BY R. GREIG-SMITH. 



Experiment x.6. 



821 



The residual soil, after extraction with chloroform and water, 

 still contained a considerable amount of available nutriment. 



Experiment x.c. 



It must be remembered that, in thi.s experiment, the garden- 

 ^soil was extracted with hot chloroform for a day, and that this 

 treatment would have been sufficient to destroy much, if not all, 

 of the bacteriotoxin in the soil. We, therefore, have to deal with 

 the behaviour of the toxin-free soil relative to the agricere. From 

 the results we conclude that the removal of the inert agricere 

 enables the nutrients to be liberated and become available for 

 the growth of bacteria. Allowing for the action of the chloro- 

 form, the agricere, when returned to the soil, causes it to behave 

 like a normal soil. Stirring the soil during the evaporation of 

 the solvent dififuses the agricere, and prevents so free a libera- 

 tion of the nutrients. These are slowly dissolved by hot water, 

 and, even after a day's extraction, the soil contains a consider- 

 .able quantity. 



