Catalytic Phanomena with Allotropy. 445 



acid; a property wanting in sound wood. But it is known that 

 decayed wood, brought into contact with sound wood, furthers 

 the decay of the latter in a most surprising manner. AVe see, 

 therefore, that in this case decayed wood acts upon undecayed 

 just as oil of turpentine, &c. standing in contact with atmo- 

 spheric air, acts upon cork. 



The fact also, that many dead animals, as, for example, lob- 

 sters, fish, and, under certain circumstances, human corpses 

 in certain stages of their decay, become phosphorescent in the 

 dark, appears to me to prove that in the progress of decay sub- 

 stances are formed whose ozonizing property far exceeds that of 

 the matters from which they are formed. As is the case with 

 phosphorus and decayed wood, the phosphorescence of these 

 animal bodies only takes place in oxygen or atmospheric air, 

 from which it is clear that this phsenomenon arises from an oxi- 

 dation. But as the fresh bodies of these animals do not phos- 

 phoresce, the substances by whose oxidation that phsenomenon is 

 caused do not exist in them, and these are only formed in a de- 

 terminate stage of their putrefaction or decay. 



Nitric acid or a nitrate is a product of the decay of nitroge- 

 nous organic substances taking place under certain circumstances; 

 and I cannot avoid specially mentioning this fact, which is so 

 important both theoretically and practically. 



M. Bauraert's experiments, as well as my own, have shown, 

 years ago, that free ozonized oxygen with ammonia produces 

 nitrate of ammonia; the O therefore combines with the hy- 

 drogen of ammonia to form water, and with the nitrogen to form 

 nitric acid. It is moreover a fact, that nitrogenous organic sub- 

 stances produce ammonia in their decay ; and we know also that 

 there is a number of organic substances which act upon oxygen 

 like phosphorus, that is, transform into 0. 



These facts render it probable that the nitric acid which is formed 

 in the decay of nitrogenous organic substances arises from the 

 action of O upon NH"''. The latter results from the putrefaction 

 of these substances, and the atmospheric is changed to O under 

 the influence of one or the other of the organic substances pre- 

 sent. By the action of this O on NH^ nitric acid is formed, 

 which unites with another portion of ammonia to form nitrate of 

 ammonia ; or if a stronger base be present, such as potash, soda, 

 lime, &c., to form nitrate of potash, &c. 



If we place phosphorus in contact with atmospheric oxygen, 

 the latter is ozonized ; and if we pass this O through ammonia, 

 nitrate of ammonia is formed. If we add to the ammonia, pot- 

 ash, &c., wc^obtain saltpetre, &c. ; and if there be a sufficient 

 quantity of present, all the ammonia is oxidized into nitric 

 acid and water. In my opinion this case exhibits the process of 

 the so-called spontaneous nitrification in its simplest form. 



