Wisconsin School of the Air; Afield with Ranger Mac; 29

The Wisconsin School of the air invites you to go a field where the Ranger MC today boys and girls we're going to learn about the might of the lowly. Now to take you on another radio hike down the nature trail here's your guide Ranger Mick A little boys and girls before starting our trip appeal this morning Ranger Mack would like to make an announcement. Some of the logbooks did not have the proper information and therefore we do not know to whom the books should be returned. If you have not received your book by April of the 30th send in a description of it to Mr Ark jargons on the address to whom you can find it in your manual and he will do his best to find and return your log book. This is true about letters also so many letters are received without any address and it is difficult to answer very often from just the post mark on the anvil. Take care of that and any letter that is worth writing is worth writing. We

think also. But our open greeting this morning Ranger Mac wishes to repeat the verse that he that we never grow tired of the years that the spring the day's at the morn mornings at 7 the hillsides do parallel the lark's on the wing snail's on the thorn God's in His heaven. All is right with the world. It is easy enough to stay in school when winter in spring where waging their battle when the winds were cold and the sun hidden behind clouds. But now that spring seems to have conquered and the sun is warm and the air is vibrant with the song of the Red Wing and peepers are piping in the marshes it is just a little more difficult to keep your mind on your studies. But in spite of all you can do it your pencil takes on the dimensions of a

fishing pole and your mind wonders where the pools are bright and deep where the grey trout lies asleep. A little boy whom I know well paddle sick with the measles on the opening day of school vacation a week or so ago. His case like that of many boys and girls who contracted measles this spring is an illustration of our subject for today. The might of the lowly and unseen form of plant change that boy is from a vigorous laughing boy to one that had the dawn pajamas go to bed and leave his playmates for a period of time. When we talk about plants we talk about trees or vegetables in the gardens of flowers that lift their faces to the sun. These are the easiest and most pleasant to talk about because of their beauty and because they can be

seen. But there are others trail who should know about a part they play a part in nature. A great part. And while they cannot be seen except through a microscope we can see about us everywhere. The results of their work. Suppose your mother sent you to the grocery store are with instructions to bring back a few million plants. You would look puzzled and so would the grocery man if you made your request in those words. But if your mother asked you to buy a cake of yeast you and the grocer man would know right away what she wanted. A cake of yeast is made up of millions of plants that put a yeast a bit of yeast in a solution of stronger and look warm water and the plants will grow. Mother calls that putting the yeast to soak to dissolve

under the microscope. At these minute plants look like little circles with dark centers. When thoroughly mixed with flour and warm water and a little sugar called Dole. These plants carves the mix Jack the dough to rise when these little plants grow they give off carbon dioxide gas which builds the Dall and and makes it expand and makes it light. Now you know what Ranger Mac means by lowly plants. There are many thousands of different kinds of these lowly plants. Some of them are friends like those in yeast and some of them are our enemies. Like the measles when your mother takes great care in canning PRUETZ and vegetables sterilizing the jars very late as she is killing these plants

which if allowed to grow would spoil her products. Your dad must be careful in handling milk and take measures to see that milking utensils are clean because of these lowly plants. If you cut your finger your teacher treats the wound with antiseptic at to kill any of these plants that might be present and get into the womb and grow and infest the wound. Making a saw are many of the diseases the children have that causes them to cause them to stay out of school to lose what otherwise would be happy days are caused by these invisible plants. As a part of your health instruction in school you were told to keep clean to wash your hands thoroughly before eating those ten fingers are Schwab's that pick up these microscopic

organisms and in handling the food are carried into the body. Some of you boys and girls still think that the law requiring a safe Fourth of July prohibiting the firing of firecrackers without any control was just a whim of older people who didn't like the noise but the fact is when there was no control a large number of boys and girls lost their lives and their lives by tetanus Tetanus is one of these invisible plants that gets into the wounds caused by explosions. And there have been very. There have been very few deaths due to tetanus since this control went into operation. Don't you think it was a wise thing to do. While most of the diseases that cause so much suffering in this where old are caused by these

invisible organisms diseases like tuberculosis diptheria scarlet fever yellow fever yellow fever malaria tetanus typhoid pneumonia and many others still Ranger Mack wants you to know that there are so many kinds of these invisible plants that are so beneficial to the wild are such useful servants to mankind at that this Earth would be as bare as the moon without them without them. To make great sorrow there would be no wildflowers or any towering trees for that matter leaves twigs and branches fall to the forest floor. If these were not caused to rot and become humus the forest would soon be choked with its own litter. We would not be able to get through any forests if this writing did not take place. This writing

is the work of these invisible plants. They devour the dead leaves dead logs stumps the pebbles of flowers that withered in fall of the dead insects the birds that the Weasel has slain. The weasel himself when death overtakes him. All of these ways are taken care of by these microscopic organisms. They are the Street Sweepers the garbage man the grave diggers in in bringing about this big AI and they make valuable topsoil humus and make plant food upon which the higher order of beams depend. The wild flowers grasses and corn and human life itself that are many little creatures like beetles ants centipedes worms and mites that assist in this bee cage. Hot

ground a hot ground fires are very harmful because they destroy these beneficial organisms and these little creatures these ground fires are like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. There are about six hundred thousand silos in our country. You boys and girls who live on farms have watched your farmers build the silos the corn stocks are cut up and packed tightly in the silo. If the stocks are dry water is added maybe a little molasses food for our bacteria on the surface of these stocks are millions of bacteria in visible plants. These invisible plants immediately start their work and at the end of three or four weeks the silo just ready to be fed to the animals. The plant tissues have been broken down

and the entire mass changed in appearance flavor and food value. This is the work of these lowly plants unseen countless in numbers and mighty. When you are on a field trip after the alfalfa or the clover has become green. Dig up one of the plans carefully not to destroy the root system. You will notice little swellings on the roots called nodules. These nodules are filled with bacteria. You cannot see them with the naked eye. It takes a powerful microscope to see them. These bacteria perform a great service. They have the ability to take nitrogen from the air and make food of it. It is the cheapest and best way to get this needed plant food into the soil. So these plants that have the ability to do this are grown in

rotation with other crops like corn and wheat in order to restore the for the fertility to the soil. These plants are called legumes. Yes look that word up in the encyclopedia and you will find out how these bacteria helped to make our soils more productive. Boys and girls living on farms know something about this because they hear their dads talk about it. You trail hitter's living in cities should know about it because you are better fed because these bacteria do this work. Up in Hibbing Minnesota our great open minds of iron they are among the greatest in the world. Superior has the greatest iron docs in the world. From there the ore is distributed to smelting plants in cities distributed along the Great Lakes or near them in ages past some of the

waters covering the earth carried the large quantities of iron solves in solution iron bacteria grew in these waters and they extracted the iron from the water to make sheath for their bodies. When the bacteria died the iron was deposited. After centuries and centuries of this action these valuable mines resulted in the work of bacteria. Have you ever wondered how the sewerage from the homes in cities is disposed of at the sewerage plant of any community should be of interest to you. Here again at these invisible plants come to the aid of man in great vats the bacteria quickly devoured the waste material from our homes. Change it into gases and ash. The repulsive substances soon disappear under the magic

wand of these invisible plants. So we could go on mentioning the ways in which these unseen lowly clients benefit the human race. These plants make a world by it by themselves and scientists who study this world are called bacteriologists they are. There are more kinds of these individual plants than those we can see. Maybe 75 Hausen different kinds. Nobody knows they are lowly but they are mighty. May you have a wonderful a happy week until we meet again on the trail and may the Great Spirit put sunshine in your heart. The days are gone for ever more are heaped much the familiar Indian farewell brings us to the end of another trip. The field with the ranger

MK he'll be back again next week at the same time to be your guide for another radio trip down the nature trail when he'll tell us about the human side of birds. This is the Wisconsin School of the air.