10 



TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE [Sess. lviil 



necessary, from the nature of the experiments I requii'ed to 

 execute, to satisfy myself whether nitrogen was active or 

 not. I consequently went through a series of determinations 

 on the point, and secured a number of concordant results, 

 the outcome of which I thought might prove of interest to 

 this Society, and I have taken this opportunity of laying 

 them before you. 



In a paper published in the Transactions of the Chemical 

 Society (September 1880), I gave the results of three 

 experiments on this subject, showing that atmospheric 

 nitrogen takes no active part in the germination of barley. 

 Taking into consideration the short length of time occu- 

 pied by each of those experiments, I thought it desirable 

 to confirm the results then obtained by executing a fresh 

 series of experiments, each extending over a longer period, 

 and to observe the fluctuations in the volume of confined 

 air from day to day. 



The apparatus employed was the same as in the former 

 experiments. It is seen in Fig. 1. A is a flask of about 

 100 c.c. capacity, with 3iLM. graduations on the neck, and 

 carefully calibrated. The flask is inverted, with its mouth 

 under the surface of mercury, in the small glass vessel B, 

 and the whole is immersed in a large beaker full of water. 

 The changes of temperature are obsers'ed by means of a 

 thermometer, D. A small plug of platinum wire, in the 

 neck of the flask, sen-es to keep the germinating corns in 

 their place in the body of the flask. 

 The specific gra\dty of the platinum 

 plug and of the steeped barley was 

 determined, so that their volume might 

 be deducted from that of the air in 

 the flask. 



"When the apparatus was arranged 

 for an experiment, a portion of the 

 confined air was withdrawn by means 

 of a gas syringe, shown in Fig. 2 — 

 (The V tube A has a capillary bore ; 

 B is a pinchcock on the suction tube.) 

 — and the quantity of nitrogen deter- 

 mined by analysis. At the end of 

 the experiment, another portion of air was taken from the 



