452 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JUNE 
amounts of salts, as described in Bulletin 70 of the Bureau of 
Soils, were employed in this investigation. 
Considering first the absorption of phosphate, the entire set of 
cultures containing no glycocoll absorbed 177.5 mg. of P.O,, while 
the similar set of cultures with glycocoll absorbed 233 mg. The 
relative absorption of potash was. somewhat similar. In the 
solutions without glycocoll, 613.7 mg. of K.0 was removed, while 
from the cultures with glycocoll 623.5 mg. was absorbed. With 
both phosphate and potash, the glycocoll cultures removed more 
than the normal cultures, which was to be expected, as the glycocoll 
cultures made a larger growth. However, the absorption of nitrate 
was less by the glycocoll than the normal cultures. The set of 
cultures containing no glycocoll removed 544.7 mg. NH;, and the 
cultures with glycocoll only 320.5 mg. NH;. The removal of 
less nitrate from solutions containing glycocoll is also contributing 
evidence that the plants use the glycocoll in building tissue, as it 
would use the nitrate in this particular function. 
The effect of glycocoll seems to be the same as that of crea- 
tinine,” creatine, histidine, arginine,’ asparagine,” xanthine, 
hypoxanthine, and nucleic acid," all nitrogenous compounds and 
shown to be beneficial to growth, especially in the absence of any 
other form of nitrogen. These compounds replace the effect of 
nitrates on plants and are used as such by the plant. 
In recent years it has been demonstrated that plants not only 
use nitrogen in the form of nitrates and ammonia, but that they can 
also use eee: in the form of complex organic compounds."* The 
© SKINNER, - we Beneficial effect of creatinine and creatine on growth. Bor. 
GAZ. ae ne I 
see oe ee nape and arginine as soil constituents. Eighth Internat. 
Cone ‘Arphic Chem. 
and eiiere J. on ‘Effect of asparagine on absorption and growth. 
Bulb. ene ane Club 39:429. 
3 SCHREINER, O., and spine J. J., Experimental study of the effect of some 
nitrogenous soil eR on growth. Nucleic acid and its decomposition products. 
Plant World 16:45. 
a promiig 0. pO ES on soils at the 1911 meeting of the A.A.A.S. 
Science 36:577. 
‘eaviesegiis, "HL ‘B. , and Miter, N. H. J., The direct assimilation of bist 
and oo forms of nitrogen by higher plants. Centralbl. Bakt. 30:513. 
SCHREINER, O., and SKINNER, J. J., Nitrogenous soil prone i ‘their 
enring at soil fertility. Bull. 87. Bar. Soils, U.S. Dept. Agric. 
