224 LOEW ; DEHAVIOUK OF HIITURIC ACID IN SOILS. 



2 liters each, remained for 12 weeks, in the dark at 16-18 0 . 

 The fungoid mass which formed was exceedingly small and 

 hardly visible. While there was no nitrite formed in the flask 

 containing the formate, (,) there was some in the oxalate flask. 

 A small portion of this liquid was diluted with 9 times its 

 volume of water, and the coloration obtained by Griess's reaction 

 compared with that of standard, highly diluted nitrite solutions. 

 In this way, the conclusion was arrived at that the total 

 amount of nitrous acid did not exceed one milligramme, while 

 the control solution with ammonium carbonate contained more 

 than 10 times as much. I observed further that the nitrification- 

 process proceeds nearly double as quickly in the dark as in 

 the daylight. 



(1) There exists however a certain bacillus — I have called it Bacillus melhylicus- 

 ab!e to assimilate formates (Centrbl. f. Bact., 13, Nr. 14). 



