820 CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF SOIL-FEKTILITY, 



Experiment x.a. 



These experiments show that the complete extraction of the agri- 

 cere enables a greater multiplication of the bacteria to take place. 

 The stirring of the soil, while the solvent was evaporating, caused 

 rather a better distribution of the soil-wax, but once the solvent 

 has been added, the distribution is permanently destroyed. It 

 appears to be a matter of indifference whether the agricere is 

 completely removed, and then returned, or the soil is moistened 

 with solvent. In both cases the wax is segregated at points upon 

 the surface, as can be seen by the microscopic examination of 

 grains of sand which have been treated with the chloroform 

 solution of agricere. 



After extracting the soil with chloroform, it was dried and 

 exhausted with hot distilled water in the Soxhlet apparatus, and 

 dried. The aqueous extract was made to volume, and incorpo- 

 rated with sand, and dried. As would be expected, the treatment 

 favoured the "rowth of bacteria. 



