480 AUGUSTO BONAZZI 



It appears, therefore, that the function of nitrosofermentation 

 is closely and intimately connected with the function of carbon 

 assimilation by the bacterial cells. In fact, from the data at 

 our disposal it appears as if their separation were impossible. 

 Loew (1891) as early as 1891, soon after the classical researches of 

 Winogradsky, advanced the view that the process of nitroso- 

 fermentation does not take place according to the path described 

 in the accompanying equation : 



2 NH3 + 3O2 -^ 2NO2H + 2H2O 



but rather by the path symbolized as follows: 



2 NH3 + 2O2 -^ 2NO0H + 4H 



The hydrogen liberated during the reaction is not found free in 

 the medium but is momentarily formed in the cells and utilized 

 in a synthetic process according to the following equation: 



CO2 + 4 H -^ CH2O + H2O 



The resulting formaldehyde is not condensed into carbohydrate 

 but directly into protein substances. The fact that nitrates are 

 not utilized by the organism is cited by Loew in support of the 

 above view. 



From a physiological standpoint the question is an important 

 one, and a full understanding of its "7nodus operandi'' will lead 

 to an understanding of the formation of the oxidized nitro- 

 genous compounds in nature and of the early phases of the 

 accumulation of the carbon supplies on the earth. 



EXPERIMENTAL 



It was at first necessary to establish whether the organism 

 from American soils behaved towards carbon dioxide in a manner 

 similar to that of the organisms from Europe and Asia, since the 

 differences in form and life-cycle shown by these different organ- 

 isms could well be accompanied by differences in physiological 

 characteristics. With this aim in view, in 1914 a soil which had 

 received the application of 9000 pounds of calcium carbonate 



