THE ACQUISITION OF ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN. 

 W. M. Munson. 



[Several years ago, the Director of this Station, then assistant 

 to Professor W. O. Atwater of Wesleyan University, had the 

 privilege of sharing in an investigation upon "The acquisition 

 of atmospheric nitrogen by growing plants." The experiments 

 demonstrated that certain plants had this power. The results 

 of the first series of experiments were presented by Professor 

 Atwater at the meeting of the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science in 1881. These results together with 

 those of another series of experiments were presented by 

 Professor Atwater at the meeting of the British Association for 

 the Advancement of Science in 1884, and were published in 

 detail in the American Chemical Journal for February, 1885. 

 The investigation was interrupted for four years, and in the 

 mean time the results were confirmed by other experimenters. 

 Notable among these is Hellriegel, who showed that in 

 some way the enlargements of the roots (root nodules or 

 tubercles) are concerned in the fixation of the nitrogen of the 

 air. After the establishment of the Starrs (Conn.) Experi- 

 ment Station these investigations were continued by Professor 

 Atwater and the writer. A number of allied questions were 

 studied, including the losses of nitrogen which occur in germ- 

 inating seeds and in growing plants. The last important 

 experiment was an investigation in which it was shown that it 

 was the free (uncombined) nitrogen of the air which peas and 

 allied plants have the power of acquiring. The results of this 

 investigation were given in the report of the Storrs Station for 

 1892. 



In 1897, it was deemed advisable to undertake an investiga- 

 tion here with special reference to the practical application of 

 the principles already established. During the past few years 

 a large amount of work, from many different standpoints, has 



