As soon as a leaf or tree trunk falls to the ground it is
taken in charge by a wrecking crew composed of a myriad of microscopic
organisms who proceed to break it up into its component parts so these
can be used for building a new edifice. The process is called "rotting"
and the product, the black, gummy stuff of a fertile soil, is called
"humus." The plants, that is, the higher plants, are not able to live on
their own proteids as the animals are. But there are lower plants,
certain kinds of bacteria, that can break up the big complicated proteid
molecules into their component parts and reduce the nitrogen in them to
ammonia or ammonia-like compounds. Having done this they stop and turn
over the job to another set of bacteria to be carried through the next
step. For you must know that soil society is as complex and specialized
as that above ground and the tiniest bacterium would die rather than
violate the union rules. The second set of bacteria change the ammonia
over to nitrites and then a third set, the Amalgamated Union of Nitrate
Workers, steps in and completes the process of oxidation with an
efficiency that Ostwald might envy, for ninety-six per cent.
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