PROFESSOR SCHOENBEIN ON SPONTANEOUS NITRIFICATION. 141 
From what source does the vegetable world draw the nitrogen which we meet in so 
many of her products ? If, according to a prevailing notion, it be only nitrogen in a 
compound state that can be assimilated by plants, is it not possible that nitrogen 
contained in nitrates might be as well taken up by them as the azote of ammonia? 
It is easy to see that in the affirmative case some nitrogen would be offered to grow- 
ing plants by the means of organic substances containing no azote, and putrefying in 
the atmosphere. I do not intend, however, to meddle with those transcendent ques- 
tions of physiological chemistry, and leave the answering of them to those who are 
much better qualified than myself to solve problems of such an intricate and difficult 
nature. 
Bale, October 1845. 
