The Fixation oe Nitrogen. 75 
ieet. This was said to have been good water but there was no 
quantity of it. The well, with this exception, was dry when dug 
and is still dry. The striking of water in the first well seems to 
have been an accident. The flow is not strong and comes from the 
direction of the higher land. The owner stated that one man could 
not pump the well dry but that two men taking turns could pump 
it out. The water is unfit for any use, even for irrigation. There 
were a few hills of corn near the well which had been watered 
with this well water; the corn was burned and I doubt whether 
it will survive. There were also some onions which did not show 
any effects of it. This well is near the owner's house and on 
ground sloping to the south. The land which the owner pros¬ 
pected for water by borings is lower and at times is flooded by 
rain water. The surrounding country is not irrigated and the 
rain fall is not sufficient for the growing of crops. The owner, 
who is holding thi land in the hope that sometime it will be brought 
under irrigation, stated that he had not gotten enough out of his 
crops to pay for the labor expended on them. The source of the 
nitrates contained in this water is unquestionably, I think, the 
higher lying surface soil to the north of this place. Why the 
water should be confined, as it apparently is, to this particular area 
is not evident. There is nothing in the contour of the country to 
suggest a reason. The first sample of this water that I had, one 
which was sent to the Station by the owner, contained 1819.5 grains 
per imperial gallon or 25,993.0 p. p. m., the sample which I col¬ 
lected myself and shipped in glass gave 1692.6 grains per imperial 
galon or 24,180.0 p. p. m. 
ANALYSIS XCI 
Water-residue 
Laboratory 
No. 1077 
Percent 
Calcic sulfate . 9.553 
Magnesic sulfate . 56.650 
Potassic sulfate . 0.7 69 
Sodic sulfate . 6.142 
Sodic chlorid . 3.266 
Sodic nitrate . 22.480 
Iron and Aluminic oxid. 1.140 
100.000 
The question of the existence of brown spots here would seem 
to be excluded. Brown spots of course are taken as a positive 
indication of the presence of nitrates and of azotobacter. Such a 
concentration of nitrates in surface waters like these calls for a most 
extraordinary supply of nitrates or a very long period of concen¬ 
tration and the separation of the accompanying “alkali" salts. The 
activity of the bacteria is conditioned by temperature, moisture 
