Abstract
At the turn of the twentieth century, the recent discovery that soil bacteria explained how legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen sparked great interest, particularly in the context of ominous warnings of an impending “nitrogen famine.” A new industry quickly arose when it became evident that nitrogen-fixing bacteria could be identified, collected, sent to farmers, applied to farm fields, increase the yield of leguminous crops, and improve soil fertility. Important scientific research in this area took place at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), where the project fit in well with the department’s Progressive Era mission of serving society through useful applications of science. The work also brought considerable attention to a young USDA bacteriologist, George Moore, who became implicated in an apparent scandal that exposed the pitfalls of the sudden enthusiasm for legume inoculation, and forced the USDA to mobilize in order to reestablish its reputation for scientific integrity.
Keywords
Mark R. Finlay is deceased. The email address below is that of his wife, Kelly Applegate.
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- 1.
Burrill (1904, p. 426).
- 2.
Burrill (1904, p. 434).
- 3.
Burrill (1904, pp. 422–429).
- 4.
Burrill (1904, p. 434).
- 5.
- 6.
Rossiter (1979, p. 235).
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
Carpenter (2001, p. 216).
- 10.
- 11.
- 12.
University of Miami, Department of Archives and Special Collections, Walter Tennyson Swingle (hereafter WTS) Papers, Box 30; WTS to Father, 17 December 1897.
- 13.
- 14.
Seifriz (1953); “Biographical Note” in finding aid to the Walter Tennyson Swingle Collection, University of Miami.
- 15.
- 16.
- 17.
- 18.
Archives of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, England, John Henry Gilbert to John Bennett Lawes, 28 September 1886. Further praise of Hellriegel’s research is in Springer (1892).
- 19.
In 1884, the British writer Maxwell Masters predicted that future farmers would be able to grow as much with a “pinch” of the appropriate “ferment-producing germs” as with a ton of other fertilizers. See Masters (1884), p. 17).
- 20.
Hartmann et al. (2008).
- 21.
- 22.
Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz (hereafter GSBK), Berlin, I. HA Rep. 87B, Ministerium für Landwirthschaft, Domänen u. Forsten, Nr. 13236, Henry W. Böttinger to Ministry, 2 June 1897.
- 23.
For German examples, see GSBK, I. HA Rep. 87B, Ministerium für Landwirthschaft, Domänen u. Forsten, Nr. 13236, “Anbau Versuche mit Leguminosenimpfung unter Anwendung der Knöllchen Bakterien,”; Proceedings of the Curatorium der Königliche Pflanzenphysiologischen Versuchsstation, 10 August 1895; and Proceedings of the Curatorium der Königliche Pflanzenphysiologischen Versuchsstation, 21 April 1894. See also Sächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Dresden; Ministerium des Innern, Nr. 15678, Vol. III, Stutzer to Ministry, 31 January 1898, and Storck to Ministry, 25 October 1898. For an early American example, see Duggar (1897).
- 24.
- 25.
- 26.
- 27.
- 28.
Swingle Papers, Box 15, WTS to DF, 18 Oct 1898. For his complete 1898–99 itinerary, see Swingle Papers, Box 33, 8 December 1903. In 1901, the USDA again dispatched plant explorers to North Africa, men who returned with another 105 leguminous species. Library of the Missouri Botanic Garden, St. Louis, George Thomas Moore Papers, (hereafter Moore Papers), Box 1, WTS to George T. Moore, (hereafter GTM), 21 May 1901.
- 29.
Swingle Papers, Box 15; WTS to David Fairchild (hereafter DF), 11 September 1898.
- 30.
Swingle Papers, Letterbook 2; WTS to O. F. Cook, 30 October 1898, and WTS to O. F. Cook, 22 November 1898.
- 31.
Swingle Papers, Box 15; WTS to O. F. Cook, 21 October 1898.
- 32.
DF to WTS, 20 November 1900, Box 33, Swingle Papers. Fairchild (1938, pp. 196–197).
- 33.
For instance, American agricultural experiment stations employed zero bacteriologists in 1900, but 18 just 5 years later. See True (1937, p. 137).
- 34.
- 35.
Moore Papers, Box 1, WTS to GTM, 6 March 1901. Emphasis in original.
- 36.
Moore Papers, Box 1, WTS to GTM, 6 March 1901. Emphasis in original. For more on the USDA building research facilities and staffing that resembled a university, see Carpenter (2001, pp. 221–226).
- 37.
Swingle Papers, Box 23, GTM to WTS, 11 March 1901.
- 38.
Moore Papers, Box 1, WTS to GTM, 29 March 1901; National Archives, RG54, E26W, Swingle Letterbook, WTS to GTM 4 May 1901; and WTS to DF, 16 July 1901; and Swingle papers, Box 24, GTM to WTS, 10 July 1901; and A.F. Woods to WTS, 14 August 1901.
- 39.
Swingle Papers, Box 24, GTM to WTS, 27 August 1901. Emphasis in original.
- 40.
Galloway (1902, p. 56).
- 41.
- 42.
Moore and Robinson (1905a, p. 31).
- 43.
(1903) “Bacteria from Uncle Sam”; ad in New York Times, 8 April 1904.
- 44.
Dreiser (1903).
- 45.
Baker (1903). Baker also observed a “suggestion of intelligence” in soil bacteria, for they knew enough to behave differently in relation to the amount of nitrogen in the soil.
- 46.
- 47.
Schneider (1903).
- 48.
Moore Papers, Alexander Graham Bell to GTM, 18 March 1904; and Gilbert H. Grosvenor to GTM, 25 May 1904.
- 49.
- 50.
(Anonymous. 1905h) “The inoculation of the earth.”
- 51.
Galloway (1904, p. 13).
- 52.
David Fairchild had proposed that a new international language could arise to help coordinate research efforts in the sciences. Swingle Papers, Box 33, DF to WTS, 10 August 1901. Swingle became a proponent of an artificial language called pasigraphy, which was based upon a common and overlaying set of symbols, like Chinese, which he hoped could eventually become a “nearly perfect language” and facilitate international communication. Swingle (1905). He later wrote in favor of another technique to improve international scientific communication—the metric system. See Swingle (1909).
- 53.
Galloway (1902, pp. 49–59).
- 54.
Moore (1905).
- 55.
Moore Papers, Box 1, GTM, “The creation and development of plant industries by the government,” [undated commencement speech, c. 1904 or 1905].
- 56.
National Archives, RG 54, A. F. Woods Letterbooks, Book 2, A. F. Woods to GTM, 22 July 1904 and A. F. Woods to GTM, 29 July 1904.
- 57.
Galloway (1904, p. 12).
- 58.
National Archives, RG 54, E1, Box 38, [Beverly T. Galloway] to GTM, 2 August 1904. In any event, Moore’s salary increased to US$ 3000 in early 1905, a 67 %increase over his salary when his employment began in late 1901. See National Archives, RG 54, A. F. Woods Letterbooks, Book 2, A. W. Woods to B. T. Galloway, 20 March 1905.
- 59.
- 60.
National Archives, RG 54, A. F. Woods Letterbooks, Book 1, Draft of Report “Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria,”Book 1, [undated, but likely late 1904].
- 61.
Preface to Moore & Robinson (1905a), Soil inoculation for legumes, 5.
- 62.
Moore & Robinson (1905b), 45. The data in this report were based on a summary of 2502 replies received by 15 November 1904. The data in the second report were based on a summary of 3540 replies received by 31 December 1904. The failure rate had improved slightly, now only 21 %. As before, these testimonials conspicuously did not include a single comment from the hundreds of people who reported that the inoculant provided no benefit at all.
- 63.
National Archives, RG 54, A. F. Woods Letterbooks, Book 1, GTM to Assistant Secretary, 18 April 1905.
- 64.
Moore Papers, Box 1, W. G. Farlow to GTM, 29 January 1905.
- 65.
National Archives, RG 54, A. F. Woods Letterbooks, Book 1, A. F. Woods to GTM, 18 November 1904, and B. T. Galloway to A. F. Woods, 21 January 1905.
- 66.
George Washington Carver Papers Microfilms, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, Reel 2, Edward H. Jacob to George Washington Carver, 18 December 1904. Jacob promised to “amply compensate” Carver for his promotional work.
- 67.
Washington Post, 28 September 1904.
- 68.
Washington Post, 6 January 1905.
- 69.
“Resolution No. 17,” to GTM, Box 1, Moore Papers.
- 70.
- 71.
H. Z. McLaw to GTM, 10 May 1905, Box 1, Moore Papers; and Indianapolis News, 14 June 1905.
- 72.
- 73.
- 74.
Bailey (1905).
- 75.
Agee (1905b) “Farm facts and fancies.”
- 76.
Agee (1905a) “Bacteria talk.”
- 77.
Porter (1905, p. 398).
- 78.
Porter (1905).
- 79.
Porter (1905, p. 403).
- 80.
Agee (1905f). “The booming of nitro-culture.”
- 81.
Agee (1905f, p. 125). In a telegram sent to Assistant Secretary Hays (at the Cosmos Club), Agee assured Hays that he was “entirely confident of your doctor’s integrity.” National Archives, RG 16, E8, Box 29, Alva Agee to Willet Hays, 22 April 1905.
- 82.
Agee (1905c). “Farm facts and fancies.”
- 83.
Agee (1905d) “Farm facts and fancies.”
- 84.
National Archives, RG 54, E1, Box 38, T. D. Harman to Theodore Roosevelt, 15 July 1905.
- 85.
National Archives, RG 16, Microfilm 440, James Wilson to the President, 10 October 1905.
- 86.
National Archives, RG 54, A. F. Woods Letterbooks, Book 2, A. F. Woods to B. T. Galloway, 20 March 1905, pp. 156–159.
- 87.
National Archives, RG 16, Letterbooks of the Secretary of Agriculture, Book 105, James Wilson to B. F. Barnes, 18 and 28 July 1905. Many of the details are repeated in Agee (1905e) “Nitro-culture discredited”; and (1905) “New department scandal.”
- 88.
Savannah Morning News, 29 July 1905.
- 89.
Sandusky [OH] Star-Journal, 28 July 1905; Galveston Daily News, 28 July 1905. In its editorials, The National Stockman and Farmer showed some sympathy for Moore’s temptation to capitalize on his work. It found greater fault with the overall “rottenness” of the USDA, especially its “policy” of seeking notoriety at the expense of scientific rigor. See (Anonymous. 1905e) “Secretary Wilson’s responsibility.”
- 90.
Washington Post, 6 August 1905.
- 91.
[Chicago] Inter Ocean, 31 July 1905.
- 92.
Washington Post, 6 August 1905.
- 93.
- 94.
Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser, 2 August 1905; New York Times, 20 August 1905.
- 95.
National Archives, RG 54, E 1, Box 38, Charles W. Eliot to President Theodore Roosevelt, 7 October 1905.
- 96.
National Archives, RG 16, Microfilm 440, James Wilson to the President, 10 October 1905. There had been an earlier offer to reinstate Moore to the payroll, but that was soon rescinded. See National Archives, RG 54, E 1, Box 38, [Beverly T. Galloway] to GTM, 1 September 1905; [Beverly T. Galloway] to GTM, 8 September 1905.
- 97.
Moore evidently took a job with the NN-CC through 1906, but he managed to reestablish his academic credentials mainly through his connections at Woods Hole. See Marine Biological Laboratory (1907) and Marine Biological Laboratory (1909, p. 19). Moore joined the faculty at Washington University in 1909, and he served as director of the Missouri Botanical Garden from 1912 to 1953. See Kleinman (2010).
- 98.
Swingle Papers, Box 30, WTS to father, 4 August 1905. There was good reason for concern. Swingle had invested—and urged his friends and family to do so as well—in a date farm that was virtually across the street from a USDA date research facility, one that worked primarily on improving the specimens that Swingle himself had imported from the Mediterranean and where Swingle had been a research advisor.
- 99.
National Archives, RG 54, E28, Letterbook 55, W. M. Hays to E. Jacobs, 19 August 1905.
- 100.
National Archives, RG 54, E5, Letterbook 70, B. T. Galloway to A. F. Woods, 21 August 1905.
- 101.
National Archives, RG 54, E5, Letterbook 79, B. T. Galloway to Charles F. Curtiss, 7 February 1906. Similar examples include National Archives, RG 54, E5, Letterbook 85, B T Galloway to R. M. Winans, 30 March 1906.
- 102.
Kellerman and Robinson (1905).
- 103.
National Archives, RG 16, Microfilm No. 440, Reel 53, James Wilson to William F. Atkinson, 28 August 1905.
- 104.
Rosenberg (1964).
- 105.
Hopkins quoted in Kupferberg (2001, p. 216).
- 106.
Butz (1905).
- 107.
- 108.
El Paso Herald, 21 February 1906.
- 109.
GSPK, I. HA Rep. 87B, Ministerium für Landwirthschaft, Domänen, und Forsten, Nr. 13238, Schneidewind to Ministry, 5 January 1907.
- 110.
National Archives, RG 54, E2, T. R. Robinson to Karl F. Kellerman, 16 September 1908.
- 111.
- 112.
Moore Papers, Box 1, Waldemar Kaempffert to GTM, 8 July 1907. The journalist Kaempffert, hoping to write an article for Cosmopolitan or Century magazine, approached Moore for photographs of legume inoculants after he had been denied access to USDA photographs.
- 113.
Powell (1927, p. 10). See also National Archives, RG 54, E2, Box 81, W. J. Spillman, J. M. Westgate, and Karl F. Kellerman, “Report of the Committee upon Methods of Legume Inoculation,” and several letters of Karl Kellerman, August 1914. As the quality of legume inoculants became more reliable, experiment stations in Wyoming, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, and Wisconsin sold their own bottled bacteria and used the proceeds to fund further research. See Kupferberg (2001, p. 216); and Leonard (1932).
- 114.
Peters and Morgan (2004).
- 115.
Harwood (1906, p. 334).
- 116.
Harwood (1906, pp. 1–5).
- 117.
Harwood,(1906, pp. 26–27).
- 118.
Smith (1913, pp. 14–15).
- 119.
(Anonymous. 1915) Country homes for busy little people.
- 120.
(Anonymous. 1912) “Old farms made new.”
- 121.
Advertisement for “Nitragin” Company, Milwaukee, circa 1912, from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Special Collections.
- 122.
Rossiter (1979, pp. 235–36).
- 123.
National Archives, RG 54, E2, Box 81, K. F. Kellerman to William A. Taylor, 9 January 1911.
- 124.
Moore (1912).
- 125.
Cafer du Plessis (2009).
- 126.
Krimsky and Wrubel (1996). In recent years, only about 15 % of the soybean crop has been treated with traditional commercial inoculants. Meanwhile, efforts to apply genetic engineering to nitrogen fixation have also reached limitations: Fixating microbes consume energy (via carbohydrates) that decrease the amount available to produce crop yields.
- 127.
Pauly (2007, p. 128).
- 128.
Brockwell (1981).
- 129.
Simmonds (2007, p. 6).
- 130.
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Finlay, M. (2015). Science, Promotion, and Scandal: Soil Bacteriology, Legume Inoculation, and the American Campaign for Soil Improvement in the Progressive Era. In: Phillips, D., Kingsland, S. (eds) New Perspectives on the History of Life Sciences and Agriculture. Archimedes, vol 40. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12185-7_11
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