected.
A good warm rain is the greatest
need of Georgia' crops at the end of
the first week of May.
RAILflOADS AND BANKS
EXPECT- BUMPER CROPS
Both railroads and banks are pre
paring to handle what promise to
be i h« biggest of bumper crops.
Three of the Northwestern roads,
alone ar» spending upwards of $25.-
“00.000 on new equipment which they
expect to ne^d 40 haul crons and the
merchant 5: ; e w hr* h prosperous farm-*
rrs wi!’ hue with ihe proceeds of
their harvests.
I
consideration. Many keen scientific
minds have been on the trail for sev
eral years. Here a bit ami there a bit
of evidence has been picked up. One
kind of bacteria and then another
has been isolated and found to fix
nitrogen.
Numbers Increasing.
They need not he mentioned here,
but it may be said that as observa
tions continue tne number increases.
MdBeth and Scales, of the Bureau of
Plant Industry of the United States,
have recently succeeded in isolating
and defining some of these bacteria,
and particularly to have proved that
gaseous products hitherto attributed
to nitrogen fixing bacteria are really
the work of other bacteria—a discov
ery that may not seem here nor the**e.
to the lav mind, hut may be potential
hen further discov
eries are made.
A. Fousek finds that Streptothfix
converts nitrates to nitrites without
denitrification—which statement may
need some explanation for the lay
man. Nitrates are, of course, just
the form that plants require. To
change to nitrites would mean to
make it unavailable for plant food.
But to change it to nitrites is better
than to denitrify it. that is. to turn
it loose into the air. This bacte
rium would not be friendly to plant
growth at all.were it not for its gen
eral assimilative ability. Besides ni
trates. it assimilates ammonium
compounds, urea and uric acid. To
catch ammonia and fix it is impor
tant, for this has a strong disposi
tion to escape. This bacterium,
therefore, prevents denitirification
and holds in the soil a compound
that can be converted into plant food
when another class of bacteria be
come active and can change nitrites
into nitrates. It can be readily seen
that this bacterium might have been
classed as harmful and put out of
the way by antiseptics ,pr steriliza- (
tion if the important facts about its
good as well as Its bad habits had not
been learned. As it is, this micro
organism which constitutes 20 to 30
per cent of micro-organisms in loam
soils. 8 to 15 per cent in clay soils
and 7 to 10 per cent in sandy soils,
will find encouragement. It not only
thrives in fallow soils, but grows on
the roots op a very great variety of ;
plants.
Increase Due to Fat Removal.
R. Greig-Smith thinks that in
creased bacterial activity in soils
after antiseptics have been applied is
due to the removal of fatty protec
tive coverings of soil particles.
To set one class of bacteria after
another and cheek some of their
harmful or wasteful habits is, of
course, one of the greatest move
ments of science to-day, whether it
be in the medical world or the agri
cultural world. One instance recently
coming to attention may be men
tioned. Barthel and Rhodin. by us
ing lactic acid ferment upon the ma
nure heap which was lo**ng ammo
nia b\ the action of certain bacteria
busy therein, succeeded in conserv
ing the ammonia and proved that the
fertilizing efficiency of the manure
was maintained 59 per cent higher
than th# 4 manure that was untreated.
It was simply setting one set of bac
teria to work to offset a part of the
work of another. The results have
demonstrated something worth while.
bactwr'ia Don't Like Sour Soils*
When closer, peas, velvet beaflS, al
falfa or other legumes are not Going
as well as the soil fertility would indi
cate that they should, usually the rea
son can be found by testing the soil
for acidity or sourness. If the soil is
sour, the bacteri;vthat set up shop on
the roots of these plants to manufac
ture nitrates from the air. close doors
and cease business. No vinegar with
theirs. The acidity murt be neutral-
i ze ri__that is, corrected, and the soil
made sweet before the farmer’s best
friend—nitrogen fixing bacteria—will
begin the manufacture of fertilizer.
Lime is the “sweetening.’ It must
be put on in large or small amounts
depending upon the sourness. LimJ
in the carbonate form-just plain,
pulverized limestone, marble, marl,
shells or other substance containing
a high per cent of lime—serves the
purpose and will maintain a sweet
ness for several years.
With this corrective dose, the bac
teria get busy around the roots of the
legumes. Their tiny factories can b€*
easily seen. They are called nodules,
in other words, swollen places. These
are store houses as well as operaflng
centers for the bacteria that some
how extract from the air some of its
nitrogen. They carry it to the roots,
rather fix it there, aiding the growing
plant to which it adheres, by feeding
it with the nitrogenous fertilizer. It
is a bountiful provider and leaves
some on the roots to permanently en
rich the soil.
The Practical Benefit to the Farmer.
Without knowing that there were
bacteria in the soil calling for organic
matter for food, the farmer learned
that turning vegetable matter under
improved the fertility. Without know
ing that bacteria would not thrive in
sour soil, the farmer learned that lime
was good for his land. Without know
ing that bacteria had anything to do
with it. the farmer^earned that le
gumes and rotations helped the soil.
The practical benefit to many farm
ers who have been using green ma
nures, who have been using lime on
the soils and who have been growing
legumes and rotating crop*', is not as
great as for those who have never
practiced these things, but even the
progressive farmer who has received
j benefits In these ways now knows how
Banks’ Strength
Is Heavily Taxed
Reserves Down anH Loans Much
Increased to Meet Demands of
First Quarter.
The «ummary of the returns of the
j National banks under the call ot
April 14 issued by the office of the
Controller of the Currency i. clear
t^a* the banking facilities of the
country have been taxed somewhat
severely to meet the demands which
have been made upon them. This, of
course, is in part due to the inevi
table effect of this country’s great
volume of business, but it is also due
in part in a more special sense to
the manner in which some of this
business has been done.
The Controller’s figures showed that
the percentage of reserve was smaller
than at the corresponding date in
either 1906 or 19#r. In the period of
relaxation which followed those years
the percentage of reserve rose to
23.94 per cent, which it reached in
May. 1908. There tfae been a pretty
steady ’ recession in the percentage
since them until it now stands at
20.44. This is the lowest reported at
this season in many years, and :s
only* a little above the low percentage
reported on the call of November 26
when thq great amount of money*
needed in ujarketing the record crops
of last year had not yet returned to
the banks.
While this movement has been un
der way in the reserve percentage,
and while the actual cash holdings
of the banks have decreased, loans! he can receive greater help. By know-
have largely increased. Compared
with the figures for March. 1911. the
April 4 \gurtS of the National banks
this year show a decrease in cash
holdings of over $19,000,000. while
loans have ir Teased during tjiis pe
riod by more than $6ii0.00:)7©00. Find
ing Uni* to he the condition of tfte Na
tional bank position, it hardly gives
cau**e for surprise tha; those w ho have
had appeals to mak“ to the capital
market have found st/p plies small and I
rates relatively high.
ing something of the nature his
bacterial friends, he has reamer how
to feed them better than formerly, to
ge4 ’arger crop returns. He knows
better what to put down into the sc>.1
that greater returns’ mav he sent ijfil
by his invisible army of farm helpers.
All the while more and more is be
ing learned of the bacterial world and
more and more wi!! be ascertained as
to how the farmer can better empioy
hi* bacterial workers to fatten his
1
.1.
j purse.