10 



period of time, tlie fatting pastures beinj? slightly higher and drier, 

 while the only chemical difference in the soils was a greater propor- 

 tion of phosphoric acid in the soils from the fatting fields. The soils 

 from the fatting fields were also considerably more active, and 

 produced ammonia and nitrate at a greater rate, especially in the 

 earlier part of the season. No light on the greater feeding value of 

 one herbage over the other was obtained from their analyses; it is 

 evident that the ordinary methods of analysis of feeding stuffs are 

 not sufficiently refined to deal witli a question of this kind. 



The following papers have been published during the year. 



H. B. Hutchinson and N. H. J. Miller. " The Direct As- 

 similation of Ifwrgatiic and Orgafiic Forms of Nitrogen 

 by Higher Plantsr Centr. Bakt. I\ar. 1911. ii, 30, 513. 



In these experiments barley and peas were grown in water 

 cultures under perfectly sterile conditions, and the nitrogen required 

 for nutrition was supplied in various forms of combination other 

 than the nitrates upon which plants are generally considered to be 

 dependent. The technical difficulties of growing plants under sterile 

 conditions are considerable, but they were successfully overcome, and 

 in all the cases dealt with the culture medium was found to have 

 remained sterile at the end of the experiment. It was found possible 

 to get plants to grow when supplied with a large number of 

 compounds of nitrogen, which must have been taken up directly 

 because of the absence of organisms to convert them into simpler 

 forms of combination. Of the compounds tested ammonia gave 

 satisfactory growth, the plants being characterised by a high pro- 

 portion of nitrogen in their dry matter. The greatest growth how- 

 ever was obtained witli urea. Barbituric acid, acetamide, alloxan, 

 soluble humus, and peptone were also satisfactory sources of nitro- 

 gen, while formamide, glycine, alanine, guanidine hydrochloride, 

 cyanuric acid and oxamide gave rise to a distinct though more 

 limited amount of growth. Ilydroxylamine hydrochloride, ethyl 

 nitrate, propionitrile, methyl carbamate, gave negative results, 

 as also probably did trimethylamine, para-uxdizme, and hexam- 

 ethylenetetramine. Tetranitrometliane proved to be toxic. Plants 

 are thus shown to be capable of utilising directly many of the 

 compounds of nitrogen which may occur in the soil as products of 

 bacterial decay, as well as the ammonia and nitrates wliich are the 

 final terms of such changes. 



T. CiOODEY. ' A coutrihution to our knowledge of the Protozoa 

 of the Soil r Proc. Roy. Soc. 1911. B. 84,165. 



In this paper Mr. Goodey gives a detailed description with 

 figures of the various species of protozoa which he has been able to 



