144 
geological map which, when matched along the Penn- 
sylvania-Maryland line, brings out the single glaring 
defect in the beautiful chart of Pennsylvania’s banded 
terranes. Where, between the meridians of 77°20’ W.., 
and 77°30 W., on the northern map the legend reads 
“ Quartzite,” the southern more accurate map shows 
broad fields of ancient basalts (diabase) bordered by a 
little Cambrian sandstone. 
The three maps, of New Jersey, of Pennsylvania and 
of Maryland, should be in the outfit of every school where 
geology is taught. The student who would know how a 
great mountain range is constructed needs to make out a 
section of Pennsylvania from the ancient crystallines near 
South Mountain westward across the folds and faults of 
the Appalachians and the Alleghenies to the shores of 
Lake Erie. The sheets of this map brought together and 
mounted form an instructive wall map for class use. Both 
the teacher and the field student of geology must thank 
the author of that other memorial of Pennsylvania’s 
history, ‘‘ The Manual of Coal and its Topography,” for 
this latest contribution to the literature of the science. 
THE SYNTHETICAL POWERS OF MICRO- 
ORGANISMS.—IlI. 
BY O. LOEW, UNIVERSITY OF TOKIO, JAPAN. 
We have in a former communication considered the 
sources of carbon for the formation of proteids, 7.c., for 
the increase of protoplasm and multiplication of microbes. 
The sources of nitrogen for the microbes are just as 
manifold. Not only salts of ammonia and nitrates, but 
also organic compounds of the most different structure 
may serve; thus: amines, amides, derivatives of urea and 
guanidin amidoacids and crganic cyanides, ¢. g., methyl- 
amin, acetamid, hydantoin, kreatin, glycocoll, leucin, 
asparagin, methylcyanide. Of inorganic combinations 
ferrocyanide of potassium is but a poor source of nitrogen, 
whilst hydroxylamin and diamid are entirely unfit for use, 
being very poisonous.’ Nitrites are less.favorable sources 
than nitrates, and the nitrates are more quickly reduced 
to ammonia than the somewhat poisonous nitrites.* 
It seemed to me an interesting question how this re- 
duction of nitrates to ammonia is carried on without the 
aid of nascent hydrogen; in chemistry this process could 
thus far not be properly explained. Evidently the living 
protoplasm, with its atomic motions, was engaged in this 
process, and I succeeded finally in applying platinum 
black with an aqueous solution of glucose and potassium 
nitrate, heating the mixture several hours upon the water- 
bath, in bringing about this transformation,* which may 
be expressed by the following equation: 
Cjsl O46 INO == INist tS (Cel IS©), 46 1st ©). 
—_ f ¢ 
glucose potassium ammonia « 
nitrate 
The peculiar kind of molecular motions in the platinum 
black transferred upon the molecules of sugar,and nitrate 
brought about an exchange of hydrogen and oxygen 
atoms, ammonia being formed on the one hand and an 
organic acid (which was not closely examined) on the 
other. We call such processes katalytic. 
The action of light is not necessary for the reduction 
of nitrates by bacteria or by any other plant cell. That 
the nitrogen is not taken as such from the nitrates for the 
synthesis of the proteids, but that it must be connected 
first with hydrogen, is shown by the nature of the ordinary 
proteids which contain about one-third of ‘their nitrogen 
in form of amido groups.” 
1Compare O. Loew, ‘‘ A Natural System of Poisonous Actions,” Munich, 1893. 
20. Loew, Biol. Centralblatt, vol. x., p. 588. 
3Berichte der D. Chem, Ges., vol. xxiil., p. 675. 
40. Loew, Journal 7. Prakt. Chent., vol. xxxi,, p- 134. 
S(CIUZINGIE: 
Vol. XXIII. No. 580 
The different nitrogenous compounds in serving for 
assimilation of nitrogen (as methylamin, leucin, kreatin, 
etc.) must evidently be decomposed first with production 
of ammonia before the synthetical work can begin. This 
decomposition by the aid of the living protoplasm can 
take place either under reducing influences or under 
oxidizing ones, or by the action of water, according to the 
chemical nature of the nitrogenous substance; as for 
example: 
H,N —CH,—COOH+H,=NH,+CH,—COOH. 
: f 
acetic acid 
glycocoll 
CH,— NH,+30=CO?+H,O-+NH, 
methylamin 
An interesting fact in regard to the assimilation of 
nitrogen is the faculty of assimilating atmospheric nitrogen, 
of the leguminous plants, after their roots entered in 
symbiosis with certain kinds of bacteria, as was shown by 
Hellriegel. Also in this case, however, the gaseous 
nitrogen is not directly used for the synthesis of proteids, 
it must be first converted into an ammonia compound, 
most probably into ammonium nitrite by those bacteria. 
N,+2H,0O=NO,.NH, 
‘Also this process may be imitated, as I have demon- 
strated, if platinum black in presence of gaseous nitrogen 
or air is moistened with caustic lye.° 
In regard to the assimilation of sulfur it is also found 
that very different combinations can be used; thus 
sulfates and sulfites, methylsulfide, sulfonic acids, as, 
for instance, taurin, sulfones like sulfonal, ete. Evi- 
dently there must be also here formed at first a suitable 
group before the sulfur can enter into the forming 
albuminous molecule. If we consider that the sulfur 
can easily be split off from proteids (in part at least) in 
the form of sulfuretted hydrogen and that the entire 
character of proteids leads us to the conclusion that the 
sulfur is contained in them in the shape of the hydro- 
sulfyl group, then it becomes highly probable that H,S is 
the combination first formed from all the different sources 
of sulfur. The sulfates must be therefore reduced for the 
assimilation of sulfur. I have shown, also, here, how 
such a process can be performed katalytically:” if we heat 
a solution of oxymethyl] sulfonate of sodium with platinum 
black and carbonate of sodium we can soon observe the 
formation of sodium sulfide. This process is certainly a 
very interesting sort of reduction, and may be expressed 
by the following equation: 
2 (CH,OH—SO,Na)+Na,CO,= Na,S+SO,Na,-+- 
CH,O,+2 CO)-F2 H,0O 
Our considerations have led us to the conclusion that 
formic aldehyde, ammonia and sulfuretted hydrogen are 
the immediate material for synthesis of albuminous matter 
or proteids. A clue what way the synthesis may take is 
furnished by the decomposition of proteids taking place 
under certain conditions in the higher plants, whereby 
asparagin is formed in very large quantities. On the 
other hand we find that asparagin is rapidly converted 
into albuminous matter in presence of sulfates and 
glucose. Therefore the most probable conclusion is, 
that the asparagin is first converted into a substance, 
capable of yielding albumen by a so-called condensa- 
tion process and that this substance must be the 
aldehyde of asparaginic acid. Albuminous substance 
would thus be formed in a nearly analogous process to the 
formation of sugar from formic aldehyde. I have demon- 
5Berichte d. Deutschen Chem. Ges., vol. xxili., p. 1443. The assertion of 
Schoenbein, that ammonium-nitrite is formed in small quantities, on evaporation of 
water in contact with air, was shown to be erroneous by A. Baumann and Neumann, 
®Ber. d. D. Chem. ’Ges., vol. xxiii., p. 3125. 
