ments have often suggested that rust, at times, either attacks wheat from the soil in some form or manner, not now known, as characteristic of the life history of rust, or that it may come in some manner from the seed. This will at once suggest to those who are familiar with the investigations upon the rusts of cereals, the studies conducted by Professor Ericksson, of Stockholm, and his odd and undemonstratable mycoplasm theory. That author by his experiments seems to have demonstrated that in some manner a rust of wheat (Puccinia glumarum) of that region can be transmitted by the seeds, and claims to have demonstrated by structure studies certain micro-protoplasmic bodies directly associated with the cellular structure of the young wheat plant in such a manner that they are able to transmit the rust infection by finally transforming into filamentous structures in the aftergrowth from the embryo.

Through persistent studies upon this phase of the rust question we are now able to point out a more rational possible explanation of the transmission of rust through the seed of wheat, if it really ever is transmitted in that manner. Professor Ericksson in his experiments enclosed wheat from the time it was seeded until the time of maturity in certain germ proof glass cages and found that rust still appeared in the crop.' Bolley at the North Dakota Experiment Station several times duplicated this work. He used sound wheat grains externally treated and in no case was able to secure rust under the conditions of culture; that is, was unable to confirm the results of Ericksson. It is possible that the wrong kind of wheat was selected in order to prove this work. In the experiments just cited, Bolley used the best selected grains of a particular kind of wheat which was known to rust easily. It was not certain, however, that the grains used had grown on rust-attacked mother plants. Late observations at the 1 Dr. Jacob Ericksson, 'A General Review of the Principal Results of Swedish Research into Grain Rust,' Botanical Gazette, Vol. XXV., No. 1, 1898. Bolley, in Centralblatt für Bacteriologie, Parasitenkunde und Infectionskrankheiten, Zweite Abteilung, IV. Band, 1898, Nos. 23, 24 and 25.

2

North Dakota Experiment Station Botanical Laboratory, in which numerous samples of wheat harvested from the badly rusted crop of 1904 were examined, now allow us to make the definite statement that wheat grains from badly rusted mother plants quite often, indeed, in some strains are quite uniformly internally infected by wheat rust filaments to such extent that spore beds are formed bearing both uredo-spores and teleuto-spores (summer spores and winter spores) beneath the bran layer. In some samples of the rust-infected crop of 1904, as high as thirty per cent. of all grains harvested were so infected with the stem rust (Puccinia graminis) and spore beds bearing both types of spores were found variously located beneath the bran layer of the grains and about the embryo wheat plants. The spots or spore beds are most commonly located immediately at the germ end, causing a black or blighted appearance, but are often found on other portions of the berry, especially along margins of the grooves. It is also found that these grains, thus affected, germinate as freely as any other wheat grains.

These new observations have opened up a new line of investigation, but it is too early to affirm that wheat rust attacks may come in this direct manner from the seed. If, however, later experiments should confirm this possible mode of rust propagation, these observations must undoubtedly throw a new light upon the Ericksson mycoplasm controversy and place another strong emphasis on the importance of proper seed selection and grading of grain in farm practise. The fact that rust thus attacks the wheat grain by way of its attachment is also an apparent explanation of why rusted wheat often fails to properly mature the seed even though there is yet plenty of strength in the parent plants.

HENRY L. BOLLEY, F. J. PRITCHARD. NORTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, July 11, 1905.

APPARATUS TABLES FOR ELECTRICAL LABORATORIES.

THE apparatus tables, here described, were designed to meet the needs of an advanced laboratory in electrical measurements. The

novelty is not one of design, but one of application. This, together with the fact that the decided advantages possessed by the tables are so obvious, makes one doubt if the utilization of such tables for an electrical laboratory is

new.

The accompanying diagram will show the actual dimensions of the tables. They are built of hardwood and made heavy in order to withstand any usage. Upon the tables can be fastened any permanent equipment such as reversing keys, switches, etc. Inasmuch as these tables seem to satisfy the needs of a

galvanometer, this is usually not necessary. It therefore often happens that economy of space is a very important factor in the consideration of laboratory plans. With such small tables (top 18 in. by 24 in.) the observer occupies just that floor space which he needs. Not only can he make up a table of the proper area by combining two or more of the small tables, but he also can group them to suit the conditions. It is an application of the 'unit system.'

4. A laboratory would find the tables useful not only in work in electricity, but as general

20 in.

laboratory for electrical measurements so perfectly, I venture to call attention to some of their most marked advantages.

1. If the apparatus of the student, such as resistance boxes, condensers, etc., be arranged before him on a table of the ordinary height, it will be very inconvenient for him to make any adjustments, or to make any examination of his connections without rising from his seat; both because of the distance he has to reach, and because he can not see sufficiently well. If tables only twenty inches in height are used, everything is in clear view and also within easy reach. It matters not whether the student is using a galvanometer and telescope and scale, or whether he is reading ammeters and voltmeters, the advantage is the

same.

2. The greater convenience of the student means a greater accuracy in his work.

3. Some experiments require comparative isolation from magnetic disturbances, but, on account of the perfection of the D'Arsonval

utility tables. They can be easily lifted and carried about. They are convenient in the research laboratory, in the lecture room, and no doubt in many places about a laboratory. G. W. STEWART. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH Dakota, February, 1905.

QUOTATIONS.

THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.

A MAJORITY decision by the full bench of the Supreme Court, to the effect that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can not sell its present property under the grant of 1861 and can not build over more than one third of the area bounded by Berkeley, Newbury, Clarendon and Boylston streets, seems to be the final word in a matter that has attracted much more than local attention for several years. This result will produce somewhat mingled public emotions. The rapid development of this institution in considerably less than half a century was unforeseen by most of

those who were interested in its founding. Perhaps it did not escape the faith or the vision of President Rogers, but he was unable to make those through whom he had to work see the future from his point of view, and had to be content with concessions that fell somewhat short of what he would have desired.

It is not strange that those who in this later day are responsible for the welfare of the institute should chafe under the restrictions of the original conditions and make an effort to secure greater freedom. The public has doubtless sympathized with them in that undertaking. It likes to see a service that is so broad and vital have a free field for its development. But the court decision makes all further discussion of this feature of the case unprofitable and we do not see that anything remains for the institute to do but to remain where it is and make the best of it. That 'best' can be very fruitful. The desire to obtain a more expansive location was based more on social considerations than on those which make for its main service. Doubtless the enlargement of social opportunities between students and classes would be a desirable feature of the life of the institution, but its fame and its usefulness can continue with unabated growth even with such expansion as is possible under existing conditions.

It certainly ought to be easy to reconcile the Boston public to this final judgment. It assures us the continuance of dignified and noble buildings and open spaces in a vicinity that we have been careful to guard against the invasions of commercialism. It will stand as a temple of science that is in harmony with its surroundings. It will continue to show to our own people and to the stranger within our gates that provision has been made for higher prizes than those of mere worldly gain. While Boston would prefer to keep its distinguished features by some other tie than that of duress, she can not be altogether inconsolable over the prospect that the Institute of Technology is likely to remain, in location, at least, a Boston institution.

It appears to be assumed in some quarters that this decision makes of no effect the tenta

tive steps that have been taken toward a merger with the university beyond the Charles. This conclusion may be somewhat hasty, but should negotiations to that end still continue they will have to undergo a very radical change in terms. The plan which has been under consideration was based upon conditions that no longer exist, and that fact may or may not be fatal to the entire project. Should the decision have the effect of ending it, there is at least a very large proportion of the alumni who would not greatly mourn over the compulsion that seems to confine the institute to its present location. That it must expand is inevitable, and, while that may be more difficult than would be the case in some other section, it is by no means impossible, and the situation ought to awaken among its friends fresh zeal in its behalf.-The Boston Transcript.

NOTES ON INORGANIC CHEMISTRY.

TANTALUM AND ITS ALLOYS.

PATENTS have recently been taken out by Messrs. Siemens, Halske and Company, of Berlin, for tantalum alloys, which promise to be of much interest. The engineering supplement of the London Times gives quite a full description of the properties of the metal taken from the patent specifications, from which we note the following.

The metal is exceedingly strong and has great elasticity, and like steel is easily worked and hardened. Great hardness is imparted to it by small quantities of carbon, but other elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, silicon, boron, aluminum, titanium and tin can also be used. Very small traces of these elements are necessary to give hardness, and if larger quantities are used, the metal becomes very brittle and unworkable. In some cases the hardness attained is almost equal to that of the diamond. Like iron, tantalum, after being worked into shape, can be 'case hardened' by heating to redness in carbon. At ordinary temperatures tantalum is wholly unaffected by the atmosphere and resists the action of most acids. After being melted or highly heated the metal is comparatively soft and

easily worked, but with the working it gains rapidly in hardness, and must be carefully reheated or annealed before it can be further worked. As at high temperatures it is readily oxidized, its heating or fusion is best accomplished in a vacuum and by means of the electric current. Alloys of iron with a very small quantity of tantalum, and of tantalum with a very small quantity of iron seem to have an especial value. Owing to its great cost at present, the use of tantalum is necessarily very restricted, but if it shall ever be obtainable in considerable amounts it will have great value, especially for those parts of machinery which are subject to strong mechanical action, such as the cones and balls for ball bearings, cams, eccentrics and rollers.

TIN, TITANIUM AND COBALT STEELS. IN a recent number of the Comptes Rendus, Guillet describes a study of a number of steels, some of which have already been more or less investigated by others. He finds that tin dissolves readily in iron, and if present to the extent of more than one per cent. renders the steel very hard but brittle. The carbon present never separates out as graphite. The mechanical properties of the titanium steels, when the proportion of titanium is not above nine per cent., are practically those of steel itself. The presence of cobalt, up to sixty per cent., has no effect upon the micro-structure of the steel and very little effect upon its mechanical properties. Guillet concludes from his investigations that none of these steels has any industrial value. This result is not wholly in accord with the work of other previous investigators, who have found that certain of these alloys, notably some of the titanium steels, give promise of industrial usefulness.

COPPER AS AN ANTISEPTIC AGAINST TYPHOID ORGANISMS.

QUITE an extensive paper has recently appeared in the American Journal of Pharmacy by Henry Kraemer, entitled The Use of Copper in Destroying Typhoid Organisms, and the Effects of Copper on Man.' After discussing the distribution and removal or

destruction of typhoid organisms, the effect of copper on lower animals and plants is considered. The effect of water treated with copper on man and the elimination of the copper from water are next taken up, and finally the effect of copper in foods. It is, perhaps, worth while to quote the author's conclusions:

1. It is pretty well established that the typhoid organism is disseminated not only through water, but also through air and food, and may retain its vitality for a considerable period of time.

2. Typhoid organisms in water are eliminated by filtration, boiling and certain biochemical methods. Of the latter, the use of copper, as proposed by Moore and Kellermann, is probably the most efficient and at the same time most practicable.

3. While exceedingly minute quantities of copper in solution are toxic to certain unicellular organisms, as bacteria, it is safe to assume that the higher plants and animals, including man, are unaffected by solutions containing the same or even larger amounts of copper.

4. There being a number of factors which tend to eliminate copper from its solutions, it is hardly likely that there would be any copper in solution by the time the water from a reservoir reached the consumer, if the treatment of the reservoir were in competent hands.

5. Many plants contain relatively large amounts of copper, and when these are used as food some of the copper is taken up by the animal organism, but there are no records of any ill effects from copper so consumed.

In connection with this last paragraph, which is in its conclusion quite contrary to the usually accepted idea, numerous authorities and experiments are quoted, and the conclusion is probably well justified that very little danger is to be apprehended from either acute or chronic copper poisoning from copper present in water or foods.

J. L. H.

RECENT MUSEUM REPORTS.

THAT the annual report of a museum should, as a rule, appear from three months to a year late, doubtless strikes the average reader as extraordinary. But the average reader,' or the average man, frequently looks upon a museum as a haven of rest whose collections assemble, arrange and label themselves; as a

As a

place where moth and dust do not corrupt and Dermestes do not break in and steal; where the employees spend their time in studies of interest only to themselves. That such is a not uncommon opinion is evidenced by the character of many who apply, or are recommended, for positions in museums, whose chief qualification seems to be inability to do a good day's work or compete with their fellow men in the daily avocations of life. matter of fact, to use Dr. Haddon's expression, the curator who really curates has his hands full to overflowing, and there are always so many things demanding immediate attention that in the matter of reports there is a strong temptation to follow the good old adage and not put off till to-morrow what can veniently be put off until the day after. These remarks are called forth by the comparatively recent appearance of the belated reports of several of our museums, that of the U. S. National Museum for 1902-03, having appeared in June, as nearly as possible two years behind. Nevertheless the report is a good one and indicates the aid extended by this institution to the public in general and investigators in particular, and it is probably fair to say that no other museum in the world is so free with material, publications and information as this.

con

Where so much ground is covered as is done in this report it is practically impossible to touch on details, but one may note the rapid growth of the botanical and entomological collections and the gradual rearrangement of the zoological exhibits in the interests of the public, by lessening the number of specimens and adding to their attractive features. Just a word of criticism here: the collection of mammals is stated to be at last thoroughly and satisfactorily labeled.' It may be thoroughly labeled, but in view of what is now demanded of museums it can hardly be said that a set of labels giving only the name and range of the species is satisfactory. labels on the reptiles and many of the fishes are very much better than those of the mammals and birds.

The

by the National Collections' and there is a translation of the memoirs by Dr. A. B. Meyer, of the Royal Museum, Dresden, 'Studies of the Museums and Kindred Institutions of New York City, Albany, Buffalo and Chicago, with Notes on Some European Institutions.' These are both long and important articles. The first shows just how the National Museum is housed and gives a brief sketch, with plans of the new building now in process of construction. The accompanying illustrations give an extremely good idea of the general appearance of the present building and of its exhibition halls.

The publication of the translations of Dr. Meyer's memoirs makes generally accessible for the first time the fullest account of our Own museums and libraries that has been written, while the notes on European museums show the most recent work in museum construction and installation.

The Report of the American Museum of Natural History for 1904 appeared in July and is, as usual, a somewhat condensed and formal statement of the operations of the museum, the more striking feature of general interest being skillfully emphasized by the introduction of a number of plates. These include the great bird groups, the skeleton of Brontosaurus, the Peary meteorite (which, like fish, lost so much in weighing), and examples of the beautiful glass models of invertebrates made in the museum laboratories under the

supervision of Dr. Dahlgren. With all respect to the late Herr Blaschka, these models are superior to the famous Blaschka models. In its lecture courses the American Museum makes a strong appeal to teachers and scholars and the results have been extremely satisfactory.

The Report of the Carnegie Museum covers the year ending March 31, 1905, and this appeared with commendable promptness and shows a remarkable increase in the collections of vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology. At present the growth of the exhibition portion of the museum is stopped by the construction of the extensive additions now being made to the building, but the study collections in all departments are increasing rapidly.