92G EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Special studies with Aquilegia vulgaris were made to localize hydro- 

 cyanic acid which exists in that plant. None was found present in the 

 roots, petals, or stamens. In the leaves there was from 1 to 2 mg. per 

 hundred grams, in the stem 3 to 6 mg., and in the buds and ovaries 

 about 10 mg. per hundred grams of fresh material. From this it 

 appears that only those organs of the plant containing chlorophyll are 

 able to produce hydrocyanic acid. 



From his own experiments and those reviewed, the author concludes 

 that nitrates which are reduced in plants, pass through a hydrocyanic 

 acid state, and this generally takes place in parts of the plant where 

 assimilatory production of formic aldehyde predominates. It appears 

 well established that formic aldehyde possesses great power to form com- 

 binations and polymeres, and these are closely related with the glucoses, 

 pentoses, and hexoses. The cyanogen derivatives are equally suscepti- 

 ble of combination, passing through various forms which give rnethyl- 

 amins. It has been shown by Kilani that all the sugars in plants are 

 capable of combining with hydrocyanic acid to form nitrites. It seems 

 probable that hydrocyanic acid formed in plant cells enters into com- 

 bination with formic aldehyde, giving more or less complex nitrogenous 

 compounds, as ainids, amins, and nitrites, the fundamental products 

 lor the hydration of albumen. 



The influence of Nitragin on the growth of various legumes, 

 M. Maercker and H. Steffeok (Abs. in Chem. Centbl., 2 (1898), No. 

 18, p. 938). — Various legumes were grown in pots with sterilized and 

 unsterilized soil. The kinds of soil used were light loamy sand, 

 humus loam, and pure sand. Each pot contained G kg. of soil, which 

 was fertilized with 1 gm. of phosphoric acid in the form of Thomas slag, 

 1 gm. of potassium sulphate, 1 gm. of potassium chlorid, 1 gm. of mag- 

 nesium sulphate, and 10 gm. of calcium carbonate. The inoculation 

 was effective on sterilized soil in nearly all cases. With blue lupines 

 the effect was most marked, while with alfalfa no effect was noticeable. 

 The percentage of nitrogen increased with the yield, and the increase 

 of accumulated nitrogen was found exclusively in the parts of the plants 

 above ground. 



Experiments with Nitragin, A. P. Aitken (Trans. Highland and 

 Agr. Soc. /Scotland, 5. scr., 10 (1898), pp. 299-305). — The author has pre- 

 viously reported a series of experiments conducted under his direction 

 with this substance (E. S. II., 7, p. 900). Supplies of Nitragin for clover, 

 beans, and vetches were distributed to a large number of farmers with 

 directions for applying to the soil. In the different experiments which 

 are summarized the results secured from plats with and without Nitragin 

 varied so little as to be practically within the limits of error. 



"The conditions under which we are warranted in expecting that Nitragin will 

 be of service to agriculture are the absence of sufficient nitrogenous matter in the 

 soil capable of producing a full leguminous crop, and the absence of the BaciUus 

 radicicolu, which enables the plant to obtain a sufficient supply of nitrogen from the 

 atmosphere. It is doubtful if these two conditions will be found to coexist in any 

 soil under rotation in this couutry." 



