NITROGEN AND OTHER COMPOUNDS IN RAIN 
AND SNOW 
JACOB E. TRIESCHMANN AND NICHOLAS KNIGHT 
The importance of regularly analyzing the rain and snow for 
nitrogen and other compounds is widely recognized, both for its 
agricultural and hygienic significance. Messrs. F. T. Shutt and 
R. L. Dorrance of Ottawa, Canada, carried on a systematic 
investigation of the rain and snow through a period of ten years, 
1908 to 1917, the results of which study have added much to our 
knowledge of the importance of the nitrogen compounds as an 
agricultural factor. 
Our purpose has been to determine the amounts of the different 
nitrogen compounds, the chlorine, sulphates, and phosphates in 
the rain-water, and snow of this locality — a continuation of the 
work which has been carried on here for a number of years, the 
results of which have appeared in the Chemical News from year 
to year. 
The work was carried out in the Cornell College Laboratory 
under ordinary laboratory conditions. It covers a period of eight 
and one-half months, October 1, 1918, to June 15, 1919. The 
samples were collected in granite pans on an open spot near the 
center of the town, which has a population of about 2500. The 
town is without manufacturing industries, which eliminates ex- 
cessive smoke contamination of the air. Every precaution was 
taken to prevent contamination. Samples were collected on the 
morning following the precipitation and analyzed as soon there- 
after as was possible. 
Altogether, 46 samples were analyzed, of which 36 were rain- 
water, and 10 were snow. There were 45 inches of snow and 
18.50 inches of rain. This represents 22.25 inches of rain, con- 
sidering 12 inches of snow equivalent to one (1) inch of rain. 
There have been furnished during the period 511.74 pounds of 
chlorine, 1.509 pounds of sulphates (as SO3), and 5.2790 pounds 
of nitrogen per acre. The phosphates (as P2O5) supplied only 
.0086 pound per acre. 
The tables appended do not include the sulphates and phos- 
