Note 122 — Chapter VI · THE PHYSIOLOGICAL THEORY OF FERMENTATION.

We shall show, some day, that the processes of oxidation due to growth of fungi cause, in certain decompositions, liberation of ammonia to a considerable extent, and that by regulating their action we might cause them to extract the nitrogen from a host of organic débris, as also, by checking the production of such organisms, we might considerably increase the proportion of nitrates in the artificial nitrogenous substances. By cultivating various moulds on the surface of damp bread in a current of air, we have obtained an abundance of ammonia, derived from the decomposition of the albuminoids effected by the fungoid life. The decomposition of asparagus, and several other animal or vegetable substances, has given similar results.