it dissolves to the extent of 90-92 per cent. in 5 per cent. sodium carbonate solution.

The action of phenol on tin containers: HARPER F. ZOLLER. This investigation had its origin in the analysis of a precipitate occurring in the preservative used in connection with the hog-cholera serum prepared in the Serum Plant of the Kansas State Agricultural College. This preservative consisted of 5 per cent. C. P. phenol; 10 per cent. C. P. glycerol, and 85 per cent. distilled water by volume.

Some constituents of the American grape-fruit (Citrus decumana): HARPER F. ZOLLER. The object of the investigation was to determine the major constituents of the American-grown grapefruit, and the possibilities of recovering valuable by-products from its culls. Citric acid to 75 per cent. of the amount found in lemons-an oil, similar to orange-oil, in amounts larger than in lemons, and pectin in large quantities can be extracted from the culls in one process, as described. Glucoside can also be secured in the same process with slightly increased expense.

A laboratory method for the preparation of benzoquinone from aniline: C. E. Boord and E. H. LOEB. A detailed description of a method for the oxidation of aniline to quinone by manganese dioxide and sulfuric acid. A cheaper and more convenient method for the preparation of quinone.

The preparation of a-acetyl arylhydrazines: C. E. BOORD and C. E. SENSEMANN. The preparation and properties of a-acetyl-p-tolylhydrazine, a-acetylo-tolylhydrazine and a-acetyl-a-(1 naphthyl) hydrazine were described in detail.

A study of the constitution of hydrazino-quinones: EDWARD SCHMIDT and C. E. BOORD. The condensation products of a-benzoyl phenylhydrazine with trichlorquinone, 2, 6-dichlorquinone and 2, 5-dichlorquinone and their derivatives are described in detail and their constitution is discussed. The evidence gained from four lines of attack seems to indicate that these substances are derivatives of orthobenzoquinone phenylhydrazone.

A further study of chloro ethers: FRIEND E. CLARK and E. MACK. Continuing the work of Clark, Cox and Mack (J. A. C. S., April, 1917) the action of chloro-dimethyl ether on salts of aromatic acids has been undertaken. Methyxymethyl benzoate is a colorless liquid, boiling at 140° under 36 mm., decomposes when distilled under ordinary pressure. Molecular weight determinations and

At

cous.

C6H,COOCH2-6-CH,.

35 it becomes viscous and at - 80 very visIts density has been determined at 0, 18 and 25. No actions with sulphonates. Physical constants have been obtained on ethyl methyl chloro ether and chloromethylbenzyl ether is being studied.

The crisscross addition on conjugate systems: J. R. BAILEY, N. H. MOORE and A. T. MCPHERSON. This paper represents a continuation of the work of Bailey and Moore published in Jour. Am. Chem. Soc., 39, 279, 1917, under the title, "The use of cyanic acid in glacial acetic acid, II., The addition of cyanic acid on benzalazine.'' The new work includes an investigation of the action of sulfocyanic acid and phenyl isocyanate on benzalazine, and besides the investigation has been extended to other azines. The authors interpret these reactions, as exemplified by the action of cyanic acid on benzalazine, as follows:

T. J. Bryan, Chairman

Glen. F. Mason, Secretary

A study of the Reichert-Meissl process with a view to its modification: A. HAYES and W. F. COOVER. Difficulty is usually experienced in obtaining closely agreeing results in determining the Reichert-Meissl number of butter fat by the present method. The authors have studied the factors which cause the variations such as method of saponification, amount of sulphuric acid used in excess, rate and temperature of distillation, shape and size of flask, temperature of condenser water and size and amount of pumice. The study has shown the influence of certain factors and that

closely agreeing results can be obtained by using the proper method.

A method for estimating starch: W. S. LONG. A method is proposed for the estimation of small quantities of starch in food products, and is based upon the precipitation of starch as the iodide. The method yields results of a fair degree of accuracy with weak starch solutions, and has been found applicable to the determination of small quantities of starch in jellies and jams.

The use of alfalfa flour in human nutrition: ELIZABETH C. SPRAGUE. Alfalfa flour is the finely powdered leaves of the dried plant. It contains practically no starch and is not a flour within the meaning of the term as applied to cereal flours. It can, however, be blended with cereal flours. In its unpurified state it is rank in flavor and imparts to the mixture an undesirable dark green color. A method is described by which the color is removed and the flavor materially modified. The proportions in which the purified product can be added to other flours are given. The blending of alfalfa and wheat flours increases considerably the nitrogen and the mineral contents of the preparations in which it is used. Samples were shown of breads in which the blended flour was used.

The effect of prolonged production of alfalfa on the nitrogen content of the soil: C. O. SWANSON. Kansas has a number of fields in which alfalfa has been growing continuously for twenty to thirty or more years. While most of the fields are found in the middle and western part of the state, a few old fields are also found in the eastern part. Near most of these fields is found soil of the same type which has been continuously cropped to grain, usually wheat and corn, for thirty to forty years or more, and soil in native sod, used either as pasture or hay land. By sampling such fields close together and analyzing the soil, data are obtained that show the rate at which nitrogen disappears from the soil continuously cropped to grains; the nitrogen content of the soil which has never been broken; and by comparison it is possible to calculate the amount of increase or decrease in nitrogen in the soil on which alfalfa has been growing for a long time.

Variations in the ether extract of silage: L. D. HAIGH. The analysis of a sample of corn silage some months after the first analysis shows that the composition of the dry matter has changed. There has been a loss in the amount of ether soluble material and crude fiber, especially the former constituent. Also the percentage of moisture and ether extract of silage at any one time

will vary according to the method of drying. The acidity of silage seems to be largely the cause of change of composition on standing and the varying results on drying. The conclusions are that the corn silage should be analyzed promptly to obtain the composition of the silage as used. Also variations due to drying may be avoided by the use of the vacuum method throughout.

The occurrence and action of molds in soils: P. E. BROWN and W. V. HALVERSEN. Attention is directed to the importance from the fertility standpoint of the occurrence and action of molds in soils. These organisms have been found to occur in practically all soils, not only in a spore state, but also in an active form. In general, the numbers present have amounted to about one tenth of the total number of bacteria present. Their action is varied, but they have been definitely shown to bring about the destruction of cellulose and the breaking down of protein, producing in the latter process much ammonia. Inorganic compounds in the soil are also affected by mold growth and available phosphorus and sulfur are both produced in considerable amounts by these organisms.

Sulfofication in manures and its influence on the production of available phosphorus from floats: P. E. BROWN and H. W. WARNER. Mixtures of flowers of sulfur with compost, horse manure, or cow manure allowed to ferment for varying lengths of time showed a rapid oxidation of the sulfur with the production of sulfuric acid. These manures evidently possess a vigorous sulfofying flora. Rock phosphate when composted with horse manure and cow manure is reduced in availability, evidently due to an increased development of phosphorus-assimilating organisms. The reverse is true when the floats are mixed with compost. When sulfur and floats together are composted with the various manures there is an enormous increase in the production of available phosphorus, which continues up to fifteen weeks. A practical method for producing acid phosphate on the farm is suggested by composting sulfur, floats and manure in the proper proportions.

Identification of added colors in butter and oleomargarine: H. A. LUBS. The various tests for the detection of added color in butter and oleomargarine are discussed and their limitations are described. Suggestions are made for the improvement of the various tests. A method is described for the isolation of o-toluene-azo-B-naphthylamine and benzene azo-B-naphthylamine from butter and oleomargarine and a method for their identification is given.

The Biological Survey has on more than one occasion called attention to the vast possibilities in wild game mammals as a source of food. Of interest in connection with the present critical shortage in the food supply of the world are the following words of Lantz1 written in 1910:

It is believed that with proper encouragement

much of the otherwise waste land in the United States may be made to yield profitable returns from the production of venison, and that this excellent and nutritious meat, instead of being denied to 99 per cent. of the population of the country, may become a common food product.

The Honorable Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, as reported by the daily press, recently called attention to the reindeer as a possible source of increased food supply. It has been lately suggested by J. B. Harkin, commissioner of parks for the Dominion of Canada,2 that the barrenground caribou, 20,000,000 strong, constitute a valuable potential meat supply: Some years ago Mr. Charles Goodnight, of Goodnight, Texas, conducted some most promising breeding experiments with the buffalo, crossing the animals principally with Polled Angus cattle, and securing fertile hybrids which ate less, put on more flesh with the same amount of food, cut more meat, and were subject to fewer diseases than the steer. Similar experiments have been carried forward by C. J. Jones,

the possibilities of increasing our national food supply through fuller utilization by domestication of wild birds and mammals. A recent writer in SCIENCE (Needham, April 20, 1917) wisely argues that the possibilities of undeveloped economic values in the wild species constitute an important argument for their preservation.

Second, since life is an active process, and new adaptations and adjustments are continually appearing in the complex of living things about us, man must be alert and on guard against new parasites and disease germs of one sort or another, which may be borne and distributed by animal hosts, either to valuable live stock or to man himself.

While the rôle of flies and mosquitoes as bearers of disease is well understood, that of certain mammals is not fully appreciated. In the Old World the rat is chiefly plague through its acting as host to the responsible for the spread of bubonic plague through its acting as host to the flea, which is the direct agent of transmission of the disease to the human being. States has been threatened at least once, in The introduction of plague into the United Seattle in 1915, and has actually occurred twice, in San Francisco in 1907-08 and in New Orleans in 1914. The most serious of these introductions took place in San Francisco and vicinity, where a part of the

Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada, and are now being prosecuted by the Canadian Depart ment of Agriculture. It is hoped that there may be produced an improved range animal, having 100 pounds more meat than the steer, and in addition possessing the valuable robe and rustling ability of the buffalo. The American Breeder's Association has gone on record as appreciative of

1 Biol. Surv. Bull. 36, p. 59.

2 Bull. Amer. Game Prot. Assn., May 1, 1917,

P. 8.

3

lation became infected from the rats, and threatened to disseminate the plague widely through the state. Attention has already been called to the fact that probably all kinds of rat fleas transmit plague. The susceptibility to the disease of the fleas of ground squirrels suggests the possibility that the fleas of other rodents also may be potential transmitters of plague.

In addition to their plague-bearing proclivities, rats disseminate trichinosis among 8 Biol. Surv. Bull. 33, 1909, p. 32.

swine; and a note in Nature suggests that the causative organism of epidemic jaundice, which has occurred of late on the western front in Europe, probably has its natural habitat in the rat. Examples of other mammal-borne diseases are found in the Rocky Mountain spotted fever, transmitted through the agency of ticks borne by rodents in Montana and Idaho, and rabies, carried by coyotes and dogs in Nevada and California.

Third, the resources of nature are distinctly limited in amount, and man should know what and where these resources are, that accurate determination may be made of the amount and kind of use which may be permitted as being compatible with a regard for the rights of all the people, and of future generations.

In the matter of conservation of her natural resources America has been perhaps the most backward of all civilized peoples. She has permitted undue exploitation of all of her resources by selfish commercialism. In no province is this more apparent than in that of the wild life, where it is well known that some of the most valuable and interesting mammals and birds have been exterminated, and others dangerously reduced.

Fourth, the perpetuation of interesting and rejuvenating natural objects, including scenery, forests and wild life, demands detailed and accurate knowledge of all the objects to be preserved.

Many signs indicate that the people are coming to realize, as never before, the recreative value of the preservation of nature. The hearty support given the Department of the Interior in its epoch-making work for the national parks and that accorded the Department of Agriculture in its comprehensive forest, bird and game. protective activities are full of meaning in this connection.

4 January 18, 1917, p. 393.

Fifth, a more intensive agriculture brings man into more strenuous competition with certain insect and mammalian pests; for the successful maintenance of farming and horticulture man must know both his friends and enemies in the animal world; he must be prepared to perpetuate beneficial species, and he must be ready to control or exterminate those which are detrimental.

Disturbance of the balance of nature, having to do with increased competition between man and certain pests, is effected in several ways, of which the following are important: Destruction of carnivorous or predatory birds and mammals; reduction in numbers of game birds and mammals; introduction of useful domesticated species of plants and animals; involuntary or mistaken introduction of harmful exotic species of plants and animals; cultivation of the soil and the raising of crops; removal of the natural cover of forest and brush.

Some of these disturbing factors, notably the increase in the supply of rodent food provided by growing crops, and, all too often, the ill-advised destruction of natural checks on rodent increase, such as hawks, owls, badgers, skunks, weasels and other predatory animals, indicate that rodent outbreaks may be expected to occur more frequently in the future than they have in the past, and it is well known that plagues of rodents have harassed mankind at intervals since the dawn of history.

In Nevada in 1907 and 1908 meadow mice of the genus Microtus overran four fifths of the cultivated area in the lower Humboldt valley leaving a "dismal scene of destruction," and necessitating the complete replanting of much alfalfa land. Depredations of cotton rats (Sigmodon) in certain sections of the middle west, notably southern Kansas and Oklahoma, in the

5

* Piper, Yearbook, U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1908, 1909, p. 302.