ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN IOI 



NITROGEN. 



In seeds. In plant. Loss. 



Gram. Gram. Gram. 



Dwarf beans o. 1001 0.0977 0.0024 



Oats 0.0109 0.0097 0.0012 



White lupines 0.2710 0.2669 0.0041 



Garden cress 0.0013 0.0013 



These experiments show that with a sterilized soil, 

 and all sources of combined atmospheric nitrogen cut 

 off, the free nitrogen of the air takes no part in the 

 food supply of the plant. 



In 1854 Boussingault again repeated his experi- 

 ments on nitrogen assimilation. This time he grew 

 the plants in a glass case so constructed that there was 

 a free circulation of air from which all combined nitro- 

 gen had been removed. These experiments were 

 similar to his second series; the plants, however, 

 were not grown in a limited volume of air. The 

 results obtained showed that the free nitrogen of 

 the air, under the conditions of the experiment, took 

 no part in the food supply of the plants. If anything, 

 there was less nitrogen recovered in the dwarfed 

 plants than there was in the seed sown. 



117. Ville's Results. About the same time Ville 

 carried on a series of experiments of like nature, but 

 in a different way, and arrived at just the opposite 

 conclusions. In short, his experiments indicated that 

 plants are capable of making liberal use of the free 

 nitrogen of the air for food purposes. The directly 

 opposite conclusions of Boussingault and Ville, led to 

 a great deal of controversy. The French Academy of 

 Science took up the question, and appointed a com- 



