202 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



where they can receive no nitrogen except that which is in the air, the 

 rest of their food being furnished from simple carbonates, such as sugar, 

 glycerine, etc. Under such conditions, they grow and develop per- 

 fectly ; and as growth is impossible without a supply of nitrogen, the 

 conclusion is irresistible. Moreover, M. Jobin finds, that at the mo- 

 ment of the absorption of the nitrogen by the plant, the hydrogen 

 thus released combines with the nascent oxygen given off by the plant, 

 and thus forms water. Proc. French Academy. 



THE CAPABILITIES OF SOILS. 



Prof. Voelcker, the well-known agricultural chemist, in a recent lec- 

 ture before the Royal Institution, London, on the " soils of England," 

 advocated several views opposed to the general belief of agriculturists. 

 He stated that the fertility of land was not capable of being perma- 

 nently decreased by bad management, whereas, by good management 

 the poorest land may be made to yield large and remunerative crops, 

 as evidenced by the success of Flemish agriculture. Formerly the in- 

 fluence of the mechanical properties of the soil were much overrated, 

 and at the present time too much influence is ascribed to the chemical 

 properties. When potash or ammonia salts pass through soils the basic 

 portion is retained, the acids passing away in conjunction with the 

 lime of the soil. Soda, which is of less importance to plants, is not re- 

 tained, whereas potash and ammonia are absorbed both by clay or sili- 

 cate of alumina, and by hydrated oxide of iron, and retained in spite 

 of repeated washings. The sesquioxides, of which those of iron (Fe 2 

 O 3 ) and aluminum (Al 2 O 3 ) are taken as types, may be regarded as 

 weak acids, retaining the alkalies in the soil. Prof. Voelcker men- 

 tioned that so far from the soil of England being in the process of ex- 

 haustion, that its fertility was being greatly augmented, in good farm 

 practice the restoration being in advance of the exhaustion. As a 

 proof of this he stated that in Norfolk the average produce of wheat 

 was in 1773 = 15 bushels per acre. In 1796 = 28 bushels per acre. 

 In 1862 = 32 to 36 bushels per acre. The increase being due to drain- 

 age, tillage, and to the growth of improved varieties. 



NEW RESEARCHES ON OZONE. 



In a communication to the Annales de Chimie, M. De Luna states 

 that, 1. Every time that chemical reaction takes place in atmospheric 

 air the oxygen in the air is ozonized. 2. The ozonoscopic paper made 

 blue by the ozone is decolorized in an atmosphere of hydrogen. The 

 coloration and decoloration of the paper can thus be produced nearly in- 

 definitely, by plunging the paper alternately in ozonized air and hydro- 

 gen. The following is the mode of operation : In an empty flask, per- 

 fectly dry, is placed a tube terminating with a funnel, by which 

 sulphuric acid may be so poured in that the extremity of the tube may 

 rest in it, the tube having a piece of ozonoscopic paper twisted round 

 it. While the flask is dry, no change takes place ; but if the flask be 

 made damp, when the sulphuric acid is poured in, the combination of 

 the latter with the water ozonizes the air, and the paper becomes blue. 

 Ozonification takes place when chemical action is set up by putting 

 fragments of soda or potash into the dry flask. M. De Luna also easily 

 prepares ozone by adding to a flask of oxygen a concentrated solution 



