By Edward Solly, Esq. 



51 



It is almost impossible to draw certain conclusions from these 

 results, in consequence of the small scale on which the experiment 

 was made, it is however worthy of remark that generally speaking, 

 those stems which contained the greatest quantity of inorganic 

 matter, contained relatively a larger proportion of alkaline salts, 

 than those stems in which a less quantity of inorganic matter was 

 found. 



Particular attention was paid, during the examination of these 

 plants, to the existence of Nitric Acid in them ; none of the tubers 

 were found to contain any; some of the stems did, whilst the 

 greater number did not contain any Nitric Acid, the following 

 table shews these dhTerences : — 



The fact that some of these plants contained salts of Nitric Acid, 

 whilst others did not, is very remarkable, and of especial interest 

 in connexion with the action of the Nitrates as manure. Professor 

 Liebig says, in his " Chemistry in its applications to Agriculture," 

 etc. (3rd edit. p. 233.) " The presence of a Nitrate in plants per- 

 mits only one conclusion — that the nitrogen of Nitric Acid is not 

 employed in their organism for the formation of compounds con- 

 taining that element, because, if it were, at a certain period of the 

 life of the plant, it would disappear on account of this conversion." 

 The existence of Nitrates in a plant cannot, as it appears to me, be 



