70 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1045 



plants and others with root-tubercles is of this 

 character. 



2. The close symbiosis between " Azoto- 

 bacter " and similar nitrc^en-absorbing bac- 

 teria and many species of algse is well known. 



3. The increased production of timothy and 

 other grasses when sown along with clover, 

 not merely following, has been demonstrated. 



4. The vigorous growth of plants in soils 

 very rich in organic matter. Such material 

 inhibits the growth of the nitrous-nitric bac- 

 teria when grown in culture, and may do so in 

 soil, so that nitrates may not account for this 

 vigorous growth. 



5. As a general rule the most fertile soils 

 contain the most bacteria. 



6. The doctrine that nitrates furnish the 

 nitrogen to plants was established before the 

 activities of bacteria in the soil were suspected 

 and should be re-investigated under conditions 

 absolutely controlled as to sterility. It is 

 probably true in large part, but may not be the 

 exclusive method. 



It would seem that one of the chief func- 

 tions of bacteria in the soil is to prepare solu- 

 ble organic compounds of nitrogen for the use 

 of green plants. It does not appear to be 

 really necessary that organic nitrogen com- 

 pounds decomposing in the soil must be " am- 

 monified," " nitrited " and " nitrated," as is 

 now generally held since Winogradsky demon- 

 strated the activities of bacteria in these lines 

 to account for the presence of nitrates in the 

 soil. 



Experiments have been made by various ob- 

 servers in growing seedling plants of different 

 kinds in water culture with one, or in some 

 cases, several of the amino acids as sources of 

 nitrogen. Most of these experiments have 

 been disappointing. Plant proteins are nox 

 so different from animal proteins, nor plant 

 protoplasm (apart from the chlorophyl- 

 containing portions) from animal proto- 

 plasm as to lead one to suppose that it could 

 be built up from one or two amino acids 

 any niore than animal protoplasm can. The 

 writer is strongly convinced from investigations 

 on this subject for several years that it should 

 be thoroughly investigated. It will require 



careful experimentation and possibly rather 

 large funds to provide the amounts of amino 

 acids that would probably be needed, but might 

 result in a decided change in current ideas of 

 soil fertility and in the use of nitrogen 

 fertilizers. 



Chas. B. Moerey 

 Ohio State University 



TSE PEILADELPSIA MEETING OF TEE 

 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOS TEE 

 ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 

 The sixty-sixth meeting of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science 

 and of the affiliated national scientific societies 

 was held in Philadelphia, December 28, 1914, 

 to January 2, 1915. Houston Hall at the Uni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania was the headquarters 

 and most of the meetings of the sections and 

 afliHated societies were held in the various 

 buildings of the university. 



The registered number of members in at- 

 tendance was one of the largest in the history 

 of the association, being 1,086. The number 

 for the affiliated societies could not be definitely 

 ascertained. A number of institutions sent 

 delegates to the meeting and ten foreign asso- 

 ciates were elected for the meeting. The fol- 

 lowing affiliated societies met during the week : 



American Physical Society. 



The Geological Society of America. 



Paleontological Society of America. 



American Alpine Club. 



American Society of Zoologists. 



American Society of Naturalists. 



American Association of Entomologists. 



Entomological Society of America. 



Botanical Society of America. 



American Phytopathological Society. 



Society for Horticultural Science. 



SuUivant Moss Society. 



American Microscopical Society. 



American Pern Society. 



American Anthropological Association. 



American Folk-Lore Society. 



American Psychological Association. 



Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychol- 

 ogy. 



Society of American Bacteriologists. 



American Federation of Teachers of the Mathe- 

 matical and the Natural Sciences. 



