118 RECLAIMING LOST NITROGEN 
FIXING ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN BY ARTIFI- 
CIAL MEANS 
Within recent years one or two commercial processes have been 
developed for fixing atmospheric nitrogen artificially. They de- 
pend on the action of electricity, by means of which the free 
nitrogen may be made to enter into combination with other 
elements. One of these processes results in the production of 
calcium nitrate, another in the production of calcium cyanamide. 
Both of these compounds can be used as fertilizers, the nitrogen 
becoming available for the plants. As yet they have not been 
produced extensively in this country, because of the high cost of 
labor and the expense of electric power; but in Europe they have 
been found of practical importance. 
Bacteriology is concerned with this matter only to a slight 
extent. In the first place, it is a matter of interest to know that 
bacteria do not furnish the only practical means of fixing nitrogen. 
In the second place, bacteria are necessary to convert calcium 
cyanamide into available forms of nitrogen. ‘This compound, like 
other forms of organic nitrogen, is acted upon by bacteria and 
converted finally into ammonia and nitrates. 
