JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY

OF SCIENCES

VOLUME VII, 1917

BOARD OF EDITORS

X. Ernest Dorsey Adolph Knopf A. S. Hitchcock

BUREAU OP STANDARDS GEOLOGICAL 8UBVBY BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY

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JOURNAL

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WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII JANUARY 4, 1917 No. 1

PHYSICS. — Luminescence measurements.1 N. E. Dorsey, Bu-

reau of Standards.

Although the excitation of phosphorescence by the radia-

tions from radioactive substances was early observed it appears

that no quantitative measurements of the luminosity thus pro-

duced were published until 1910. In that year Marsden2 pub-

lished a series of observations which showed that the lumines-

cence of certain materials (zinc sulphide, willemite, and barium

platinocyanide) hermetically sealed in tubes containing radium

emanation decreased much more rapidly than the emanation

decayed, and that the rate of decrease increased with the amount

of emanation initially present. He reported only relative values.

At the same time Rutherford3 advanced a theory to account

for these phenomena, and showed that it agrees with Mars-

den's observations, within the limits of experimental error.

No later measurements of such luminosities have apparently

been published, although the subject is one of considerable

scientific interest. Latterly the subject has become of much

practical importance, owing to an increasing use of self-lumi-

nous preparations containing radioactive excitants. Besides

being used for the illumination of watch dials, push buttons,

etc., these preparations have a wide field of usefulness in war

appliances.

In the study and testing of these preparations we are con-

fronted with the problem of measuring surface luminosities of

1 A contribution from the Bureau of Standards.

2 Proc. Roy. Soc, 83: 548-561. 1910.

3 Proc. Roy. Soc, 83: 5G1-572. 1910.

1

2 dorsey: luminescence measurements

small areas of various sizes and shapes. Also, it is desirable

that the apparatus employed be simple in construction and use,

and that the results obtained be readily interpretable in terms

of photometric standards.

As the luminosities frequently are low, photometers of the

usual types would be unsuited to the work even if their use

did not necessitate a determination of the effective size of the

preparation under study. With preparations of sufficient bril-

liance the spectrophotometer will give the most detailed infor-

mation; but this instrument is not suitable for the measurement

of the total luminosity or for the comparison of such lumi-

nosities when they differ in color.

Other apparatus or methods that have come to our attention —

such as those employed by Wood,4 Nichols and Merritt,6 Zeller,6

and Andrews7 — all appear to be in some measure ill-adapted to

the present problem. The apparatus described by Andrews is

the simplest, but we believe that the interpretation of its read-

ings in terms of photometric standards will be difficult.

In preparation for the study of self-luminous materials at the

Bureau of Standards, a photometer has been devised which is

exceedingly simple in construction and use, and appears to be

well suited to much of this work. By the use of standardized

lamps and screens the results obtained by its use can be inter-

preted readily in terms of photometric standards.

In its simplest form, this photometer consists of a box 2 or

3 meters long and 25 or 30 cm. square. A light carriage carry-

ing a 1.5 or 2-candle electric lamp runs on ways extending the

entire length of the box, the filament being in the center of

the section of the box. By means of two cords attached to the

carriage, one passing over a pulley at the rear end of the box,

the distance of the carriage from the end of the box can be ad-

justed as desired. The position of the lamp is determined by a

graduated steel tape having one end attached to the carriage.

* Wood, R. W., Phil. Mag. (6) 21: 209-313. 1911.

5 Nichols, E. L., and Merritt. E., Phys. Rev. 23:37-54. 1906; 32:38-53.

1911.

6 Zeller, C. A., Phys. Rev. 31: 367-375. 1910.

7 Andrews, W. S., Gen. Elec. Rev., 19:892-893. 1916.

dorsey: luminescence measurements 3

Both ends of the box are closed, but in the front end is set a

milk-glass window 2 or 3 cm. square, backed by a color filter

so chosen as to make the transmitted light match in color the

luminescent light that is to be measured. In the bottom of the

front end of the box there are suitable openings through which

pass the cords for operating the carriage, the steel tape, and the

leads carrying the current to the lamp. The entire interior of

the box, including the ways and the lamp carriage, is painted a

dead black, and movable black diaphragms and screens must be

so placed as to screen the milk-glass window from all light

scattered from the walls of the box. All joints must be light

tight, and the openings through which the cords, etc., pass must

be suitably screened or provided with black cloth hoods to pre-

vent the passage of light. It is desirable that the top of the

box be hinged, so as to facilitate the adjustment of the dia-

phragms and lamp.

The photometer is used in a darkened room. As the lumi-

nosities with which we are concerned are often quite faint, any

stray light, such as may leak under a door, becomes very annoy-

ing and should be carefully excluded. In the lamp circuit are

placed a suitable ammeter and adjusting rheostats. Unless

there is a second observer whose sole duty it is to keep the

current at the proper value, the current should be supplied by a

storage battery being used at the time by no one else.

In order to make a measurement, the luminous material, ap-

plied to a card or enclosed in a thin walled glass tube8 of small

diameter, may be placed directly against the milk-glass screen

and the position of the lamp is then adjusted by the cords until

the luminosity of the milk-glass appears to be the same as that

of the material. The observer's line of sight should be perpen-

dicular to the milk-glass. If the color match is good the tube

will almost disappear when the adjustment is correct. The

luminosity of the material is inversely proportional to the

1 The tube should be painted black over two-thirds of its circumference, so as

to screen the milk-glass from the light given out by the material. The unpainted

side is turned toward the observer and the tube is rotated so as to reduce

the visible dark line 'on one side to the smallest amount consistent with a screening

of the milk-glass.

4 dorsey: luminescence measurements

square of the distance of the lamp from the milk-glass screen,

the constant of proportionality being determined from a care-

ful photometric standardization of the lamp and of the screen

and color filter as used. For example, the photometer screen

and a certain specimen were found to be of equal brightness

when the lamp was 70.5 cm. from the screen. The lamp was a

tungsten lamp burning at the color of a 4 wpc carbon lamp and

had a candlepower of 1.38 in the direction of the length of the

photometer. For the light from such a source the surface

brightness of the screen used had been found to be 3.96 micro-

lamberts per meter-candle illumination from the rear. Conse-

quently, this specimen had a surface brightness of 3.96 X 1.38

-f- (0.705)2 = 11.0 microlamberts. A micro lambert is the

brightness of a perfectly diffusing and completely reflecting

white surface when illuminated by a source of unit candlepower

placed at a distance of 10 meters.

When greater precision is desired, the top of the milk-glass

window should lie in the central section of the end of the photom-

eter and be so placed that the vessel containing the material

under study can be placed immediately above it and so thatthe

luminescent surface lies in the plane of the window. For the

highest precision it is desirable that the material be contained

in a thin vertical vessel with sides of thin plane glass and bot-

tom of thin material so that the two luminous fields can be

brought as nearly as possible into contact, so as to secure a mini-

mum visibility for the line of separation.

In addition to the well known errors of ordinary photometry,

others of prime importance have to be guarded against. For

low luminosities it is necessary that the eye of the observer be

in a highly sensitive state; this condition is not attained until

after he has been in total darkness for at least 15 or 20 min-

utes. In order to retain this sensitive state the illumination

used for reading the scale, recording the observations, or other

purposes must be as faint as is consistent with the work, and

must be continued only as long as is absolutely necessary.

Furthermore, this light must be of such a nature that it will

not affect the luminosity of the material under study. These

DORSET: LUMINESCENCE MEASUREMENTS 5

conditions may be practically attained by the use of a small

pocket flashlight suitably screened and provided with a ruby

bulb.

In order that the luminosity of the preparation shall be due

solely to the radioactive excitant, it is necessary that the prepa-

ration shall have been excluded from all light except its own

for at least several hours before the measurement is made.

During the measurements the milk-glass -window must in every

case be screened from all light coming from the preparation;

otherwise a false setting will be obtained. The error due to

this cause may easily amount to over 10 per cent in the lumi-

nosity.

Another error that must be carefully guarded against at these

luminosities is that due to the "Purkinje effect." By this is

meant the fact that two adjoining luminous surfaces of differ-

ent colors that appear to be of equal brightness when viewed

from a certain distance will not appear to be of equal brightness

when viewed from a different distance. This means that when

we are dealing with different colors our judgment of equality of

brightness is a function of the intensity of the illumination.

This effect becomes very pronounced at low intensities. A

further difficulty is introduced by the fact that under such

conditions the judgment of equality of brightness depends upon

the peculiarities of the eye of the observer; different observers

judge differently. On account of both of these reasons it is

important that the illuminated milk-glass be a very close color

match to the material being measured. This is true even when

the luminosity is so low that it produces practically no color

sensation, properly so called. Under such conditions the color

match must be determined by spectroscopic examination; indeed

this is the best procedure in all cases.

By the addition of a phosphoroscope and a constant source

of illumination this photometer can be readily adapted to the

study of the intensity of the luminescence excited by light,

especially when the spectrum of the luminescence is a single

broad band. If the luminiscence consists of a number of nar-

row bands scattered throughout the visible spectrum an exact

6 LARSEN AND STEIGER: MINERALOGIC NOTES

color match will in general be impossible, and difficulty may

then arise from the Purkinje effect.

MINERALOGY. — Miner alogic notes.1 Esper S. Larsen and

George Steiger, Geological Survey.

I. APHROSIDERITE FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA

Introduction. A highly fossiliferous Cambrian shale or slate

from the Burgess shale near Field, B. C., examined by the

authors for Dr. Charles D. Walcott, carries numerous veinlets

of pale green chlorite with some associated pyrite and calcite.

A study of this chlorite shows that it is related to aphrosiderite.

The authors are indebted to Dr. Walcott for the material here

described.

The slate2 is very fine-textured, so fine that much of the

materia] shows aggregate polarization. It is made up largely

of muscovite with some kaolinite, a very little quartz, apatite,

and pyrite. Numerous dark brown to black streaks arranged

parallel to the cleavage represent carbonaceous matter. An

analysis of the slate, made by George Steiger, is given in column

1, table 1. It closely resembles the analysis of sericite from

Diirrberg shown in column 2. The chlorite occurs in a system

of rudely parallel veinlets less than a millimeter across, which

are normal to the slaty cleavage; the rock tends to break through

the centers of these veinlets, leaving surfaces lined with small

grains of calcite and blotches of cupriferous pyrite.

Physical properties. The chlorite is light-green in color, it

has a hardness of about 1 or 2, and the powder analyzed had a

specific gravity, as determined by the picnometer method, of 2.959,

which was probably not changed by the admixed muscovite by

more than ±0.01. It fuses with difficulty.

In thin section the chlorite makes up most of the veinlets, but

there is more or less calcite in irregular crystals in the center of

the veins and some pyrite. It is nearly colorless in thin section

1 Published with the permission of the Director of the U. S. Geological Survey.

2 Walcott, C. D., Cambrian Geology and Paleontology — II, Smithsonian Misc.

Coll. 57: 149-51. 1914.

LARSEN AND STEIGERI MINERALOGIC NOTES 7

and is so faintly birefracting that it is easily mistaken for an

isotropic mineral. It is probably very finely crystalline. Its

index of refraction as measured by the immersion method is

1.625 ± 0.003. No further optical data could be determined.

No cleavage was observed. Aphrosiderite from Weilburg,

Prussia,3 is optically positive, and has the following indices of

refraction and pleochroism:

a and /3 = 1 . 612 ± 0. 003; pale olive-green.

y = 1.616 ± 0.003; colorless.

Chemical analysis. The aphrosiderite gelatinizes with hydro-

chloric acid. Material for an analysis was carefully selected,

but the best sample contained a good deal of the mica slate

and a little pyrite and calcite. The calcite was removed by

dilute acetic acid and the analysis was then made on that

portion of the remaining sample which was soluble in HC1.

The results of the analysis by George Steiger are given in column

3 of table 1. Column 3a gives the results for the acid soluble

portion computed to 100 per cent. Column 3b gives the molec-

ular ratios and columns 4 and 5 give the analyses of related

chlorites for comparison. The analysis shows that the chlorite

is near aphrosiderite and that it has the empirical formula

64(Fe,Mg)O.24Al2O3.42SiO2.60H2O, which is near 5(Fe,Mg)0.

2Al2O3.4SiO2.5H2O and between the formulas assigned to aphro-

siderite and delessite.

II. THURINGITE FROM COLORADO

A chlorite, differing from that described above as aphrosiderite

chiefly in the higher content of both ferrous and ferric iron and

in the presence of considerable manganous oxide, occurs in large

amount as a primary mineral in several of the veins near Creede,

Colorado. The veins are of considerable size and occupy great

fault fissures. The filling of the vein on which are the Ridge

and Solomon mines in East Willow Creek consists largely of

this chlorite with a little quartz, fluorite, and the ore minerals,

galena and sphalerite. The great Amethyst vein is made up

3 Unpublished manuscript by Esper S. Larsen.

8

LARSEN AND STEIGER: MINERALOGIC NOTES

largely of amethystine quartz containing galena, sphalerite,

and some streaks and bodies of the chlorite; it carries much

silver and some gold. The veins are in great flows of rhyolite,

1. Middle Cambrian slate from British Columbia.

2. Sericite from Diirrberg. Quoted by Dana, System of Mineralogy, 6th

edition, p. 618, analysis 41.

3. Analysis of aphrosiderite from near Field, B. C. George Steiger, analyst.

3a. Analysis of aphrosiderite computed free from gangue. Sp. Gr. = 2.96.

3b. Molecular ratios of 3a.

4. Analysis of aphrosiderite from Weilburg. Sp. Gr. = 2.8. Quoted by Dana,

System of Mineralogy, 6th edition, p. 660, analysis 1.

5. Analysis of aphrosiderite from Bonscheerer. Sp. Gr. = 2.991. Quoted

by Dana, System of Mineralogy, 6th edition, p. 660, analysis 3.

LARSEN AND STEIGER: MINERALOGIC NOTES 9

which are very low in magnesia and iron, and the chlorite and

other minerals are largely vein fillings rather than replacements.

The chlorite is green in color and is soft and friable. It is

fibrous to platy and is finely crystalline.

An optical study of the chlorite from various parts of the

Creede district shows that it varies somewhat in its optical

properties and no doubt also in chemical composition. The

material analyzed from the Last Chance mine on the Amethyst

vein is in very minute interwoven fibers of positive elongation

and optically negative character. The axial angle is moderate.

The mineral is pleochroic: dark green parallel to the fibers

(/3 and 7) and nearly colorless normal thereto (a). The mean

index of refraction is about 1.637 =*= 0.005 and the birefrin-

gence is about 0.01. The fibers are too small for a satisfactory

optical study. A specimen of the mineral from the Park Regent

mine, also on the Amethyst vein, showed essentially the same

optical properties, but the indices of refraction are slightly

higher (n = 1.643). A specimen from the Amethyst mine

gave 0 = 1.638 =*= 0.003.

A specimen from the Ridge mine is considerably paler in color,

is less strongly pleochroic, is a little more coarsely crystalline,

and has lower indices of refraction, but is otherwise similar.

It is optically negative and has a moderate axial angle. X is

normal to the fibers and plates and is very pale green; Z and Y

are a somewhat darker olive-green. The refractive indices are:

a = 1.595 ± 0.005, 7 = 1.605 ± 0.005. Another specimen from

the Ridge mine consists of very minute fibers and has a mean

index of refraction of about 1.585 ± 0.005. A specimen from

the Solomon mine is similar but its mean index of refraction is

1.617 ± 0.005.

These data indicate a moderate range in the composition of

the chlorite. The mineral from the Ridge-Solomon vein with

its lower index of refraction is probably higher in A1203 and

lower in Fe203 and higher in MgOand lower in FeO. It ap-

proaches aphrosiderite or delessite in composition. The analysis

of the gouge from the Solomon mine (analysis 4, table 2), which

was made up largely of chlorite but contained some quartz and

10

LARSEN AND STEIGER! MINERALOGIC NOTES

chalky decomposed rhyolite with here and there a flake of seri-

cite, confirms this conclusion.

The thuringite from the Amethyst vein and the chlorite from

the Ridge-Solomon vein are both fusible at about 4 and become

magnetic on ignition. The thuringite decomposes in acid with

imperfect gelatinization.

A chemical analysis of thuringite from the Last Chance mine

on the Amethyst vein, a few miles above Creede, is given in

column 1 of table 2. The material analyzed contained a little

admixed quartz. Other analyses of thuringite are given in

columns 2 and 3 lor comparison, and in column 4 is given the

analysis of the gouge from the Solomon mine, which, as already

TABLE 2

Analyses of Thuringite and Gouge

1. Thuringite from the Last Chance mine near Creede, Colorado. J. G. Fair-

child, analyst.

2. Thuringite, Harpers Ferry. J. L. Smith, analyst. From Dana's System

of Mineralogy, 6th edition, p. 657, analysis 5.

3. Thuringite, Arkansas. J. L. Smith, analyst. From Dana's System of

Mineralogy, 6th edition, p. 657, analysis 7.

4. Gouge made up largely of chlorite, from the Solomon mine near Creede,

Colorado. J. G. Fairchild, analyst.

LARSEN AND STEIGER: MINERALOGIC NOTES 11

mentioned, is made up largely of the chlorite of that vein but

contains some quartz, some chalky decomposed rhyolite, and a

few flakes of sericite.

The three analyses of thuringite are very much alike, but the

Creede mineral is lower in ferrous oxide and correspondingly

higher in magnesia and manganous oxide; its somewhat higher

content of silica may be due to admixed quartz.

III. GRIFFITHITE, A NEW MEMBER OF THE CHLORITE GROUP

Introduction. The authors have hesitated before proposing

a new name for a member of the chlorite group, already over-

burdened with names that have little significance and less place

in a systematic scheme of classification. However, a chloritic

mineral filling amygdaloidal cavities in a basalt collected by

Mr. R. T. Hill from Cahuenga Pass, Griffith Park, Los Angeles,

California, differs so greatly, both optically and chemically,

from any of the chlorites previously described as to require a

new name, and the name griffithite, from the locality, is pro-

posed for the mineral. The amygdules of the basalt are up to

an inch in largest dimension and comprise a considerable part

of the rock; they are pure griffithite.

Physical properties. The griffithite is dark-green in color,

it has a hardness of about 1, is sectile, and has a specific gravity,

as measured by the picnometer method, of 2.309. It is in basal

plates and shreds, and some of the plates are a millimeter across.

It has the usual cleavage of the chlorites. It fuses at about 4

with intumescence to a black magnetic slag.

Optical properties. It is optically negative and 2V varies from

0° to 40°; X is normal to the cleavage. It has a strong bire-

fringence and a rather strong pleochroism. The indices of

refraction differ in different grains as much as 0.01; they and

the pleochroism are:

a = 1.485 ± 0.01; pale yellowish,

0 = 1.569 ± 0.005; olive-green,

y = 1.572 ± 0.005; brownish green.

12

LARSEN AND STEIGER: MINERALOGIC NOTES

Chemical properties. Griffithite gelatinizes with HC1. The

material selected for the analyses showed under the microscope

almost no impurities; its optical properties varied as indicated

in the preceding description. The analysis by George Steiger

is given in column 1 of table 3; the molecular ratios are given in

column 2.

TABLE 3.

Analysis and Molecular Ratios of Griffithite

The ratios lead to the formula 4(Mg,Fe,Ca)0.(Al,Fe)203.

5Si02.7H20 for griffithite. Prof. F. W. Clarke has kindly pro-

posed the formula H4 R"4 R'"* Si50i9 + 5H20, or

////

R

R"';

,Si04 = R" H

-Si04 = R" H

>Si03 + 5H20

-Si04 = R" H

Si04 = R" H

ABSTRACTS

Authors of scientific papers are requested to see that abstracts, preferably

prepared and signed by themselves, are forwarded promptly to the editors.

Each of the scientific bureaus in Washington has a representative authorized to

forward such material to this journal and abstracts of official publications should

be transmitted through the representative of the bureau in which they originate.

The abstracts should conform in length and general style to those appearing in

this issue.

GEOPHYSICS. — Mechanics of the Panama Canal slides. G. F.

Becker. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 98-N. Pp.

253-261, with 3 figures. 1916.

After describing the essential features of the breaks on the Culebra

Cut the author points out that there is a limit to the depth of a vertical

cut in an homogeneous isotropic mass, the upper surface of which is

plane. This limit is that at which the pressure is sufficient to produce

simple shear in the mass, and in a concluding note reasons are given for

believing that 6 \ 2 multiplied by the resistance to such shear is about

equal to the ultimate strength under linear compression. The depth

at which one-sided relief of pressure will produce simple shear is called

yv

It is shown that in such a bank the profile of a surface along which

the mass is strained to the elastic limit must be a form of the elastic

curve, the directrix of which lies at a depth y±.

The lowest or basal slide curve is one which intersects the horizontal

bank at right angles. Examples are worked out for this and other

cases.

A complete analogy exists between the form of these curves and those

which the surface of water assumes when it rises by capillarity between

vertical, parallel glass plates.

In view of these results the author discusses to some extent the for-

mation of ruptures, the bulging of the canal bottom, and the effect

upon pressure of the form of the banks. The paper includes a note

on finite strains. G. F. B.

PHYSICS. — The freezing point of mercury. R. M. Wilhelm. Bureau

of Standards Scientific Paper No. 294. Pp. 6. 1916.

The temperature at which mercury freezes is of importance in ther-

mometry. It marks the lower limit to which mercurial thermometers

may be used, and its location, at about — 39°C, makes it of value as a

13

14 abstracts: geology

fixed point of the temperature scale below 0°C. This paper gives the

result obtained and describes in detail the method used at the Bureau

of Standards in making a redetermination of this constant. The

temperature measurements were made by means of platinum resist-

ance thermometers whose constants had been previously determined

by calibration at 0°, 100°, and 444. 6°C. (the boiling point of sulphur).

All the evidence at present available indicates that, down to — 40°C,

the platinum resistance thermometer, calibrated as above, defines

temperatures that are in agreement with those given by the standard

gas thermometer. The value, —38.87°, obtained at the Bureau is in

very good agreement with that found by Henning in 1913 at the

Reichsanstalt, Germany. He also used platinum resistance ther-

mometers and obtained -38.89°C. C. W. W.

MAGNETISM. — The determination of the degree of uniformity of bars

for magnetic standards. Raymond L. Sanford. Bureau of Stand-

ards Scientific Paper No. 295. Pp. 14. 1916.

Magnetic standard bars are used for the calibration of permeameters

and for the comparison of methods of magnetic testing. One requisite

of such a bar is that it shall be magnetically uniform along its length.

If this condition is not fulfilled, errors may arise which can not be

calculated or eliminated from the measurements, and which may be of

considerable magnitude. In this paper it is shown how the degree of

magnetic uniformity of a bar may be determined from observations of

the distribution of magnetic leakage along the length of the bar when

it is magnetized between the poles of a suitable electromagnet. The

degree of uniformity is indicated by the values of the rate of change of

leakage along the length of the bar. Deviations of these values from

a constant indicate the presence of non-uniformities. An increase in

the value indicates a magnetically hard spot while a decrease indicates

a soft spot. The method may also be applied to the examination of

magnetic materials for mechanical inhomogeneities and for the detec-

tion of flaws. R. L. S.

GEOLOGY. — Lode mining in the Quartzburg and Grimes Pass porphyry

belt, Boise Basin, Idaho. E. L. Jones, Jr. U. S. Geological

Survey Bulletin 640-E. Pp. 83-111, with 1 map. 1916.

The Boise Basin lies near the western edge of the irregular moun-

tainous area between the Salmon and Snake rivers in Idaho. The

basin structure is ascribed to the sinking of a fault block approxi-

abstracts: engineering 15

mately 15 miles long and 12 miles wide. The Basin is underlain domi-

nantly by the granite of the great Idaho batholith, which is believed

to be of late Cretaceous or early Tertiary age. During Tertiary time

most of the Basin was occupied by a lake, and deposits of clay, sand,

and gravel accumulated. Lava flows were erupted during and after

the deposition of the sediments.

Since the discovery of gold in 1862, Boise Basin has produced over

$53,000,000 in precious metals. Of this amount the greater part was

obtained from placers, but since the depletion of the gravels the lode

deposits have been receiving more attention. The placer gold was

derived from the disintegration of veins that occur in a belt of porphyr-

itic dike rocks and in zones of shearing in the granite. The lodes

now being worked are chiefly valuable for their gold and silver content,

but with improved milling methods lead, copper, and zinc will probably

add materially to the output. Monazite occurs abundantly in the

placers but is not utilized. An unidentified radium-bearing mineral

was found in placer gravels at one locality. E. L. J., Jr.

GEOLOGY. — Tin ore in northern Lander County, Nevada. Adolph

Knopf. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 640-G. Pp. 125-138.

1916.

Tin ore has recently been found in northern Lander County, Ne-

vada. The stanniferous mineral is exclusively wood tin, a form of

stannic oxide concentrically banded like exogenous wood. It occurs

in narrow veinlets traversing a series of rhyolite flows of middle Ter-

tiary age; in places the veinlets are sufficiently closely spaced to form

low grade lodes, but because of the small amount of development

work so far done not much is known of the persistence and tenor of

these lodes. The minerals associated with the wood tin are specular

hematite, lussatite (a fibrous form of silica resembling chalcedony),

chalcedony, tridymite, and opal. The deposits resemble closely those

of the Mexican states of Durango, Zacatecas, and Guanajuato, but the

association of wood tin with abundant tridymite and lussatite appears

to be distinctive of the Nevada occurrence. A. K.

ENGINEERING.— Colorado River and its utilization. E. C. LaRtje.

U. S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 395. Pp. 231, with

25 plates and 5 figures. 1916.

The region traversed by the Colorado and its tributaries is one of

great interest in every respect. Various government bureaus have

investigated certain questions pertaining to the water resources of

16 abstracts: technology

the basin, much exploratory work has been done under private aus-

pices, irrigation and power projects have been examined, railroad

routes have been surveyed, and the Grand Canyon has been traversed

by several persons and parties since Major Powell made the pioneer

trips in 1869 and 1872.

The information relating to the water resources that has been col-

lected by many agencies has never been brought together so that a

broad view of the possible utilization of the whole river could be ob-

tained. The present report attempts the pioneer work of assembling

the principal facts relating to the subject, and especially of studying

the possibility of controlling the flow of the whole river by means of

storage reservoirs, in order to avoid further danger of overflow to the

Salton Sink and to render available for profitable use the enormous

quantity of water that now flows unused and largely unusable to the

Gulf of California in the form of floods. B. D. W.

TECHNOLOGY. — Durability of stucco and plaster construction. R. J.

Wig, J. C. Pearson, and W. E. Emley. Bureau of Standards

Technologic Paper No. 70. Pp. 72. 1916.

In 1915 the Bureau of Standards in cooperation with a committee

which includes representatives from the Supervising Architect's Office

of the Treasury Department, the American Concrete Institute, and

three contracting plasterers of wide experience and from as many

large cities, as well as representatives from the industries, undertook a

comprehensive investigation of stucco construction. On the Bureau's

grounds was erected a test structure containing 56 experimental stucco

panels, each approximately 15 feet long and 10 feet high. These

panels, which were completed in November, 1915, represent practi-

cally all of the common types of stucco construction, a variety of mix-

tures being used on metal lath, wood lath, hollow tile, brick, concrete

block, plaster board, gypsum block, and concrete bases.

In April, 1916, a careful inspection of the condition of the panels

was made, and the present progress report and full description of the

test structure was prepared. Only 2 of the 56 panels were entirely

free from cracks six months after the panels were erected, and a num-

ber of them were in very poor condition. On the other hand, about

40 per cent of the panels were rated as satisfactory. It should be

mentioned that the smooth type of finish employed is well adapted

to the bringing out of the small defects, such as cracks, blotches, uneven

texture, etc. Further experimental work is needed before general con-

clusions can be drawn. R. J. W.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 777th meeting was held on October 28, 1916, 'at the Cosmos

Club. President Briggs in the chair; 50 persons present. The min-

utes of the 776th meeting were read in abstract and approved. The

Chair informed the meeting of the death on the morning of October

28, 1916, of Mr. Cleveland Abbe, a charter member of the Society.

Mr. A. H. Taylor presented an illustrated paper embodying the

results of an investigation in collaboration with Messrs. E. C. Crit-

tenden and F. K. Richtmyer on A normal eye for the photometry of

lights of different color. Individuals in general differ in their judgment

of the relative brightness of lights which differ in color. Consequently,

in order to assign definite values to such lights it is necessary to es-

tablish some common basis of comparison and to provide means for

reducing to this common basis the results obtained by different- ob-

servers. For measurements of incandescent lamps it has been pro-

posed to test observers by having them determine the relative trans-

missions of a reddish-yellow (potassium bichromate) solution and a

blue-green (copper sulphate) solution. This paper is a report of a

trial of this method. For large color differences a flicker photometer

must be used, and the size and brightness of the photometric field

must be specified, to make the results definite. The conclusion

reached was that the method proposed does give a practical means of

establishing a normal eye and of reducing to the normal value the

results obtained by any group of observers.

The paper was discussed by Mr. Middlekauff, who referred to

the intercomparisons at various laboratories of a series of glasses for

the purpose of establishing a basis for the calibration of other color

screens. The use of the flicker photometer necessitates no change in the

photometric standards already adopted by the Bureau of Standards.

Mr. W. W. Coblentz then spoke on The relative sensibility of the

average eye to lights of different colors, giving the results of an investi-

gation by himself and Mr. W. B. Emerson. The paper was illustrated

by lantern slides. In the present investigation the methods were

practically the same as those used by previous experimenters. In the

visual measurements, the spectral light was compared with a stand-

ard white light by means of a flicker photometer, also by an equality-

of-brightness photometer. The source of white light was a standard-

17

18 proceedings: philosophical society

ized vacuum tungsten lamp. A cylindrical acetylene flame was used

as a source of spectral light. The distribution of energy in the spec-

trum of the acetylene flame was determined with great care, in view

of the fact that the disagreements in previous work seemed to be due,

in part, to uncertainties in radiometrically evaluating the light stimu-

lus. Sensibility curves were obtained for 130 persons, of which num-

ber 5 were color-blind. The visibility curve of the average normal

eye, using 125 observers, was found to be wider than previously ob-

served. These data, obtained by the use of a flicker photometer, were

given. Only a few observers were able to make accurate settings with

the equality-of-brightness photometer.

As was to be expected, the visibility curves of no two persons appear

to be exactly alike. When a visibility curve does not coincide with

the average there is usually a marked departure from the average visi-

bility in a given spectral region. This gives rise to (1) wide visibility

curves with the maximum shifted toward the red, i.e., "red sensitive,"

(2) narrow curves with a sharp maximum in the green, and (3) curves

with the maximum shifted toward the violet. The data available

indicate that among a group of persons having normal color vision

about 20 per cent are (1) red sensitive, (2) blue sensitive, or (3)

average, while in 10 per cent of the cases examined the color sensi-

bility falls below the average (1) in the red or (2) in the blue or (3) falls

below the average in both the red and the blue, thus giving rise to an

apparently high sensitivity in the green. One person in 20 has a very

wide visibility curve, while 4 per cent are color-blind, i.e., they confuse

colors. The point of maximum sensibility was found to be very dif-

ferent for different observers; for the 125 persons the mean maximum

is at \m = 0.5576 /x. The curve of average visibility, when corrected

for the selective transmission of the ocular media, including the yellow

spot, is very symmetrical.

An empirical equation of the visibility curve determined was given.

Using this visibility equation and Planck's equation of black-body ra-

diations, calculations were given of the luminous energy emitted by a

black body at various temperatures; also the luminous efficiency, the

Crova wave-length, and the mechanical equivalent of light. Using

the recent measurements of the brightness of a black body, as deter-

mined by Hyde, Cady, and Forsythe, and the most probable values

of the radiation constants (C2 = 14,350, a = 5.7) the value is 1 lumen

= 0.00161 watt of luminous flux; or 1 watt (of radiation of maximum

visibility) = 621 lumens = 49.5 candles. The direct determination of

613.5 lumens of green mercury radiation, X = 0.5461 /x, (made by

Ives, Coblentz, and Kingsbury, using 61 observers) when corrected

for visibility V (at X = 0.5461 M) = 0.985 Vm gives 622.8 lumens per

watt, in good agreement with the present determination.

Discussion. Mr. Emerson emphasized the importance of taking

the last observations; if only the first 40 had been used the curves would

have been shifted. Mr. White asked whether the two eyes of an ob-

proceedings: philosophical society 19

server could always be considered alike. Mr. Coblentz stated there

was no great reason for testing the possible difference between the

eyes of the observer. Mr. Swann referred to the limit of sensitivity

of the human eye. Mr. Wenner noted that the visibility curve, as

measured, depends on many things. What difference would there be

by using equal-energy spectrum or equal light throughout spectrum?

Mr. Coblentz thought that any difference would depend upon the

stimulus started with. Mr. Taylor stated that it was very interesting

to note the efficiency of ordinary illuminants. Mr. Wells referred

to the practical application to photometry.

Informal communications. Mr. W. F. G. Swann presented an in-

formal communication, On the absorption of energy by an electron. In

order that an electron may absorb an appreciable amount of energy

from a wave falling upon it, it is frequently considered that the energy

of the wave must be concentrated in a filamentary manner, the idea

being that the electron can only take energy from a cross section of

the advancing wave comparable with the cross section of the electron.

That such an assumption is necessary has never appeared very con-

clusive to the author, and the object of this work is to point out that

if the difficulty of an electron's absorbing energy from a cross section of

the wave, large compared with its own cross section, be admitted, we

must confront this same difficulty in problems of much simpler nature

than those which are generally quoted as the problems which give

rise to the difficulty. Thus, suppose an electron to be placed in a uni-

form field X of magnitude 1 volt per cm. The work done on it by

the time it has moved a distance x is Xex. If we calculate the volume

W of the original field which would contain energy equal to this amount,

X2

remembering that the energy density is ^ — -v we readily find W =

-^= — . Thus by the time the electron has moved 0.05 cm. in a field

X J

of 1 volt per cm., it will have absorbed energy equivalent to that con-

tained in a volume of the original field equal to 18 X 10~8 cc, or in

a sphere whose radius is about 3 X 10-3 cm. or 3 X 10'° times the ra-

dius of an electron.

The 778th meeting was held on November 11, 1916, at the Cosmos

Club. President Briggs in the chair; 42 persons present. The min-

utes of the 777th meeting were read in abstract and approved.

Mr. G. K. Burgess presented a communication, illustrated with

lantern slides, on The resistivity and thermoelectric properties of pure

iron. There were described the apparatus and experimental methods

used and results obtained in exact measurements of the resistance and

the true thermoelectric power of pure iron over the temperature range

0° to 1000°C. Both series of measurements were taken in vacuo at

2° intervals using iron 99.968 pure. The characteristics of the trans-

formations A2 at 768° and Az at about 910°C. and the lack of other

20 proceedings: philosophical society

transformations were demonstrated. These experiments are de-

scribed at length in the following: Bureau of Standards Scientific

Paper No. 236 (Burgess and Kellberg on Electrical Resistance) and

No. 296 (Burgess and Scott on Thermoelectric Power) also in abstract

in this Journal (6:650. 1916).

Discussion. Mr. L. J. Briggs asked what method was used to get

the iron pure from the electrode. Mr. Burgess stated that after

prying off the iron from the electrode it was melted in a crucible of

magnesia and then drawn out after melting in vacuo; the stock of pure

iron is kept in a vacuum. Mr. White spoke of the difficulty of ob-

taining homogeneous iron and asked whether the iron used was thermo-

electrically homogeneous. Mr. Wright referred to recent experiments

at the laboratory of the General Electric Company in which the analy-

sis of the structure of iron was made by the use of X-rays, and dis-

cussed the crystalline structure of silicon-iron and electrolytic iron.

By invitation Mr. L. H. Adams then gave an illustrated communi-

cation on The effect of positive and of negative pressures on the resist-

ance of metals. The effect of pressure on the resistance of metals was

first noticed by Chwolson. His work and that of Lussana and others

were briefly reviewed, and a short account was given of the various

attempts that have been made, notably by Koenigsburg and by Griin-

eisen, to place the variation of electrical resistance with pressure

upon a theoretical basis. Pure hydrostatic pressure apparently al-

ways decreases the resistance of pure metals by an amount which

varies from about 1 to 30 parts per million per atmosphere. Many

alloys, however, exhibit a positive pressure coefficient of resistance.

The change in resistance of metals under pressure finds an important

practical application in the measurement of very high pressures.

Pressure gauges may be constructed of a coil of manganin or of "therlo"

wire with an appropriate method for measuring small changes of re-

sistance. Such gauges show no hysteresis and there is apparently no

upper limit of pressure to which they may be used. Changes in re-

sistance are also observed when tensile stresses are applied to metallic

wires. Results were shown for the metals copper, platinum, silver,

and "therlo." Now, since a tensile stress may be resolved into a

negative hydrostatic pressure and two sets of shearing stresses, and

since, moreover, preliminary experiments showed that shearing

stresses produced no changes in the resistance (at least none greater

than 10-8 per kg./cm.2), it would seem reasonable that there should

be a simple relation between the two coefficients of resistance — hy-

drostatic and tensile — provided only that each coefficient be properly

corrected for the known elastic deformation. Results for four metals,

however, failed to confirm this supposition. But it is worthy of men-

tion that the corrected tension coefficients are always less and always

opposite in sign to the corrected hydrostatic coefficients.

Discussion. Mr. Hersey asked whether the change of resistance

on stretching was permanent. Mr. Swtann asked whether any meas-

urements had been made in the plane of torsion. Mr. Dickinson

proceedings: philosophical society 21

spoke of the behavior of platinum resistance-thermometers under

strain. Mr. Burgess referred to the possible change of state of cop-

per under pressure. Mr. White spoke of the theoretical considerations

involved. Messrs. Hersey and Swann considered the application

of the recent theory of electrical conduction to the results. Mr.

Wenner stated that the temperature coefficient of coils wound under

tension at the Bureau of Standards was generally found different from

that of the wire before winding; he noted also that the diagram shown

by Mr. Adams for copper is very similar to that obtained for silver at

the Bureau. The chair expressed to Mr. Adams the thanks of the

Society for the interesting communication.

Mr. F. Wenner then reported on a research made in collaboration

with Mr. C. F. Hanson in a paper entitled The experimental basis for

Ohm's law. Some of the experiments which led to the establishment

of Ohm's law were discussed and also some of those which were made

for the purpose of testing the law. It was pointed out that the ex-

perimental tests are not so conclusive as has generally been supposed

and that consequently a further consideration of the matter is de-

sirable. Using one of the methods devised by Maxwell, results concor-

dant to about 1 part in 106 were obtained — about five times the accu-

racy obtained by Chrystal working under Maxwell's direction. A new

method was devised, making use of a combination of a direct and two

alternating currents, one with a frequency nearly but not exactly twice

that of the other. The maximum value of the resulting, rapidly

pulsating current changes in a slow cycle between definite limits, while

the average and root mean square values may remain constant. The

changing of the maximum value of the current independent of the

average value would give changes in the average value of the poten-

tial drop, unless the potential drop were strictly proportional to the cur-

rent; while keeping the root mean square value of the current con-

stant eliminates the disturbances which would result from a slow

cyclic change in the heating. Only preliminary measurements have

been made, but these give results concordant to about 1 part in 108.

In no case has a definite departure from proportionality between

current and potential drop been observed.

The 779th meeting was held on November 25, 1916, at the Cosmos

Club. President Briggs in the chair; 38 persons present. The min-

utes of the 778th meeting were read in abstract and approved.

Mr. W. P. White gave a paper, illustrated with lantern slides, on

Specific heats at high temperatures. Platinum and certain silicon com-

pounds were investigated. The charges were heated, usually in elec-

tric heaters, and dropped into water in a calorimeter, so that the

heat determination was made at ordinary temperatures under favorable

conditions. The high temperature measurements in the furnace, the

most critical part of the determinations, were made quite satisfactorily,

first, by means of regulators which held the furnace temperature con-

stant; second, by measuring temperature at the center of the charge

1/

22 proceedings: philosophical society

and by keeping the furnace temperature reasonably uniform by means

of platinum-faced partitions and a suitable arrangement of the furnace

winding. Duplicate results seldom differed as much as 0.001. Sys-

tematic errors in calorimetry are usually much larger than the acci-

dental, but numerous and varied intercomparisons seem to indicate that

in this case there were few errors of any sort greater than 0.0015. The

specific heats at high temperatures show in general a curvature con-

cave to the . z-axis, which is merely the upper part of an »S-shaped

curve characteristic of these as of all substances and explainable on the

basis of the quantum hypothesis. Accepting that explanation, these

curves show that the silica and silicon compounds investigated have

atomic vibration periods of high frequencies comparable with those

characteristic of the atoms of the diamond, whose specific heat curve

is similar. These vibration frequencies are due to the oxygen in the

compounds and are characteristic of oxygen compounds generally.

Platinum shows an altogether different curvature at ordinary tem-

peratures. The relation between the specific heats of the various

substances when crystalline and when in the form of glass showed

marked differences. There was also a tendency for the specific heat

of the glass to increase 10 per cent or more at some rather high tem-

perature; this as yet remains unexplained. Two definite kinds of in-

version or transformation in the solid state were demonstrated, char-

acterized by the presence in one case and the absence in the other of

large variations in the specific heat below and at the temperature of

inversion.

Discussion. Mr. Swann noted that the agreement of the specific

heats fitted in well with the quantum theory. Mr. Sosman referred

to the different slopes of the heat curves for polymorphic substances

and cited in particular the three forms of quartz; the question whether

the cause is of atomic or molecular nature is an open one. Mr. L. J.

Briggs spoke of the atomic heat of platinum at the higher tempera-

tures.

Mr. N. S. Osborne then presented an illustrated communication on

A calorimeter for the determination of latent and specific heats of fluids.

The principle of the unstirred or "aneroid" type of calorimeter has

been embodied in an instrument especially designed for determinations

of the specific heat and latent heat of vaporization of several sub-

stances in general use as refrigerating media. Heat developed elec-

trically in a coil located in the central axis of the cylindrical shell com-

prising the calorimeter is distributed by conduction to the calorimeter

and contents whose initial and final temperatures are measured, when

in thermal equilibrium, by a platinum resistance thermometer. Heat

from other sources is excluded by enveloping the calorimeter with

a metal jacket, separated by an air space, and keeping this jacket dur-

ing measurements at the same temperature as the calorimeter surface,

using multiple thermocouples to indicate this equality. The measured

heat added is used either to change the temperature of the contents

or to evaporate a portion of the contents withdrawn as superheated

proceedings: philosophical society 23

vapor; in the first case the specific heat is determined and in the sec-

ond the latent heat of vaporization, when proper corrections are

made. The unique features of this instrument are:

1. Central location of the heater and thermometer.

2. Distribution of metal connections between calorimeter and

jacket to minimize errors from lead conduction.

3. Provision of a device for rapid cooling of the calorimeter. This

consists of a copper ring which can be moved within the jacket so as

to short-circuit thermally the insulating air space and permit the

escape of heat to the cooled jacket.

4. Surface temperature equalizer for rendering the annulment of

thermal leakage independent of thermal irregularities in the interior

of the calorimeter. Measurements were made in the range of tem-

perature from — 40°C. to + 40°C. of (a) the specific heat of liquid

ammonia by two methods, one under saturation conditions, the other at

constant pressure; (b) the latent heat of vaporization of ammonia; and

(c) the latent heat of compression of liquid ammonia.

Discussion. Mr. White thought the aneroid calorimeter a great

advance in calorimetry. He discussed also the relative advantages of

large and small calorimeters; a small instrument is to be preferred,

provided proper care be used in the details of construction. Mr.

Swann spoke of some experiences indicating the advantage of the

aneroid type of instrument over the stirred-liquid type.

Informal communications. Mr. M. D. Hersey presented as an in-

formal communication a list of theorems relative to the errors of phy-

sical measurements, which he has gradually developed during the

past six years as a by-product of other work. There are five theo-

rems relating to apparatus, two to observations, and seven to com-

putations. The manuscript notes, such as they are, are available to

any individual interested. Fragments of this work already published

are to be found in the Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci., 1: 187, 1911; 3:296,

1913; 6:620, 1916; and in the B. A. Rep., Birmingham, 399, 1913.

Mr. White spoke informally on the swelling and splitting, because

of amalgamation by mercury, of the platinum element of a thermostat

that had been stored away for two or three years. Mr. Wenner

remarked that he had many times noted similar effects.

Mr. Humphreys read a humorous poem giving a soldier's opinion

of the climate of the Rio Grande.

The 46th annual meeting (780 th regular meeting) was held on De-

cember 9, 1916 in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club. President

Briggs and President-elect Buckingham in the chair; 34 persons

present. The minutes of the 45th annual meeting were read.

The report of the Secretaries was read by Mr. Agnew. Three

members, viz., Messrs. Cleveland Abbe, Henry H. Bates, and

F. B. McGuire, died during the year; 14 new members were elected;

8 members were transferred to the absent list; 2 members resigned;

and 1 member was dropped. The present active membership is 149.

24 proceedings: biological society

Sixteen regular meetings have been held. In accordance with the

recommendation made at the 45th annual meeting, the General Com-

mittee amended the By-Laws of the Committee by establishing a

class of life membership to include all members who have maintained

an active membership in the Society for 40 years. Messrs. Cleve-

land Abbe, F. W. Clarke, Wm. H. Dall, and G. K. Gilbert became

life members under this amendment. The report was ordered ac-

cepted and placed on file.

The Treasurer's report through December 6, 1916, was read by

Mr. Sosman. The total receipts for the year, including cash balance

of $109.72, were $3,234.83; the total expenditures for the year were

$2,791.17; cash balance on December 6, 1916, $443.66. The total

par value of the investments now held by the Society is $12,000. The

report of the Auditing Committee consisting of Messrs. Mueller,

Stillman, and Hostetter was read by Mr. Mueller. This Com-

mittee reported the statements in the Treasurer's report had been

found correct. The report was ordered accepted. The Treasurer's

report was then ordered accepted and placed on file.

Messrs. Ferner and Rothermel were appointed tellers. The fol-

lowing officers were duly elected for the ensuing year: President: E.

Buckingham; Vice-Presidents: G. K. Burgess, W. J. Humphreys,

R. B. Sosman, Wm. Bowie; Treasurer: E. F. Mueller; Secretaries:

P. G. Agnew, D. H. Sweet; General Committee: H. L. Curtis, N. E.

Dorsey, R. L. Faris, E. G. Fischer, J. A. Fleming, D. L. Hazard,

W. F. G. Swann, W. P. White, F. E. Wright.

An unanimous vote of thanks was extended to the retiring Treas-

urer and Secretary for their efficient services to the Society. The

rough minutes of the meeting were read and approved.

J. A. Fleming, Secretary.

THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 558th meeting of the Biological Society of Washington was

held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, October 21,

1916; called to order at 8.15 by President Hay with 50 persons in

attendance.

The President announced the death of Prof. F. E. L. Beal, a mem-

ber of the Society distinguished for his work in economic ornithology.

On recommendation of the Council Mrs. Ella M. Enlows was

elected to active membership.

Under the heading Brief Notes and Exhibition of Specimens the

following informal communications were presented.

Mr. A. L. Quaintance called attention to a new peach pest related

to the codling moth, lately found in the District of Columbia and

immediate vicinity. These remarks were illustrated by lantern views

of the insect and its work.

Dr. C. W. Stiles commented on zoological nomenclature and gave

notice that it was the intention to set aside the rules of strict priority

proceedings: biological society 25

with reference to Holothuria and Physalia and to use these terms for

the animals to which they are currently applied in the usual text

books. Dr. Stiles also commented on recent cases in which trichina

had figured in certain lawsuits, and expressed the view that with the

purchase of meat products went the requirement that the product

should be properly cared for and that in the case of pork this care

required cooking before consumption; it was somewhat unfair to hold

the seller of trichinous meat entirely responsible.

Dr. L. O. Howard cited an instance in which a cockroach was fig-

uring in a lawsuit. A man was suing a Texas railroad for damages

on the ground that typhoid fever had been contracted through his

drinking pop which had been contaminated by a cockroach, which had

apparently been in the bottle before the man drank the pop purchased

on the common carrier.

The regular program consisted of an illustrated lecture by Dr. Paul

Bartsch: Mollusk collecting in the Philippines. Dr. Bartsch reviewed

the work of previous collectors and gave an account of his own collect-

ing expedition, describing the methods and apparatus used. He spoke

of mollusks as a source of food for the natives, and of their method of

gathering them, and called attention to the variations cf these ani-

mals as found on different islands. He showed also the necessity of

exact locality determinations on specimens, and discussed the geo-

graphic distribution of the Philippine molluscan fauna, pointing out

its possible origin from other islands or land masses. The lecture

covered not only the land mollusks but the marine forms as well.

The 559th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall

of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, November 4, 1916; called to order at

8 p. m. by President Hay with sixty persons present.

On recommendation of the Council the following persons were

elected to active membership: William B. Bell, Biological Survey;

Fraxcis Harper, Biological Survey; H. E. Anthony, American Mu-

seum of Natural History; and A. B. Howell, Covina, California.

The President announced the death of Dr. E. A. Mearns, a mem-

ber of the Council of the Society and distinguished for his work on

birds, mammals, and other branches of natural history.

Under the heading Brief Notes and Exhibition of Specimens, Dr.

R. W. Shufeldt exhibited a specimen of the Japanese giant sala-

mander and made some remarks on its habits and habitat.

The regular program consisted of four papers as follows:

R. H. Hutchison: A review of recent work on the house-fly. This

paper was restricted to a discussion of recent studies on the preovi-

position period, the range of flight, and the question of the overwinter-

ing of the house-fly. The remarks on the preoviposition period sum-

marized a recent bulletin of the Department of Agriculture on this

subject (Bulletin 345). In discussing the range of flight, attention

was directed to the fact that up to 1914 the longest recorded flight was

1700 yards. During the season of 1915 experiments were carried out

26 proceedings: biological society

in a suburban locality near Washington by Max Kisliuk, Jr., under

the direction of the writer. In these, several records of from 1800 to

2175 yards were obtained. These were compared with the records

obtained by R. H. Parker during the same season at Miles City, Mon-

tana; his longest record was 3500 yards. The question of how the

house-fly overwinters in this latitude was said to be still undecided.

It was pointed out that flies were not killed by the first heavy frost,

as has often been stated; and that, in fact, a large percentage revived after

several nights' exposure to minimum temperatures of 25° F. They

are killed by temperatures of 15°F. Flies were found emerging up

to the first week in December, and these late forms were found in

heated buildings until the end of January. None were again seen

till April 27. Other observations were cited as indicating that flies

do not overwinter in the adult state; but, on the other hand, a long

series of experiments and observations failed to give any positive

evidence that they overwinter in the larval or pupal state.

W. Dwight Pierce: Recent spread of the cotton boll weevil. A brief

history of the movement of this pest through the United States sug-

gests, from a study of specimens collected in all parts of the infested

regions of North America, that there are three lines of dispersion. It

seems probable that the boll weevil originated in Guatemala or some

other portion of Central America and that the most typical strain

migrated northward through the mountains of Mexico into Arizona,

where it is now found as a native species on the wild cotton-like plant

Thurberia thespesioides. The main migration was along the Gulf

Coast, through the cultivated cotton regions, into the United States.

The third line of dispersion was through Yucatan, across the Gulf,

to Cuba. Specimens collected at the three termini of these dispersions

appear to be very distinct varieties. That variety which is found on

cultivated cotton in the United States is the smallest found and the

most variable. The movement of the weevil is controlled by the

amount of food supply, which regulates the time and distance of nat-

ural movement by winds and floods, and by artificial agencies. The

most interesting development of the present year is the extension of

the weevil to the northern limits of cotton growth in Oklahoma and

Arkansas into central Tennessee, eastward to the Atlantic Ocean south

of Savannah, and the infestation of practically all the cotton region of

Florida. The only Sea Island cotton section now not infected is that

of South Carolina.

E. R. Sasscer: Remarks on entomological inspection and disinfec-

tion of products offered for entry into the United States. A brief review

of the Plant Quarantine Act of 1912 was given, pointing out the

principal features of the Act as relating to the control of stock entering

the States, and what is required of the broker, the nurseryman, or

other party importing plants or plant products. The quarantines re-

lating to insects were referred to, and lantern slides of a number of

these quarantined insects and others collected by inspectors were

shown. Brief mention was made of the method of examining nursery

proceedings: biological society 27

stock in the District of Columbia, and it was shown that such stock

was divided naturally into (1) commercial material, including plants

and plant products received by florists, department stores, and pri-

vate individuals; and (2) Departmental material, including plants and

plant products introduced by the various offices of the Department of

Agriculture, more particularly the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant In-

troduction. Some time was devoted to discussing the new method of

disinfecting cotton, and lantern slides were shown exhibiting the plants

which are now operating in Boston, Mass., Brooklyn, N. Y., Newark,

N. J., and Oakland, Cal.

H. S. Barber: An outline of the glow-worms of the American family

Phongodidae.

The 560th meeting of the Biological Society of Washington was

held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, November

16, 1916; called to order by President Hay at 8 p.m. with 86 persons

in attendance.

On recommendation of the Council, Irwin Hoffmann was elected

to active membership.

Under the heading, Brief Notes and Exhibition of Specimens, Dr.

O. P. Hay exhibited one of the cervical vertebrae of a deer from a

deposit in Florida. He called attention to the fact that the remains

of Florida deer have usually been referred to the existing species,

Odocoileus osceola. A comparison of this vertebra with the correspond-

ing one from recent deer, other than the Florida deer, showed that

possibly the extinct Florida deer was a different species from the ex-

isting deer. Dr. Hay said that there were no examples of cervical

vertebrae of Florida deer for making comparisons, and that until such

examples were seen the identification of the extinct deer must remain

doubtful.

Under the same heading Dr. Paul Bartsch called attention to a

hybrid duck which he had lately seen exposed for sale in the markets.

It was a cross between the black mallard and the domestic duck.

The regular program consisted of two papers:

H. Pittier: Forests of Panama (Illustrated by lantern slides).

Professor Pittier gave first a condensed review of the results to the

present date of the botanical part of the biological survey of Panama,

undertaken under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution. Then

he showed how the distribution of the main ecological types of vege-

tation is dependent upon the regime of the winds and of the rainfall.

Mixed dicotylous forests cover at least six-tenths of the area of the

Isthmus, the rest being occupied by savannas and park-like formations.

Rain-forests with evergreen foliage extend over the entire northern

watershed and part of Darien on the south side. Other forests of the

southern slope belong to the type called monsoon-forest and are char-

acterized by the presence of many species with deciduous foliage.

The xerophytic character of the vegetation is more marked in the

broken forests of the savanna belt, without however assuming an

28 proceedings: biological society

extreme degree. The change in the composition of the vegetation

with the increase in altitude has been dwelt upon by several travellers

and botanical explorers of the Isthmus; it is very gradual but never-

theless very radical. Several genera of trees observed at high alti-

tudes are gregarious; there are, for instance, oak-forests, sub-tropical

or even temperate in their general appearance. Lantern slides illus-

trating types of forest, or of individual trees and flowers, were shown

at the conclusion of the lecture.

J. H. Paine : Scientific photography in the study of insects (Illustrated

by lantern slides).

M. W. Lyon, Jr., Recording Secretary.

JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII JANUARY 19, 1917 No. 2

MINERALOGY. — M agues ioludwigite, a new mineral.1 B. S.

Butler and W. T. Schaller, Geological Survey.

Introduction. In 1912, while making a reconnaissance examina-

tion of the Big and Little Cottonwood districts, Utah, one of

the writers, B. S. Butler, collected specimens of the rather rare

mineral ludwigite.2 Specimens of this mineral from the Little

Cottonwood district, in an undescribed collection made by J. M.

Boutwell, were later examined.

During the summer of 1916 it was possible to make more

detailed observations of the occurrence of the mineral, and

chemical analysis has shown the presence of an allied mineral,

hitherto undescribed, for which the' name magnesioludwigite is

proposed.

Locality. The largest body of ludwigite observed is at the

Mountain Lake mine at the head of Big Cottonwood Canyon,

about 1| miles south of Brighton. Ludwigite occurs in places

to the southwest of the Mountain Lake mine for more than half

a mile, nearly to Lake Catherine, and also to the east. It was

collected on the south side of Little Cottonwood Canyon, south-

east of the Michigan-Utah boarding house. It was observed

Preliminary papei . Published with the permission of the Director of the

U. S. Geological Survey.

2Butler, B. S., and Loughlin, G. F. A reconnaissance of the Cottonwood-

American Fork mining region, Utah. U. S. Geol. Survey Bui!. 620, p. 201. 1915.

29

30 BUTLER AND SCHALLER: MAGNESIOLUDWIGITE

in rock debris near the Alta-Brighton trail north of Twin Lakes,

and is abundant in the South Columbus tunnel of the South

Hecla mine. It will doubtless be found at other localities in the

district. Magnesioludwigite was found only in the Mountain

Lake mine.

Occurrence. Ludwigite occurs as a replacement of limestone

at or near the contact with intrusive rocks and is associated with

"contact minerals," including magnetite, forsterite, garnet,

diopside, muscovite, and sulphides of iron and copper. In the

Mountain Lake deposit magnetite and forsterite are the most

abundant original minerals associated with the ludwigite.

All of the minerals were probably formed at the same time,

though the presence of veinlets of magnetite in the ludwigite

and in the forsterite indicates that the magnetite continued

to form after the ludwigite and forsterite had ceased to form.

The sulphides also, in part at least, were formed probably later

than the ludwigite and forsterite.

In the Mountain Lake deposit the ludwigite is in finely fibrous

crystals, forming radial and spherulitic groups which make up

large masses of the mineral. These, as seen with the unaided

eye or the hand lens, resemble tourmaline. There are exposed

in the outcrop and on the dump many tons of a mixture of

magnetite and ludwigite. The ludwigite occurs also as isolated

crystals and groups of crystals in metamorphosed limestone,

and from such occurrences well-defined crystals with natural

crystal faces have been isolated and measured. The ludwigite

is dull greenish black (Ridgway's color scale). In the outcrop

of the deposit there is also much material of ivy-green color

(Ridgway's color scale), which is the mineral for which the

name magnesioludwigite is proposed. Its occurrence is like

that of the ludwigite.

Composition. Chemical analysis has shown that only 2.55

per cent of ferrous oxide is present in the ivy-green mineral,

whereas typical ludwigite contains 17.01 per cent ferrous oxide.

The analysis has also determined that the formula of the new

mineral is MgO.Fe2O3.3MgO.B2O3, in which a small amount of

ferrous oxide replaces some of the magnesia. The analysis

swanton: aboriginal terms for brother and sister 31

can be interpreted as representing an isomorphous mixture

of 85 per cent of magnesium borate with 15 per cent of ferrous

borate. In its various properties magnesioludwigite shows the

expected differences from those of the iron-richer ludwigite from

Hungary. The luster is duller, the color lighter, the pleochroism

and absorption weaker, and the translucency of the crushed

material is markedly greater.

These various changes in properties are correlated with the

changes in chemical composition, and the existence of a definite

series from the ferrous-iron borate to the magnesium borate is

well shown by specimens of the mineral from Hungary, Montana,

and Utah. This correlation is being made and will be given

in full in the detailed paper now in preparation.

The increased knowledge of the variation in chemical com-

position and corresponding variations in other properties makes

it necessary to recognize the two end members of the series of

the natural magnesium-iron borates. It is therefore proposed

to use the name ludwigite as a group name, similarly to the usage

of the terms mica and feldspar, and to introduce the two names

magnesioludwigite and ferroludwigite for the end members and

for those parts of the series in which the magnesium or the

ferrous-iron borate, respectively, predominates.

Including the mineral pinakiolite in the group, the ludwigite

group comprises then the following minerals, the term lud-

wigite being usable for any member of the group until its exact

relation has been determined:

Group

Ludwigite

Species

Ferroludwigite, FeO.Fe203.3MgO.B203

Magnesioludwigite, MgO.Fe203.3MgO.B203

Pinakiolite, MnO.Mn203.3MgO.B203.

ANTHROPOLOGY. — Significance of the terms for brother and

sister among primitive peoples. John R. Swanton, Bureau

of American Ethnology.

It is well known that among tribes divided into clans or

gentes the terms for those relations for which we use "brother"

32 swanton: aboriginal terms for brother and sister

and "sister" are extended to a large number of individuals of

the same clan or gens and of approximately the same age as the

speaker, but even experienced investigators are not so vividly

conscious of the fact that they are by no means confined to that

clan or gens. The idea of such a limitation is largely due to the

fact that very many tribes, such for instance as the Iroquois,

Choctaw, Chickasaw, Tlingit, Haida, and several of the Plains

tribes, have only two exogamous groups, and that in such

groups the men called collectively " fathers" are the husbands

of the women called collectively "mothers." It happens,

therefore, that the children of the father's brothers and the

mother's sisters are the very same set of individuals and must

always be of the exogamous division of the speaker and his own

brothers and sisters. Thus it might be thought that the terms

brother and sister were applied because the individuals so called

were of the same clan or gens as self.

In order to discover the true reason for the application of these

terms we must turn to tribes having three or more exogamous

groups. Among peoples of this kind with matrilineal descent

the men of the father's clan will be able to marry into two or

more others and their children will be of the same number of

clans, while if the descent is patrilineal the women of the mother's

clan will have the same variety of choice. Now, if the terms

for brother and sister are primarily clan or gentile terms, they

will not be applied to children of the father's clan or the mother's

gens not of the clan or gens of the speaker. If they are primarily

consanguineal terms they will be so applied.

In the present article I shall not attempt an exhaustive study

of this question but confine myself to an examination of the

lists given by Morgan in his Systems of Consanguinity and

Affinity1 and those recorded by Rivers in The History of Mel-

anesia?! Society. The internal diversity of the two regions,

each of which presents examples of tribes with exogamous di-

visions and tribes without, tribes with matrilineal descent and

tribes with patrilineal descent, tribes with dual divisions and

tribes with multiple divisions, along with their remoteness from

Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, vol. 17.

SW ANTON: ABORIGINAL TERMS FOR BROTHER AND SISTER 33

each other, and the difference in time and circumstance under

which they were recorded, promises a very fair sample of what

may be looked for in primitive society as a whole.

An inspection of the lists given by Morgan shows that the

terms for brother and sister — elder and younger being also fre-

quently distinguished — are employed by all tribes from which

information is supplied except the Eskimo, who are without

exogamous groups and therefore do not concern us. It is true

that among certain peoples, such as the Chippewa, Ottawa,

Potawatomi, Mohegan, Delaware, Spokane, and Creek, a dis-

tinction is introduced between the own brother and sister and

collateral brothers and sisters, who are often called " step-

brothers," " step-sisters," "other brothers," and so on; but we

find that in most cases these exceptional terms apply to both the

child of the father's brother and the child of the mother's sis-

ter; therefore their significance is mainly consanguineal and

their use strengthens rather than weakens the argument for

consanguinity. In one or two other cases the terms used are

alternatives. Rivers yields precisely the same testimony. In

his explanation of the terms employed in the island of Florida

he specifically states that those for brother and sister were

used "in the usual classificatory sense for all members of the

clan of the same generation" and that they were applied also

"in the same way to the children of the father's brothers, al-

though these may be of different clans." By implication the

same must be assumed in the systems recorded by him from

the Torres Islands, Santa Cruz, the Reef Islands, Guadalcanar,

Ysabel, and Savo, all of those in which there are more than two

exogamous divisions and from which information is vouchsafed.

The same is found, as we should expect, in tribes having two

exogamous groups, and also in tribes without exogamous groups.

In some cases these terms are so widely extended as to apply

to the cross-cousins as well, the children of the father's sister and

the mother's brother. The outstanding fact is, however, that

the application of the terms for brother and sister is evidently

governed by the relation of the parents of the persons so called

to self.

34 swanton: aboriginal terms for brother and sister

Precisely the same thing appears in the succeeding genera-

tion, where the use of the terms son and daughter, and nephew

and niece, is plainly determined by the status of the parents of

those so denominated.

These facts may be illustrated by the accompanying diagram,

in which it is to be understood that each English expression stands

for a single native term. It supposes a tribe with several clans

and matrilineal descent, self male. Other systems would in-

volve a few simple and readily comprehended changes.

DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING ^BROTHER" AND

father's

brothers'

wives

(clans 1,

3, 4, etc.)

father's

brothers

(clan 2)

RELATIONSHIPS.

father = mother

(clan 2)

(clan 1)

"sister"

mother's

sisters

(clan 1)

mother's

sisters'

husbands

(clans 2,

3,4, etc.)

brothers

(clans 1,

3, 4, etc.)

sisters

(clans 1,

3,4,etc.)

brothers

(clan 1)

self

male

(clan 1)

sisters

(clan 1)

brothers

(clan 1)

sisters

(clan 1)

sons nephews sons sons nephews sons nephews

and and and and and and and

daughters nieces daughters daughters nieces . daughters nieces

(clans 1,2, (clans 1,2, (clans 2, (clans 2, (clan 1) (clans 2, (clan 1)

3, 4, etc.) 3, 4, etc.) 3, 4, etc.) 3, 4, etc.)

3, 4, etc.)

An examination of the remaining terms of relationship shows

that almost the only ones which have a strictly clan or gentile

connotation are those for father, mother, father's sister, and

mother's brother. Those who argue for the priority of exog-

amous divisions to relationship terminology and for their clan

rather than consanguineal significance are therefore reduced

to the assumption that such divisions first determined the four

terms last given and that all of the others were developed from

them on purely consanguineal lines. But even in the case of

these four terms we ordinarily find a distinction between the

own father and mother and the clan or gentile father and

mother, and frequently there are other exceptions to a strictly

swanton: aboriginal terms for brother and sister 35

clan usage of the terms. A theoiy which has to admit so many

exceptions and which must grant the dominance of consan-

guineal considerations in all but a few cases may well be viewed

with suspicion. It is certainly a clumsy device when compared

with the alternative theoiy of a simple extension of terms

founded on the idea of blood relationship to groups of persons

hypothetically, though not actually, related.

ABSTRACTS

Authors of scientific papers are requested to see that abstracts, preferably

prepared and signed by themselves, are forwarded promptly to the editors.

Each of the scientific bureaus in Washington has a representative authorized to

forward such material to this journal and abstracts of official publications should

be transmitted through the representative of the bureau in which they originate.

The abstracts should conform in length and general style to those appearing iD

this issue.

PHYSICS. — A study of electromagnet moving coil galvanometers for

use in alternating current measurements. Ernest Weibel. Bureau

of Standards Scientific Paper No. 297 (Bull. Bur. Stds., 14: 23-58).

1917.

This paper gives the results of a study of the electromagnet moving

coil galvanometer that has led to the construction, of instruments

with sensitivities much greater than those previously obtained and

equal to those of the best direct current moving coil galvanometers.

The theory of the instrument is developed. The equation of motion

is first expressed in terms of the intrinsic constants (the moment of

inertia, the moment of damping, the moment of restoration, and the

moment of displacement) and the deflection, velocity, acceleration, and

current in the moving coil. The current is then known from the

resultant electromotive force in the moving coil circuit and the latter's

constants. It is necessary in computing the resultant electromotive

force to consider not only the impressed but also the induced electro-

motive force. The latter is in part due to the motion of the coil in

the magnetic field, causing electromagnetic damping, and in part due

to the alternation of the flux linking with the coil, causing a current

which results in a control torque in addition to that of the suspensions.

The paper also contains descriptions and gives the performances of

four instruments. The results indicate that the theory as given is

fundamentally correct and therefore serves as a good basis for the

design and use of instruments of this kind. E. W.

GEOLOGY. — The lignite field of northwestern South Dakota. Dean E.

Winchester, C. J. Hares, E. Russell Lloyd, and E. M. Parks.

U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 627. Pp. 165, with 11 plates. 1916.

The report describes the geology and fuel resources of parts of

Perkins and Harding counties in northwestern South Dakota. The

36

abstracts: geology 37

formations in the area include the Pierre, Fox Hills, Lance, Fort Union,

White River, and Arikaree. The Lance is subdivided into three

members: a lower undifferentiated portion, 425 feet thick; a middle or

Ludlow lignite-bearing portion, 350 feet thick at most; and an upper

marine member, the Cannonball, 225 feet thick.

The marine fauna of the Cannonball member is very similar to but

not identical with the fauna of the Fox Hills, which is of recognized

Cretaceous age, while the flora of the Ludlow lignitic member is so

much like that of the Fort Union, which is of recognized Tertiary age,

that it is impossible to differentiate it from the Fort Union on the

basis of the fossil leaves.

Lignite beds are found in both the Lance and Fort Union formations,

the more important beds occurring in the Lance formation.

D. E. W.

GEOLOGY. — Reconnaissance of the Conconully and Ruby mining

districts, Washington. E. L. Jones, Jr. U. S. Geological Sur-

vey Bulletin 640-B. Pp. i-iv, 11-36, with 1 plate. 1916.

This report describes the geology and ore deposits of a small area

in the central part of Okanogan County, Washington. In general the

rocks comprise an older series of metamorphic rocks and a younger

series of igneous rocks of batholithic origin. The metamorphic rocks

consist of schists, quartzites, and limestones. Some of the schists

are fine-grained and thinly laminated, but others are coarsely banded

micaceous rocks that are evidently altered sandstones. The most

schistose and gneissoid rocks are those which border the batholith.

Closely associated with this sedimentary series are dike rocks and lavas

that have undergone the same metamorphism and are probably of the

same age, which is supposed to be Carboniferous.

The common igneous rock of the area is a gray granite which has

intruded the sedimentary rocks. It occurs over a large area and is

probably a part of the Similkameen batholith. There are other igneous

rocks of considerable areal extent, including a dark granite and an altered

green porphyry. Dikes are abundant, particularly along the contact

of the batholith with the metamorphic rocks; they include granite,

diorite, pegmatite, and aplite, and probably represent the closing stage

of igneous activity.

The ore deposits are principally of two types, quartz veins and

disseminated or replacement deposits. The quartz veins are widely

distributed throughout the area, but those of proved value are grouped

38 abstracts: geology

along the contact of the granite with the schists and gneisses. They

are valuable for their lead-silver content and have yielded the principal

output. The replacement deposits occur principally in a small area

at the northern end of the Conconully district. They contain small

amounts of copper and gold, but no ore has yet been produced com-

mercially from them. R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — A reconnaissance of the Archean complex of the Granite

Gorge, Grand Canyon, Arizona. L. F. Noble and J. Fred.

Hunter. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 98-1.

Pp. 95-102, with 1 plate and 2 figures. 1916.

The Tonto platform on the south side of the Granite Gorge affords

a magnificent but difficultly accessible cross-section through the

Archean complex, 800 feet deep and 40 miles in length. These oldest

rocks of the Grand Canyon were visited in twenty localities, 67 hand

specimens were collected, and eight distinct groups of rocks were

recognized. The exposures within these groups are described and the

petrography of the specimens is given.

Estimated roughly, the gneisses (granite gneiss, hornblende gneiss,

and metabasite) comprise 50 per cent of the rock exposed in the Gran-

ite Gorge; the mica schist, 30 per cent; the basic intrusives, 10 per

cent; and the pink siliceous intrusives, 10 per cent. It is not im-

probable that the mica schists are in large part of sedimentary origin.

It is believed that some of the wrinkled and contorted granite gneisses

represent the original basement on which the schist series of meta-

morphosed sediments was laid down; that both before and after the

deposition of the sediments there were long periods of complex intru-

sion, represented by amphibolites, granitic gneiss, metabasite, and

metadiorite; that during and after the metamorphism of the schists

and gneisses there were further intrusions of quartz diorite, gabbro,

granite, pegmatite, and other rocks. It will probably be advisable,

at some future time, to restrict the name "Vishnu schists," now used

for the entire Archean complex, to the mica-schist series and give

another name or names to the gneisses. J. F. H.

GEOLOGY. — An anticlinal fold near Billings, Noble County, Oklahoma.

A. E. Fath. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 641-E. Pp. 121-

138, with 1 plate. 1916.

During February, 1916, gas was struck in small quantities at shallow

depths in a well being drilled a few miles southwest of Billings, Noble

abstracts: technology 39

County, Oklahoma. As this discovery was made at a place more than

20 miles distant from any other known oil and gas development, it has

attracted considerable attention, winch is justified by the presence of a

large anticlinal fold, a type of structure that should be favorable for

the accumulation of oil and gas. A description of the anticlinal fold

and a discussion of the possibilities of developing an oil and gas field

here are given. R. \y# S.

PALEONTOLOGY. — North American Upper Cretaceous corals of the

genus Micrabacia. Lloyd William Stephenson. U. S. Geo-

logical Surve3r Professional Paper 98-J. Pp. 115-131, with 4

plates. 1916.

The report describes seven species and two varieties of corals of the

genus Micrabacia from the United States, all but one of which, M.

americana Meek and Hay den, are new. All are from the Atlantic

and Gulf coastal plains, except M. americana and its variety multi-

costata from the Montana group of the Western Interior. Of the

coastal-plain species, M . cribraria is from the upper part of the Exogyra

ponderosa zone (North Carolina — Alabama), and the remainder are

from the Exogyra costata zone of Maryland, Georgia, Mississippi, and

Texas. The American species are compared with the type species of

the genus, M . coronula Goldfuss, a description and figures of which are

included, from Essen, Prussia. Each of the species has a small disc-

shaped corallum, the largest, M. rotatilis, being only 9 mm. in diame-

ter; in order to illustrate the characters it is necessary to magnify them

four to eight times. L. W. S.

TECHNOLOGY. — The recovery of paraffin and paper stock from waste

paraffin paper. W. H. Smith. Bureau of Standards Technologic

Paper No. 87. Pp. 4. 1916.

This paper describes a process for the recovery of the paraffin and

paper stock from waste paraffin paper. The waste is pulped with

exhaust steam in a vertical boiler. The wax rises to the surface and

is drawn off with the hot water through a screen, the stock settling

to the bottom of the boiler. The stock is transferred to a beating

engine and further treated for the removal of the residual paraffin.

Paper prepared from the recovered stock was free from wax and satis-

factory in every respect. Practically all of the paper stock is recovered,

but about ten per cent of the paraffin in the waste is lost during the

process. W. H. S.

M :

REFERENCES

Under this heading it is proposed to include, by author, title, and citation, references to all

scientific papers published in or emanating from Washington. It is requested that authors cooperate

with the editors by submitting titles promptly, following the style used below. These references are

not intended to replace the more extended abstracts published elsewhere in this Journal.

CHEMISTRY

Blum, William. The determination of aluminium as oxide. Bureau of Stand-

ards Scientific Paper No. 286 (Bull. Bur. Stds., 13: 515-534). 1916.

Cain, J. R., Schramm, E., and Cleaves, H. E. The preparation of pure iron and

iron-carbon alloys. Bureau of Standards Scientific Paper No. 266 (Bull.

Bur. Stds., 13: 1-26). 1916.

Clarke, F. W., and Wheeler, W. C. The inorganic constituents of alcyonaria.

Proc. National Acad. Sci., 1: 552-556. 1915.

Gillespie, L. J. The reaction of soil and the measurements of hydrogen-ion con-

centration. Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci., 6: 7-16. 1916.

Hillebrand, W. F., and Scherrer, J. A. Recovery of gallium from spelter in the

United States. Journ. Ind. and Eng. Chem., 8: 225. 1916.

Lubs, Herbert A., and Clark, Mansfield. On some new indicators for the

colorimetric determination of hydrogen-ion concentration. Journ. Wash. Acad.

Sci., 5:609-617. 1915.

Waters, C. E., and Ttjttle, J. B. Some qualitative tests for gum arabic and its

quantitative determination. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 67.

Pp. 15. 1916.

Weaver, E. R. The colorimetric determination of acetylene and its application

to the determination of water. Bureau of Standards Scientific Paper No. 267

(Bull. Bur. Stds., 13: 27-65). 1916.

MAMMALOGY

Allen, J. A. The genotypes of Echimys and Loncheres. Proceedings of the

Biological Society of Washington, 29:205-206. September 22, 1916. (Ar-

gues that E. spinosus is the type of Echimys and L. chrysurus the type of

Loncheres. — N. H.)

Gabrielson, I. N. A second record of Nyctinomus depressus for Iowa. Pro-

ceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29:86. April 4, 1916.

(A specimen of this southwestern species taken at Marshalltown. — N. H.)

Goldman, E. A. Notes on the genera Isothrix Wagner and Phyllomys Lund.

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29: 125-126. June 6,

1916. (Several species heretofore included in Isothrix are transferred to the

genus Phyllomys. — N. H.)

Goldman, E. A. The status of Sigmodontomys alfari Allen and Oryzomys

ochraceus Allen. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29:

127. June 6, 1916. (These specific names are synonymous, and the animal

should be called Nectomys alfari. — N. H.)

40

references: mammalogy 41

Goldman, E. A. A new vesper rat from Nicaragua. Proceedings of the Bio-

logical Society of Washington, 29: 155-156. September 6, 1916. (De-

scribes Nyctomys sumichrasti venustulus from Greytown.— N. H.)

Grinnell, J. The California lowland mink a distinct race. Proceedings of the

Biological Society of Washington, 29:213-214. September 22, 1916. (De-

scribes Mustela vison aestuarina from Solano County. — N. H.)

Hollister, N. Descriptions of a new genus and eight new species and subspecies

of African mammals. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 661: 1-8.

February 10, 1916. (Cercoctenus, new genus of Macroscelidae; and new

forms in the genera Surdisorex, Rhinolophus, Eptesicus, Chaerephon, Ge-

netta, Mungos, and Helogale. — N. H.)

Hollister, N. Three new African shrews of the genus Crocidura. Smithsonian

Miscellaneous Collections, 668: 1-3. May, 1916. (C. daphnia described

from Uganda; C. parvipes nisa and C. simiolus described from British East

Africa.— N. H.)

Hollister, N. The generic names Epimys and Rattus. Proceedings of the

Biological Society of Washington, 29: 126. June 6, 1916. (Rattus the

proper generic name for the Norway rat and its allies. — N. H.)

Hollister, N. A systematic account of the prairie-dogs. North American

Fauna No. 40. Pp. 1-37, pis. 1-7. June 20, 1916. (New subgenus, Leuco-

crossuromys, for the white-tailed prairie-dogs; new subspecies Cynomys

gunnisoni zuniensis, from New Mexico. — N. H.)

Hollister, N. The type species of Rattus. Proceedings of the Biological So-

ciety of Washington, 29: 206-207. September 22, 1916. (Mus norvegicus is

the type of Rattus Fischer, 1803— N. H.)

Hollister, N. Shrews collected by the Congo expedition of the American Mu-

seum. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 35: 663-680,

pis. 7-11. October 21, 1916. (Six new species of Crocidura and one of

Sylvisorex from Belgian Congo. — N. H.)

Hollister, N. Three new murine rodents from Africa. Smithsonian Miscel-

laneous Collections, 6610: 1-3. October 26, 1916. (Describes new forms of

Arvicanthis, Dasymys, and Mus. — N. H.)

Howell, A. H. Description of a new pine mouse from Florida. Proceedings of

the Biological Society of Washington, 29 : 83-84. April 4, 1916. (Pitymys

parvulus, sp. nov., from Ocala. — N. H.)

Jackson, H. H. T. A new bat from Porto Rico. Proceedings of the Biological

Society of Washington, 29:37-38. February 24, 1916. (Describes Eptesi-

cus wetmorei from Maricao.— N. H.)

Lantz, D. E. Cottontail rabbits in relation to trees and farm crops. U. S. De-

partment of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin No. 702. Pp. 1-12, figs. 1-5.

January 17, 1916. (Discusses the habits of cottontail rabbits and methods

of controlling their numbers. — N. H.)

Lantz, D. E. Laws relating to fur-bearing animals, 1916. United States De-

partment of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin No. 783. Pp. 1-28. October 19,

1916. (A summary of laws in the United States and Canada relating to

fur-bearing aDimals. — N. H.)

42 references: technology

Lyon, M. W., Jr. A porcupine skull with a pair of supernumerary well developed

incisors in the upper jaw. Anatomical Record, 10: 459-462. April 20,

1916. (Note on abnormal dentition of Acanthion longicaudum. — N. H.)

Lyon, M. W., Jr. Belgian hare, a misleading misnomer. Science, N. S., 43: 686.

May 12, 1916. (Corrects error in generic identification of the Belgian

"hare" in anatomical paper by C. D. Holliger. — N. H.)

Lyon, M. W., Jr. Two new mammals from Sumatra. Proceedings of the Bio-

logical Society of Washington, 29: 209-211. September 22, 1916. (De-

scribes new forms of Rattus. — N. H.)

Merriam, C. H. East Africa — Game garden of the world. American Museum

Journal, 16: 145-153. March, 1916. (A review of Roosevelt and Heller's

"Life-Histories of African Game Animals," 1914. — N. H.)

Merriam, C. H. Ovis sheldoni, a new mountain sheep from Sierra del Rosario,

Sonora, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29:

129-132. September 6, 1916.

Merriam, C. H. Nineteen apparently new grizzly and brown bears from western

America. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29: 133-

154. September 6, 1916. (Descriptions of new species and subspecies of

Ursus, with remarks on distribution and relationship of mainland and

island forms. — N. H.)

Miller, G. S., Jr. Note on the indigenous rodent of Santo Domingo. Proceed-

ings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29:47. February 24, 1916.

(Records additional specimens of Plagiodontia aedium Cuvier, hitherto

known only by the type described in 1836. — N. H.)

Miller, G. S., Jr. Remains of two species of Capromys from ancient burial sites

in Jamaica. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 29 : 48.

February 24, 1916. (A species apparently much like the form known from

Little Swan Island is represented by bones; as well as remains of the pre-

viously known Jamaica species, C. broivnii. — N. H.)

Nelson, E. W. The larger North American mammals. National Geographic

Magazine, 30: 385-472. November, 1916. (A popular account, illustrated

by numerous colored pictures by L. A. Fuertes. — N. H.)

Taylor, W. P. Aplodontia humboldtiana, a new mountain beaver from the

Humboldt Bay district, California. Proceedings of the Biological Society

of Washington, 29: 21-23. February 24, 1916.

Thomas, O. Note on the name Corynorhinus megalotis. Proceedings of the

Biological Society of Washington, 29: 127. June 6, 1916. (Preoccupied;

replaced by Corynorhinus rafinesquii. — N. H.)

TECHNOLOGY

Ahlborn, G. H. Data on electric railway track leakage. Bureau of Standards

Technologic Paper No. 75. Pp. 22. 1916.

Botjghton, E. W. The determination of volatile thinner in oil varnish. Bureau

of Standards Technologic Paper No. 76. Pp. 6. 1916.

Briggs, C. A. Relative merits of long and short wheel-base test cars. The Scale

Journ., 1: 5. 1915; Railway Rev., Aug. 14, 1915; Railway Age Gaz., April

21, 1916.

Briggs, C. A. Automatic grain scales. Scale Journ., Jan. and May, 1916.

references: technology 43

Briggs, C. A. Graphical study of railroad track scales and master scale perform*

ances. Scale Journ., June. 1916; Railway Rev., July 15, 1916.

Bureau of Standards. Analyzed irons and steels. Methods of analysis. Bureau

of Standards Circular No. 14, 5th ed. Pp. 17. 1916.

Bureau of Standards. Magnetic testing. Bureau of Standards Circular No.

17, 3d ed. Pp. 50. 1916.

Bureau of Standards. Measurements for the household. Bureau of Standards

Circular No. 55. Pp. 149. 1915.

Burgess, G. K., and Merica, P. D. Some j oreign specifications for railway mate-

rials: Rails, ivheels, axles, tires. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper

No. 61. Pp. 132. 1916.

Cain, J. R., and Cleaves, H. E. Determination of carbon in steels and irons by

direct combustion in oxygen at high temperatures. Bureau of Standards Tech-

nologic Paper No. 69. Pp. 10. 1916.

Karr, C. P., and Rawdon, Henry S. Standard test specimens of zinc bronze

(Cu 88, Sn 10, Zn 2). Part I. — Preparation of specifications; Part II. — Micro-

structure. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 59. Pp. 67. 1916.

Lewis, Walter S. Difference in weight between raw and clean wools. Bureau of

Standards Technologic Paper No. 57. Pp. 5. 1915.

McCullom, B., and Ahlborn, G. H. Special studies in electrolysis mitigation.

III. A report on conditions in Springfield, Ohio, loith insulated feeder system

installed. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 54. Pp. 64. 1916.

McCullom, B., and Logan, K. H. Special studies in electrolysis mitigation.

IV. A preliminary report on electrolysis mitigation in Elyria, Ohio, with

recommendations for mitigation. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper

No. 55. Pp. 49. 1916.

McCullom, B., and Ahlborn, G. H. Influence of frequency of alternating or in-

frequently reversed currents on electrolytic corrosion. Bureau of Standards

Technologic Paper No. 72. Pp. 31. 1916.

Rosa, E. B., Brooks, H. B., McCullom, B., Canada, W. J., and Glading, F.

W. An investigation of enclosed cartridge fuses. Report of the Bureau of

Standards in the case of Economy Fuse and Manufacturing Co. vs. Under-

writers' Laboratories (Inc.), concerning the fire and accident hazard of the

Economy Refillable Fuse as compared with approved fuses. Bureau of Stand-

ards Technologic Paper No. 74. Pp. 199. 1916.

Tuttle, J. B. Determination of barium carbonate and barium sulphate in vul-

canized goods. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 64. Pp. 5.

1916; Journ. Ind. and Eng. Chem., 8: 324. 1916; Chem. Eng., 23: 129. 1916;

Chem. Abs., 10: 1289. 1916.

Waters, C. E., and Tuttle, J. B. Some qualitative tests for gum arabic and its

quantitative determination. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No.

67. Pp. 15. 1916; Journ. Ind. and Eng. Chem., 8: 413-416. 1916.

Waters, C. E. Data on the oxidation of automobile cylinder oils. Bureau of

Standards Technologic Paper No. 73. Pp. 20. 1916; Journ. Ind. and Eng.

Chem., 8: 587-592. 1916.

Wig, R. J., Williams, G. M., and Gates, E. R. Strength and other properties of

concretes as affected by materials and methods of preparation. Bureau of

Standards Technologic Paper No. 58. Pp. 172. 1916.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The sixteenth annual meeting of the Botanical Society of Washington

was held in Room 32 of the Bureau of Plant Industry building, U. S.

Department of Agriculture, at 1.30 p.m., October 16, 1916, with

W. E. Safford acting chairman and H. L. Shantz acting secretary.

The minutes of the fifteenth annual meeting were read and approved

and the report of the Executive Committee read and approved. The

report of the Treasurer was read and an Auditing Committee, con-

sisting of P. L. Ricker and G. P. Van Eseltine, appointed by the

Chair.

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President,

T. H. Kearney; Vice-President, Edgar L. Brown; Recording Secretary,

Charles E. Chambliss; Corresponding Secretary, H. L. Shantz;

Treasurer, F. D. Farrell.

Mr. A. S. Hitchcock was nominated by the society as Vice-President

of the Washington Academy of Sciences.

The 115th regular meeting of the Society was held at the Cosmos

Club Tuesday, November 7, 1916, at 8.00 p.m.

Mr. Michael Shapovalov, Dr. Howard G. MacMillan, Dr.

Joseph Rosenbaum, and Mr. F. E. Miller were elected to membership

in the Society.

Under Brief Notes and Reviews of Literature, Mr. W. T. Swingle

called attention to a recent edition of an ancient Chinese work on bot-

any, The Cheng lei pen ts'ao, originally published in 1108 A.D. Dr.

A. T. Tenaka reviewed briefly a recently issued Hand Book of Plant

Diseases of Japan, by Jinzo Matsumura.

The following papers were presented:

Notes on the life of John Bradbury: R. H. True. Information

concerning the life of this early naturalist and explorer of the Missouri

Valley is very meager. A considerable addition has been gained from

the correspondence carried on between Bradbury and Thomas Jefferson,

who greatly influenced the course of Bradbury's life and work in this

country. Bradbury's life, as gathered from this and other available

sources, was sketched in outline.

44

proceedings: biological society 45

Pathological problems in the distribution of -perishable plant products:

C. L. Shear and W. A. Orton. The enormous losses in recent years

caused by the deterioration and decay of fruits and vegetables between

the field and the consumer have led to a more active interest in this

subject and a desire on the part of those most directly affected to have

the causes and means of prevention determined. In most cases fungi

are the active agents in causing the destruction of such products, and

the problem is primarily pathological. In order to devise means of

avoiding these losses, a thorough knowledge of all the factors and con-

ditions involved must be qbtained. Each fruit and vegetable has its

own peculiarities and its own parasites. In some cases the cause of

loss may be traced to the field, and in others to conditions of transporta-

tion and handling. In any specific case the cause and responsibility

for the loss can be determined only by careful investigation of all the

facts. Specific cases of losses of strawberries, peaches, cranberries,

watermelons, tomatoes, and potatoes were cited to indicate the com-

plexity of the problems and the danger of drawing any general conclu-

sions from insufficient data. It was shown that the means of prevent-

ing such losses will depend upon the nature of the cause or causes, as

determined by a knowledge of all the factors in any particular case.

H. L. Shantz, Corresponding Secretary.

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 561st meeting of the Society was held at the Cosmos Club,

Saturday, December 2, 1916; called to order by President Hay at

8 p.m. with 50 persons in attendance.

The following program was presented:

W. P. Hay : The discovery of an interesting new tardigrade.

Professor Hay gave a brief description of a tardigrade belonging to

the genus Batillipes, discovered by him some years ago at Beaufort,

N. C. It is closely related to B. mirus Richters but differs from that

species in a number of important characters. The structure and

relationship of the tardigrades were discussed and the conclusion was

reached that Batillipes, in spite of its evident specialization along

certain lines, is probably the most primitive genus of the group. From

Batillipes through Halechiniscus to Oreella and Echiniscus was sug-

gested as one line of development, while from Echiniscoides through

Milnesium to Macrobiotus and Diphascon appears to be another. The

genus Tetrakentron, with its single species T. synaptae, shows a high

degree of specialization due to parasitism, and Microlyda is probably

the larval form of Halechiniscus.

Attention was called to the habitat of the ten animalcules belonging

to these genera. Five of them, Batillipes, Halechiniscus, Microlyda,

Tetrakentron, and Echiniscoides are marine; Echiniscus and Oreella

are strictly terrestrial; Macrobiotus is mostly terrestrial or lacustrine,

but is represented in salt water by at least two species; Diphascon is

46 proceedings: biological society

terrestrial and lacustrine. The fact that the majority of the genera

are marine and that this list includes all the more primitive genera

points strongly to a marine origin for the group. It also supports

the idea advanced by Professor Richters in 1909 that the tardigrades

are probably most closely related to the chaetopod worms and should

be removed from the class Arachnida in or near which the group is

usually placed in our zoological text books. Professor Hay's com-

munication was illustrated by charts and diagrams.

J. N. Rose: Exhibition of Venezuelan plants and fruits.

Dr. Rose had on exhibition a large tableful of fruits, fruit products,

and various articles made of parts of Venezuelan plants. He explained

their use and described the plants from which they were obtained.

The specimens were obtained for the most part in the vicinity of La

Guaira and Caracas. Dr. Rose's communication was discussed by

Messrs. H. Pittier, M. W. Lyon, Jr., and others.

M. W. Lyon, Jr.: Poisonous snakes.

Dr. Lyon -gave an account of the various specific substances that

have been found in snake venoms, and outlined their modes of action

on the various tissues of bitten animals. He spoke of the various

antiserums that have been prepared against these venoms, and their

therapeutic uses. He called attention also to the non-specific treat-

ment of snakebites in the light of modern statistics and experiments.

He then gave a brief outline of the classification of venomous snakes,

and discussed their geographic distribution and the development and

structure of the poison gland and fang. His communication was

illustrated by lantern slide views of skulls, glands, and fangs of poisonous

snakes, of types of poisonous snakes, and of some of the histological

changes caused by snake venom. It was discussed by Messrs. A. A.

Doolittle, H. Pittier, H. M. Smith, H. E. Ames, and T. E. Wilcox.

The 562d regular and the 37th annual meeting Of the Society was

held at the Cosmos Club, Saturday, December 16, 1916; called to order

by President Hay at 8 p.m. with 23 persons present.

Annual reports of officers and committees were submitted. Elec-

tion of officers for the year 1917 resulted as follows: President, W. P.

Hay; Vice-presidents, J. N. Rose, A. D. Hopkins, Hugh M. Smith,

Vernon Bailey; Recording Secretary, M. W. Lyon, Jr.; Corresponding

Secretary, W. L. McAtee; Treasurer, Ned Dearborn; Members of

Council, N. Hollister, J. W. Gidley, William Palmer, Alex.

Wetmore, E. A. Goldman. President Hay was nominated as vice-

president of the Washington Academy of Sciences.

Ex-president B. W. Evermann then gave an illustrated lecture

regarding the present condition of the museum of the California

Academy of Science and its aims and aspirations. This was dis-

cussed by Messrs. E. W. Nelson and Vernon Bailey.

M. W. Lyon, Jr., Recording Secretary.

proceedings: anthropological society 47

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 500th meeting of the Society was held at the New National

Museum, October 17, 1916, at 4.30 p.m. Dr. Walter Hough, of

the National Museum, read a paper on Ancient pit dwellers in New

Mexico.

Dr. Hough said that remains of pit dwellings were indicated on the

site of stone ruins explored in western Socorro County, New Mexico,

several years ago and that a large cluster of such dwellings not con-

nected with stone ruins was observed subsequently near Luna, in

Socorro County. The site was productive of interesting results during

an exploration for the Bureau of American Ethnology last summer.

The field in which the remains occur had been smoothed over by natural

agencies and the positions of the houses were shown only by the stronger

growth of vegetation over circular areas, this defining the pits. Some

of the pits were cleared, and it was found that they were from 12 to

14 feet in diameter and 5| feet deep. Remains of roof clay and charred

posts and beams indicate that the roof was supported on posts placed

around the periphery of the pit. It is thus probable that more than

half of the house was underground, and perhaps the position of the

walls above ground were banked. The floor arrangement shows a

fireplace near the center, a metate and grinding stones near the fire.

In one of the pits a burnt clay wall fireplace was found. Adjoining

the pits was a rectangular house also rooted with clay. Here were

found numerous grinding stones, baking slabs, and remains of pottery,

these being about a foot under the surface loam. This house was an

open air cooking and mealing shed. Near the first pit excavated was a

cemetery of infants; no remains of adults have yet been found on the

site.

A dance amphitheater which was about 100 feet in diameter and

10 feet deep lies on the east side of the site. It has been filled by

natural agencies with about 5 feet of fire-blackened debris and in it large

pine trees have matured. It is on the bank of the former and larger

channel of a living stream which traverses the eastern edge of the site.

The specimens found are crude metates, rubbing stones, hammer

stones, baking slabs, etc.; pottery of Pueblo type, decorated and un-

decorated and of some crudity; a few bone awls and small obsidian

arrowheads. No stone axes were found.

Dr. Hough presented the problem as he found it, and hesitated as

yet to pronounce upon the affiliations of the people who constructed

the pit houses.

The 501st meeting of the Society was held in the Lecture Hall of

the Public Library, on Tuesday evening, November 7, 1916, at 8

o'clock. The speaker was Mr. W. E. Saffoed, of the Bureau of Plant

Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. His subject was Magic

plant* of the ancient Americans. The paper was illustrated with lan-

tern slides.

48 proceedings: anthropological society

Mr. Safford said that the practice of magic was widely spread in

both North and South America in pre-Columbian times, and in con-

nection with it certain plants, principally those having narcotic prop-

erties, were used ceremonially, often as incense, or to produce hal-

lucinations, to call up the spirits of the dead, and to expel evil spirits

from the sick and insane. The priest of the Temple of the Sun at

Sagomozo, in the Andes of South America, prophesied and revealed

hidden treasures while in a state of frenzy caused by the seeds of a

tree datura (Brugmansia sanguined). This recalls similar practices of

the priestesses of the oracle at Delphi. Another Peruvian plant with

marvelous properties described by early explorers was Erythroxylon

Coed, from which the valuable alkaloid cocaine is now obtained.

Bags of its leaves accompanied by little gourds containing lime were

found by the author in many graves near the Peruvian coast, hanging

about the necks of the mummified remains of the dead. On the

opposite coast of South America, or rather in Paraguay, grew the highly

esteemed Ilex paraguariensis, or yerba mate. Closely allied to it is the

Ilex vomitorid of the southeastern United States, from which the In-

dians made the famous "black drink," used ceremonially as a magic

physic, which purged them from evil and which was used also in initiat-

ing their youths into manhood. Professional priests, or necromancers,

were encountered by Columbus and his companions on the island of

Hispaniola, who induced intoxication and called up their zemi, or gods,

by means of a narcotic snuff, called cohoba, inhaled through the nostrils

by means of a bifurcated tube. This snuff, hitherto believed to have

been tobacco, has been identified recently by the author as the powdered

seeds of a Mimosa-like tree, Piptadenia peregrina, still used in a similar

way by various South American tribes of Indians, by some of whom an

infusion of the seeds is also used to induce intoxication, administered

as an enema by means of a pear-shaped syringe of caoutchouc. In

Mexico, the early missionaries, who were called upon to stamp out the

practice of witchcraft, found that the Aztecs paid divine honors to

various plants, especially to huauhtli (a white-seeded Amaranthus);

ololiuhqui (a Datura); peyotl (a spineless cactus, Lophophora Wil-

liamsii) also called teonanacatl, or "Sacred Mushroom;" and picietl

(tobacco). Of huauhtli seeds, ground to a paste with the syrup of

maguey, images were made and adored, and afterwards broken into

fragments and served as a kind of communion. This seed was pro-

duced in such quantities that it was used in paying tribute to Monte-

zuma, at the time of the Conquest. The ololiuhqui was regarded as

divine, and it was considered a holy task to sweep the ground where

it grew. Its spirit, addressed as the Green Woman (Xoxouhqui Cihuatl) ,

was invoked to expel certain diseases and to overcome weaker and

inferior spirits in possession of a sick person. It is interesting to note

that the use of the ololiuhqui, or toloatzin, as it was also called (Datura

meteloides) , still prevails among the Zuni Indians of New Mexico, the

Pai-Utes, and several tribes of southern California in certain religious

and ceremonial practices, especially in initiating youths into the status

proceedings: anthropological society 49

of manhood. The peyotl, or teonanacatl, called by Bancroft the "flesh

of the gods," was used by the Aztecs in nocturnal feasts, very much as

it is still used by Indians of the Mexican Sierra Madre and by certain

tribes of the United States, who believe the visions induced by it to

be supernatural. In ancient times a supply of this little narcotic

plant was obtained by runners especially consecrated for the purpose,

and its gathering was attended by a most formal ceremony. At the

present day it is sent from the locality where it grows, along the Rio

Grande, by means of parcel post. Lastly, the ceremonial and religious

use of picietl, or tobacco, goes back to remote antiquity. No other

narcotic plant, perhaps, has become so widely spread or so generally

used and beloved by its votaries. Though of subtropical origin its

cultivation had extended before the Discovery as far north as the St.

Lawrence River. Beautiful pipes of many forms, representing birds,

mammals, human heads, etc. have been discovered in Indian mounds

near the native city of the speaker, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio;

and more recently in Scioto county farther to the south.

In addition to the aboye plants may be mentioned a certain small

scarlet bean, the seed of Sophora secuncl /flora, endemic in northern Mexico

and southern Texas. This also has narcotic properties, and was so much

sought after by certain tribes of Indians that they have been known

to exchange a pony for a string of the beans 6 feet in length. In one of

the secret societies of the Iowa Indians this bean is used in the initiating

ceremonial ; the beans are carried as charms or amulets by the members

of the society, just as in western Mexico fragments of the peyotl,

and in southern California parts of the Datura, are carried by their

votaries, who believe them to be efficacious against danger and to bring

good luck in hunting and war. It is interesting to note a similar practice

in the Old World of carrying the root of Mandragora (or a substitute

for it) as an amulet ; but most interesting of all is the similarity between

the beliefs and practices of the inhabitants of the Old World and the

New, in connection with narcotic and other plants held to possess magic

properties. The lantern slides used to illustrate the lecture were

photographs of the various magic plants discussed.

This paper was discussed by Mr. James Mooney, who for a number

of years has given special study to the subject of peyotl. Mr. Mooney

defended those who are devoted to the peyotl ceremony and claimed

that, in most cases, the assertions made against the plant and its users

are based upon ignorance of the facts and are without foundation.

The 502nd meeting of the Society was held at the New National

Museum on Tuesday afternoon, November 21, 1916, at 4.30 o'clock.

Mr. Neil M. Judd, of the U. S. National Museum, presented a paper

on New types of Pueblo ruins found in western Utah, illustrating his

paper with chalk drawings.

Mr. Judd described a recent archeological reconnaissance of western

Utah conducted under the auspices of the Bureau of American Eth-

nology, stating that this resulted in the discovery of two types of pre-

50 proceedings: anthropological society

historic habitations not previously reported from the Southwest. The

first of these was circular in form and was made by leaning logs against

cross-pieces supported by four uprights which surrounded a central

fire-place. Willows, grass, and clay, in succession, covered the logs.

Houses of the second type, occurring usually in groups forming vil-

lages, were rectangular in shape and constructed entirely of adobe.

A small series of unattached cliff-dwellings, exhibiting certain features

common both to structures of this second type and to stone-walled

houses south and east of the Rio Colorado, was also described. A

careful study of the lesser artifacts recovered from both types of

western Utah ruins indicates a close cultural relationship between

their respective builders and the inhabitants of prehistoric structures

in other sections of the Southwest.

In a discussion of the paper Dr. J. W. Fewkes called attention to

the desirability of a more accurate definition of what archeologists

mean by a "pueblo." He pointed out that the term is sometimes used

loosely to include all lands of ruined stone buildings in the Southwest.

Inasmuch as the pueblo culture area owes its name to characteristic

buildings or pueblos, he suggested that the term be limited to terraced,

congested community buildings with ceremonial rooms or kivas. If

this suggestion were accepted by archeologists, many ruins on the

periphery of the so-called Pueblo area would have to be classified as

belonging to a prepuebloan phase, or not regarded as pueblos at all.

The 503rd meeting of the Society was held in the Lecture Hall of

the Public Library on Tuesday evening, December 5, 1916, at 8 o'clock.

At this meeting Prof. W. H. Holmes, of the U. S. National Museum,

delivered an address on Outlines of American aboriginal history, illus-

trated with lantern slides.

Introducing his subject, Professor Holmes said it is agreed that the

human race is a unit, and that it follows, therefore, that there was but

one cradle and that man spread from this over the world. The early

chapters of human history must always remain obscure, although

evidence has been found carrying the story far back into the remote

past. It was the purpose of the speaker to Indicate briefly the prob-

able course taken bjr the human race in spreading from the Asiatic

cradle to the New World, and also to indicate the causes and course of

cultural development in the various centers of American occupancy

and to suggest the causes of decline.

The earliest known traces of man (or man-like being) have been

found on the island of Java. In the nature of things, it was a long-

time before he wandered far from his primeval home. He had to

acquire the arts of the hunter and fisher before he could reach the

far north and it was doubtless by way of Bering Strait that he reached

the New World. Portraits were shown of the various peoples whose

ancestors may have been concerned in these ancient migrations —

natives of Tibet, China, and Siberia, the Eskimo, the Sioux, the Zuni,

and other typical American Indians; and attention was directed to the

proceedings: anthropological society 51

practical identity of these types. Referring to the development of

culture in America it was shown that no culture above the hunter-

fisher stage ever passed through the Bering gateway. All culture of

higher grade is. therefore, American. As the early immigrants reached

the more favorable localities of the continent, they engaged in agricul-

ture and became sedentary. This condition led to the development

of the simple arts, industries, and institutions belonging to this phase

of progress. It was asked, How then do we account for the vast works

in the way of temples, pyramids, and tombs, and the vast body of

products of the sculptor's art, of highly embellished pottery, textiles,

and metallurgy? It was shown that all were due to the dynamic

forces of religion manifested through the all-powerful shamanistic

classes, who sought above all things to honor the gods and to glorify

themselves. But, it was asked, Why are the once splendid cities now

in ruin? The reasons are readily found: The energies of the people

were broken down by the ever increasing load of super-essential activi-

ties. The system which permitted over-growth of these highest mani-

festations of culture had within itself the germs of disaster.

Numerous slides illustrating various wonderful products of sculp-

tural and architectural genius developed under the absolute control

of the Mayan shamanistic priesthood were shown.

The paper was discussed by Dr. E. Hewett, of Santa Fe, N. M.,

Mr. S. G. Morley, of Cambridge, Mass., and Dr. H. J. Spixdex, of

Xew York. Dr. Hewett suggested the influence of environment on

the cultural development of a race, citing the discovery of metal by

the earl}- inhabitants of Europe and its use in making weapons. Air.

Morley spoke of the Maya hieroglyphs, and Dr. Spinden discussed

the culture which preceded that of the Maya in Central America,

traces of the agricultural period remaining in crude figurines, and that

of the religious period in effigies of serpents and of grotesque gods.

The 504th meeting of the Society was held at the New National

Museum, December 19, 1916 at 4.30 p.m. Dr. Truman Michelsox,

of the Bureau of American Ethnology, presented a paper entitled Notes

on the Peoria Indians.

Dr. Michelson said that the Peoria Indians have practically lost

their ethnology, in the strictest sense of the word, although their lan-

guage and folklore still remain. A study of these shows very clearly

that the Peoria Indians have had two associations, the older and more

intimate association being with the Ojibwa group of central Algonkins

and the more recent with the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo. The terms of

relationship support this view, as do the historical facts.

The speaker then showed by means of a blackboard chart the system

of consanguinity among the Peoria. In this way it was demonstrated

that two factors were involved, i.e., the gentile organization and blood

consanguinity.

The paper was followed by a general and interesting discussion.

Prof. W. H. Holmes mentioned the old quarries in northeastern Okla-

52 proceedings: anthropological society

homa, near the present location of the Peoria Indians, and Dr. Ales

Hrdlicka noted the importance of definite recording of the geographic

distribution of Indian tribes. In reply to a question by Mr. F. W.

Hodge the speaker expressed the opinion that archeological research

would throw light on the early material culture of the Peoria. Dr.

J. R. S wanton noted that the Indians of the Northwest coast have a

myth similar to one related by the speaker, in which bones thrown

into the water are said to "come to life." In the legend of the coast

Indians the bones are those of a salmon, while among the Peoria the

bones are those of a beaver. In response Dr. Michelson stated that

the form of this legend which mentions the beaver is limited to a small

area.

Frances Densmore, Secretary.

JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII FEBRUARY 4, 1917 No. 3

PHYSICS. — Standard substances for the calibration of viscometers.1

Eugene C. Bingham and Richard F. Jackson, Bureau of

Standards. (Communicated by C. W. Waidner.)

For the calibration of viscometers there is a need for one or

more liquids which can be easily obtained in pure condition, and

which have viscosities that are greater than that of water and

that are known with a considerable degree of certainty. The

substances selected are mixtures of ethyl alcohol and water,

and sucrose and water. Previous work upon water and alcohol

being adequate, the present experiments were confined to sucrose

and water. The sucrose was purified by repeated recrystalli-

zation from water solution, and contained residual impurities

of the order of one-thousandth of a per cent. The compositions

of the solutions used in the measurements were determined by

density measurements and by polariscopic tests.

The viscometer used in the investigation consisted essentially

of a U-tube fitted with a capillary limb surmounted by a bulb

with constrictions. The bulb served as a measure of the volume

of liquid forced through the capillary. A bulb of similar size

and shape was sealed on the other limb. The viscometer was

connected to a manometer and an apparatus for the application

1 To appear in detail as Bureau of Standards Scientific Paper No. 298.

53

54 BINGHAM AND JACKSON: VISCOSITY STANDARDS

of pressure. From the observations the viscosity was calculated

by the usual formula:

V = Cpr-C

T

in which rj is the viscosity, p applied pressure, p density of

liquid, t time of flow, C and C constants abbreviated from the

complete viscosity formula. C was found by direct calculation,

C by measuring the time of flow of pure water at 20°C. The

viscosity of water at 20°C. was taken as 0.01005.

The viscosity was measured at a variety of applied pressures.

To obtain the true effective pressure, the height of liquid in the

manometer was corrected for air buoyancy, column of connecting

air, and hydrostatic head of the liquid undergoing measurement.

In order to be certain that the drainage of the solution was

complete, both the time of flow required to empty and that to

fill the bulb were measured. Furthermore, the viscosity was

found to be independent of applied pressure. To test the cal-

culations and corrections the viscosity of water was measured

over a considerable range of pressures. The value was found

to be constant.

In order to avoid the arbitrary scales of commercial viscom-

eters and the inconvenient magnitudes of the absolute units, we

suggest the use of the "centipoise" as a unit of viscosity. This

is the one-hundredth part of the c.g.s. absolute unit. The cen-

tipoise is almost exactly the viscosity of water at 20°C. (0.01005)

and, hence, is at the same time the specific viscosity of any sub-

stance referred to water at very near 20 °C.

The existing data for the viscosity of water have been reviewed

in order to obtain a value as far as possible in accord with our

present knowledge. The mean value expressed as fluidity is

given by the formula :

<t> = 2.1482 {{t - 8.435) + V8078.4 + (t - 8.435)2 } - 120

in which 0 is the fluidity, and t the centigrade temperature.

The fluidities of mixtures of ethyl alcohol and water expressed

as functions of the temperature, and of the weight and volume

percentage of alcohol, will be given in the detailed paper.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 55

The viscosity of a 39.99 per cent sucrose solution was meas-

ured at temperatures varying from 0°C. to 95°C. The observed

values correspond to the formula :

t = 0.597 0 + 20) - ]^^ + 38.24

0 + 20

On repeating these measurements practically the same values

were obtained.

Measurements were made with 20.007 per cent and 59.96 per

cent sucrose solutions also. The fluidities at the latter con-

centration correspond to the formula:

t = 1.472 (^ + 5) - ®®2 + 58.62

0 + 5

The values found in the present investigation indicate a

higher viscosity than those of previous investigators.

CHEMISTRY. — Some problems of the oxides of iron.1 Robert

B. Sosman, Geophysical Laboratory.

Starting with the general principle that the soundest prog-

ress in science is made by proceeding from that which is simple

and understandable to that which is more complex and less

understandable, various investigators have sought to unravel

the complexities of natural rocks and minerals by studying

first their simplest constituents. Since it appears that under

most rock-forming conditions silica (Si02), alumina (A1203),

lime (CaO), and magnesia (MgO) always act as units, these

oxides may be taken as the pure components in the fundamental

experiments.

With the oxides of iron the case is different. The equilibrium

between ferrous and ferric iron in a mineral or rock can vary

with every change of temperature and with every change in

the amount or pressure of available oxygen. In order to under-

1 Presidential address, Chemical Society of Washington, January 11, 1917.

Presented before a joint meeting of the Chemical Society and the Washington

Academy of Sciences.

56 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

stand ferrous silicate and the minerals in which it occurs, there-

fore, we must go back one step further ; and study the system

iron-oxygen.

THE PHASE-RULE DIAGRAM OF THE SYSTEM IRON-OXYGEN

The logical point at which to begin a survey of the pressure-

temperature-concentration relations in the two-component sys-

tem iron-oxygen is with the pure component iron. We have

learned a great deal in recent years about the properties of pure

metallic iron, although the difficulty of preparing the metal

quite free from its usual impurities of carbon, hydrogen, sulphur,

phosphorus, manganese, and silicon, has delayed the determi-

nation of its elementary constants.

But when we add oxygen, the second component, to the sys-

tem we come into a little-known region which extends as far as

the compound Fe304. The solubility of oxygen in solid iron

is certainly not large, but has not been accurately determined.

Austin2 states that the oxygen found by analysis of iron bars

does not exceed 0.29 per cent, and that the most of this seems

to be in the form of oxide films in mechanical admixture. Pick-

ard3 concludes from his analyses that 0.092 per cent of oxygen

is soluble in liquid iron as FeO, although a part of this may sep-

arate out on the solidification of the metal. It is thus evident

that there is no extensive solid solution of oxygen in iron.

But the small quantity that is present has a very large influence,

especially on the magnetic properties of the metal, as appears

from the work of Yensen.4

The next question is, what is the lowest oxide in equilibrium

with metallic iron? Ferrous oxide, FeO, has been generally

assumed to be the oxide lowest in oxygen, but the data concern-

ing it are far from satisfactory. Various methods for preparing

FeO are found in chemical literature. Mr. Hostetter and I

have tried several of these, and our experience has invariably

2 Engineering, 100: 455. 1915.

3 Iron Age- 98: 184-186. 1916.

* Yensen, T. D. Univ. Illinois, Eng. Exp. Station, Bulls. 72, 77, 83. 1914-

1916.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 57

been that the product was a mixture of iron (or iron carbide)

with magnetite or with some oxide intermediate in composition

between FeO and Fe304. The best work on FeO has been that

done by Hilpert, and his conclusion, likewise, is that the vari-

ous methods commonly cited do not yield FeO, although the

product sometimes has an average composition nearly equiv-

alent to the composition FeO.

Hilpert and Beyer5 found that by reduction of Fe203 by hydro-

gen saturated with water vapor they could obtain products

which were richer in ferrous iron than Fe304, but which con-

tained no metallic iron. The higher the temperature of reduc-

tion, the higher the percentage of "FeO." A product containing

only 1.5 per cent of Fe203 was obtained by reduction at 1100°;

at 700° the upper limit was 85 per cent of FeO. The reaction

velocity is so slow, as equilibrium is approached, that it is difficult

to say what the final solid phases would be. Hilpert believes

that solid solutions exist between Fe304 and FeO, perhaps with

limited miscibility, or even with intermediate compounds.

We can find a possible explanation of the case of FeO by ref-

erence to the somewhat analogous oxides of two other metals

of the eighth group, namely, platinum and iridium.6 The evi-

dence indicates that the oxide IrO, within a certain range of

temperature, has a higher dissociation pressure than the oxide

Ir02; hence IrO will spontaneously change into a mixture of

Ir02 and metallic iridium, according to the reaction:

2IrO = Ir02 + Ir

Thus, if FeO happens, over some particular range of tempera-

ture, to have a higher dissociation pressure than Fe304, it is

possible for the following reaction to occur:

4FeO = Fe304 + Fe

The existence of such a relation would explain many of the ex-

perimental results already obtained, such as the fact that, in

5 Hilpert, S., and Beyer. J. Ber. deu. chem. Ges., 44: 1608-1619. 1911.

6 Wohler and Witzmann. Zs. Elektrochem., 14: 97-107. 1908. Wohler and

Frey. Ibid.,. 15: 129-142. 1909. A solid solution of Ir02with IrO or Ir forms,

rather than the pure oxide Ir02.

58 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

our experience, powdered iron heated in oxygen at low pressures

always yields a mixture of a black magnetic oxide (perhaps

a solution of FeO in Fe304) and metallic iron. The facts are

so few, however, that this explanation is not to be considered

as more than a suggestion.

There is one interesting geological application of this relation,

if it should be found to exist. Many basic rocks, such as dia-

base and gabbro, contain metallic iron. The best known occur-

rence is probably that in Greenland, but other examples exist

in all parts of the world. If our supposed oxygen-pressure

relationship still holds when the oxides are dissolved in a silicate

magma, the following reaction would occur:

4FeSi03 (in complex silicate^FesCX + Fe + Si02 (in complex

silicate)

At constant temperature, increasing pressure would drive

this reaction in the direction of diminishing volume. The

formation of FeO from Fe and Fe304 is accompanied by a con-

traction of volume, according to Hilpert's data, and it appears

not unlikely, therefore, that release of pressure in a rising column

of molten diabase might alone account for the occurrence of

metallic iron in the resulting rock, without the need of recourse

to reducing agents such as entrapped organic deposits or dis-

solved reducing gases. This problem calls for the measurement

of dissociation pressures and specific volumes of the oxides and

silicates concerned, in the region 900°-1300?

The same reaction might conceivably be made a basis for a

commercial method of making pure iron, free from the usual

impurities which come from the use of coke as a reducing agent.

Continuing our survey in the direction of increasing content

of oxygen, we come to the compound ferrosoferric oxide, magne-

tite (Fe304). Its melting point is 1580°, and it melts sharply

to a mobile liquid which crystallizes in octahedra on cooling.

Its dissociation pressure is extremely low, being less than 0.04

mm. of mercury at 1200°, and less than 0.005 mm. at 1100?

Further addition of oxygen brings us into the region between

Fe304 and Fe203, a region which we have recently investigated

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 59

at 1100° and 1200? These two oxides seem to form a continu-

ous series of solid solutions from Fe203 to Fe304, or at least to a

point so near Fe304 that it has not been possible to detect a

break in the dissociation pressure curves.7

The melting temperatures (solidus and liquidus curves) of

the series Fe203-Fe304 have not yet been determined. The

dissociation pressure rises so rapidly with increase of temperature

that at the melting temperature of the solid solution the pres-

sure of oxygen will probably be found to be of the order of several

atmospheres for compositions which depart much from Fe304.

The melting point of Fe203 can be determined only under

sufficient oxygen pressure to prevent its dissociation, and it is

impossible to predict whether the melting point will be higher

or lower than that of magnetite. The form of the liquidus and

solidus curves (continuous, minimum, or maximum) can also

not be predicted. The form of these curves is of particular

interest in connection with the effect of changing oxygen pres-

sure. At a given temperature it is possible that increasing the

oxygen pressure might cause either fusion or solidification of the

oxide, or even fusion followed by solidification, depending upon

the form of the curves.

The type of solid solution represented by these two oxides of

iron deserves a moment's consideration. The special feature

of this case is that the two constituents of the solution differ only

in the proportion of volatile component which is combined with

the non-volatile component. In other words one of the constituent

oxides of the solid solution is produced by direct dissociation of

oxygen from the other oxide. The case of Fe203-Fe304 is

thus exactly analogous to the case of CoCl2.6NH3-CoCl2.2NH3,

in that we may consider Fe as replaced by CoCl2 and O

by NH3. The system just referred to has been studied by

Biltz and Fetkenheuer,8 who find a continuous series of solid

solutions, throughout which the NH3 pressure falls continuously,

following a reversed curve of the same form as that shown by

the iron oxides.

7 Sosman and Hostetter. Jour. Am. Chem. Soc, 38: 807-833. 1916.

8 Biltz and Fetkexhetjer. Zs. anorg. Chem., 89: 106. 1914.

60 sosman: problems of the oxides of ieon

Several interesting problems are raised by the consideration

of this type of solid solution. In the first place how are we to

picture to ourselves its internal structure? The X-ray analysis

of crystal structure is so radically altering our conceptions of the

make-up of solid substances that our ideas of solid solutions have

not yet become adjusted to the new facts. When it was dis-

covered that certain properties of a solute in dilute aqueous

solution made the solute seem quite analogous to a gas, and

when it was discovered that solid solutions existed which seemed

quite analogous to liquid solutions, we felt secure for a time in

this extension of molecular theory from gases over into liquids

and solids. The facts now need re-interpreting, but the greatest

need is for more facts on the crystalline structure of solid

solutions.

Another problem raised by a consideration of the hematite-

magnetite series is that of the continuous transition from one

crystal class into another. According to the original conception

of isomorphism, two compounds could enter into solid solution

only if they crystallized in the same system. Now hematite

is hexagonal* while magnetite is isometric; is a continuous series

from one of these systems to the other possible? To say that

there is a hexagonal form of magnetite, which is the form that

dissolves in hematite, is merely to dodge the issue; such a state-

ment becomes a meaningless form of words if the experimental

consequences remain the same whether the supposed second

form exists or not.

A consideration of the point systems from which the crystal

classes can be made up shows that we can in reality get a con-

tinuous transition from cubic to hexagonal. Suppose a cubical

portion of some cubic lattice to be standing on one of its corners ;

then if it be compressed along the vertical diagonal axis it

changes into a rhombohedron which becomes flatter with increas-

ing compression, and the rhombohedron is a hexagonal form. This

transition requires of course that the lattice of the isometric and

hexagonal forms be thus transformable, and this can be de-

termined for hematite and magnetite only by X-ray studies

of their crystals. If it should then be proved that the struc-

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 61

tures of the ordinary forms of hematite and magnetite are not

thus transformable, then by geometry alone, without the aid of

chemistry, could we predict that there must be a break in the

solid-solution series between these two oxides?

A third problem of the hematite-magnetite series concerns

the escaping tendency or fugacity of the oxygen which dis-

sociates from the oxide. What determines the equilibrium pres-

sure of this oxygen for a given composition of the solid solution?

It is interesting to note the peculiar form of the oxygen pressure

curve in this series. The middle portion is fairly flat, and the

pressure changes slowly with change of composition. As the

composition of magnetite is approached, however, the pressure

begins to fall rapidly, and, conversely, it rises rapidly as the

composition Fe203 is approached. We have been able to show9

that the dissociation pressure of the first small portion of oxygen

from pure Fe203 at 1200° is of the order of magnitude of an

atmosphere of oxygen, although the pressure rapidly falls to a

few millimeters as dissociation progresses.

From a theoretical standpoint there are two ways of looking

upon this form of dissociation curve. On the one hand, we may

consider that the curve is asymptotic to the axis of ordinates;

in other words, the initial composition of the crystal corresponds

exactly to the formula Fe203, and the dissociation pressure of

the first few atoms of oxygen is very high. These atoms come

from all parts of the crystal, and their removal brings into play

forces which greatly restrain the fugacity of all the remaining

oxygen atoms, causing a rapid fall in the dissociation pressure.

On the other hand, we may consider, as Langmuir10 and others

have shown, that there are free chemical forces at the surface

of the crystal, and that these forces hold atoms of oxygen "ad-

sorbed" on the surface when the crystal is exposed to air. The

initial composition then is Fe203+*; in which x is a very small

number. The fugacity of these surface atoms is high, but not

much higher than that of oxygen atoms just within the surface.

Oxygen will begin dissociating from interior parts of the crystal,

9 Hostetter and Sosman. Jour. Am Chem. Soc, 38: 1188-1198. 1916.

10 Langmuir, I. Jour. Am. Chem. Soc, 38: 2221-2295. 1916.

62 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

therefore, before all the adsorbed oxygen is removed from the

surface. Mathematically speaking, we may say that the dis-

sociation pressure curve is not asymptotic to the axis of ordinates,

drawn at the composition Fe203, but crosses this axis at a small

angle. This second conception of the case gives, I believe, the

better interpretation of the facts.

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES AND POLYMORPHISM OF THE OXIDES

The problems so far considered are all problems which are

common to nearly all the chemical elements and their compounds.

But there is one field of physics in which iron holds at present the

first place in interest, namely, the field of magnetism. Progress

in the experimental study of magnetic properties has lagged

behind experimental progress in electricity, chiefly because we

possess no magnetic insulator. As has been well stated by Mr.

Sanford at a recent meeting of the Philosophical Society of

Washington, "Measuring magnetic properties is like measuring

electrical resistance with the Wheatstone bridge and all the

connections immersed in a conducting liquid." Nevertheless,

rapid progress is now being made on several lines of magnetic

research.

The oxides of iron have been, from this standpoint, rather

neglected. Measurements will be found here and there in con-

nection with studies of the salts of iron, crystalline or dissolved.

From these it is clear that the oxides are not to be classed mag-

netically with the majority of the iron compounds. Ferric

oxide is abnormally low in susceptibility, in comparison with the

common salts of iron. Ferrosoferric oxide, on the other hand,

belongs, as is well known, among the highly ferromagnetic

substances. Ferrous oxide, again, seems to be in a class with

ferric oxide. Intermediate oxides possessing a variety of com-

binations of magnetic properties also exist.

The inversions in ferric oxide first attract our attention.

Honda11 has found that at liquid air temperatures ferric oxide

has only about two-thirds as great a susceptibility as at room

temperature,1 and that a change occurs rather suddenly in the

11 Honda, K., and Sone, T. Sci. Rep. Tohoku (Sendai), 3: 223-234. 1914.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 63

neighborhood of -40? The susceptibility rises to a maxi-

mum at about 600°, and then falls rapidly to about half value

at 690°, where the curve changes direction practically by a

right angle, the susceptibility being nearly constant from 690°

to 1300?

We have confirmed the high temperature inversion, placing

it at 678° by means of thermal curves.12 The inversion is sharp

and reproducible, and appears on both rising and falling tem-

perature curves. The —40° inversion we have not yet investi-

gated thermally.

Curie13 discovered a similar magnetic inversion in magnetite

at about 535? Barton and Williams14 confirmed this inversion,

placing it about 545? Weiss and Foex15 placed the inversion

at 581°, Wologdine16 at 525? The temperature of the magnetic

inversion is undoubtedly influenced by the magnitude of the

induction or of the magnetizing force. No thermal study of

the inversion has yet been made. The principal precaution

to be observed is the avoidance of oxidation of the magnetite

by air. Some of the conclusions of Weiss and Foex seem to

have been vitiated by a slight oxidation of their artificial magnet-

ite, and a faint trace of the 678° point of Fe203 appears on their

magnetite curve.

The magnetic inversion in pure iron occurs at about 770°,

varying somewhat with the magnetizing force to which the

iron is subjected. It is found thermally at 768°, and by electrical

resistance, at 757? This is the thermal inversion known as A2,

whose existence in pure iron free from carbon was seriously

questioned some years ago, but which has been established as

an independent and characteristic inversion by the excellent

work of Burgess and his co-workers at the Bureau of Standards.17

These magnetic inversions, which occur not only in iron, mag-

netite, and hematite, but also in various ferrites, are all very

12 Sosman and Hostetter. Jour. Am. Chem. Soc, 38: 831. 1916.

13 Curie, P. Ann. chim. phys., 5: 322. 1895.

14 Barton, E. H., and Williams, W. British Assoc. Rep., pp. 657-658. 1892.

15 Weiss, P., and Foex, G. Arch. sci. phys. (Geneve), 31 : 5-19, 89-117. 1911.

16 Compt. rend., 148: 776. 1909.

17 Burgess and Crowe. Bull. Bur. Std., 10:315-370. 1914. Burgess and

Kellberg. Ibid., 11:457-470. 1914. '

64 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

similar in the form of their temperature-magnetism curves.

In each case the effect of rising temperature appears some dis-

tance below the inversion point, and increases more and more

rapidly as the inversion is approached. One cannot avoid the

conclusion that these inversions all have the same fundamental

basis. When that basis is found, we will have considerably

advanced our knowledge both of polymorphism and of magnetism.

So much has been said about polymorphism (including under

this term allotropy, polymerism, and all the other names given

to the phenomena of sudden change of physical and chemical

properties without change of percentage composition), and so

much that has been said is mere quibbling over the meanings

of words and phrases, that I shall not undertake any general

review of the questions that are raised by the inversions of iron

and its oxides. But there is one problem to which considerable

attention has lately been given, namely, the problem of the two

types of polymorphism in crystalline substances.

Polymorphic changes in crystalline solids can be divided

roughly, as is well known, into two groups. On the one hand,

there are those changes which carry with them rather profound

changes in physical and chemical properties and which often

require considerable time to bring about. On the other hand

are those reversible changes which occur without delay at a

given temperature and which involve relatively small changes

in crystal form and in physical properties. An excellent example

of a substance showing both types distinctly is silica. Si02

occurs in three principal forms, quartz, tridymite, and cristob-

alite, which are only slowly transformed one into another,

and which have certain ranges of stability outside of which they

frequently occur in an unstable but very persistent state. Each

of these principal forms, on the other hand, possesses one or two

inversion points, at which reversible crystalline changes occur:

quartz at 575°; tridymite at 117° and 163°; cristobalite at a

temperature varying from 200° to 275°, depending upon the

previous history of the crystal.18

11 Fenner, C. N. Am. Jour. Sci., 36: 331-384. 1913.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 65

Two different views have been held concerning the relation of

these two classes of polymorphic inversion, although in our

present ignorance of atomic structure neither can be very pre-

cisely stated. It has been supposed, on the one hand, that the

slow changes were the fundamental ones, involving a rearrange-

ment of the atoms in the molecule or a change in the molecular

weight, the expression "molecular weight" being considered to

have a meaning in the solid as in the gaseous state. The rapid

reversible inversions, then, were held to be merely rearrange-

ments among the molecules, involving slight changes in the

crystalline form or symmetry.

But on the other hand we may consider the rapid reversible

inversions as the fundamental ones, possibly occurring even with-

in the atomic nucleus itself, and thereby necessarily producing

some corresponding change in the spacing of the atoms. The

slow and sometimes irreversible changes would then be the less

fundamental, involving only a re-grouping of atoms or atom

complexes.

The second of these two views seems to me to be supported

by the phenomena of polymorphism of the oxides of iron. It is

obvious that the change can not be one that occurs in the iron

atom independently of its chemical environment, for the mag-

netic inversion occurs at different temperatures in the different

oxides and carbides. Furthermore, corresponding inversions

are yet to be found in various other compounds of iron. But

there is one oxide of iron which I have not yet touched upon,

whose properties shed considerable additional light on the prob-

lem. I refer to the magnetic ferric oxide which was discovered

by Robbins19 in 1859, was almost forgotten until recently studied

by Hilpert, co and on which we are now engaged in further ex-

periments.

19 Robbixs, J. Chem. News, 1: 11-12. 1859. Its discovery has usually

been ascribed to Malaguti, F. Compt. rend., 55: 350-352. 1862.

20 Hilpert, S. Ber. deu. phys. Ges., 11: 293-299. 1909. Hilpert's rather dis-

appointing conclusion from his excellent experiments is that "Fc4).-s functioning

as an acid is the carrier of magnetism." But what is "Fei03 functioning as an

acid" in a compound whose total composition is expressed by the formula Fe203?

Furthermore, as Hilpert himself recognizes, not all "ferrites," in which Fe203

is assumed to be the acidic oxide, are ferromagnetic.

66 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

If precipitated magnetite is oxidized by ammonium persul-

fate, or even by atmospheric air at a low temperature, the prod-

uct, although it contains almost no ferrous iron and is reddish

brown in color, is practically as magnetic as magnetite itself.

If this magnetic oxide is heated to 750° for a few minutes, its

highly magnetic character is lost, and it becomes like ordinary

ferric oxide. What is still more remarkable is that the magnetic

Fe203 has a Curie inversion just above 500°, similar to that of

magnetite.

Here, then, we have as fundamental a chemical change as it

is possible to get — no mere polymerism, but a change in the

formula weight with a reduction of the ferrous iron content from

33| per cent to zero; yet the magnetic susceptibility and inversion

point remain the same. Except for the color, it is as if we had

merely ground up the magnetite and mixed it with powdered

solid oxygen.

A consideration of the preceding facts concerning the inversions

of iron and its compounds, and especially of the interesting

properties of the magnetic form of Fe203, suggest that the mag-

netic properties and the inversions of iron and its compounds

are bound up with the spacing and arrangement of the iron atoms,

almost without regard to the other atoms present.21

What is this structure of the iron atoms which produces the

high permeability, and what is the nature of the intra-atomic

change at the inversion point?

These problems are on the way to a solution, for Hull has

recently found by means of X-ray spectra that the lattice of

metallic iron is the centered cube.22 He discovered also that

this structure seems to remain unchanged through both the

21 This has been suggested for the Heusler alloys: Take. Faraday Soc.

Trans., 8: 177. 1912. Professor Pupin, speaking in the recent symposium on

the structure of matter, at the American Association meeting in New York,

December 27, 1916, stated that he had come to the conclusion from the magnetic

properties of very pure iron that its magnetism is intimately related to its

crystalline structure. On the other hand, as Hilpert points out, precipitated

oxides that are apparently amorphous and that pass readily into colloidal solu-

tion can be made, which are magnetic and possess magnetic inversions. Have

the particles of these colloids a microcrystalline structure, as yet unrecognized?

22 Paper presented at the Cleveland meeting of the American Physical Society,

November, 1916.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 67

A2 and the A3 inversions, further confirming the view expressed

above, that these inversions are intra-atomic. Further light

could be obtained on the problem by a comparison of the struc-

tures of the magnetic and the non-magnetic forms of Fe203.

This apparent dependence of magnetic properties upon the

arrangement of the iron atoms in space opens up interesting

possibilities. If magnetite can be oxidized to ferric oxide without

loss of its magnetism, it may be possible to convert it into other

compounds, or even to convert metallic iron into compounds of

iron, in which the arrangement of iron atoms will remain un-

disturbed. A highly magnetic compound of iron with a high

electrical resistance, for example, might possess industrial as

well as academic interest.

Having barely touched upon some of the problems in chemistry

and physics that are raised or partially solved by the study of the

oxides of iron, I wish to devote the little time that remains at my

disposal to the consideration of a few of the geological problems

connected with these oxides.

THE OXIDES OF IRON AS RELATED TO CERTAIN GEOLOGICAL

PROBLEMS

The oxides of iron rank high among the earth's important

minerals, since metallic iron is manufactured almost exclusively

from oxide ores.23 Questions of genesis of the ores of iron there-

fore furnish topics of perennial interest to the economic geologist.

The widespread occurrence of these ores makes them also of

interest to the student of historical and structural geology.

At the present time the so-called magmatic and pneumatolytic

ores are attracting the most attention from a scientific standpoint,

though economically they are secondary in importance to the

sedimentary and residual ores. The magmatic-pneumatolytic

ores range in composition all the way from magnetite to hematite.

Two different modes of origin account for them. Certain large

magnetite deposits are claimed to have been deposited in the

lower portion of large igneous masses by gravitative settling

of magnetite crystals while the mass was still molten. This

23 Carbonate ore formed only 0.006 per cent of the production in the United

States in 1915. (E. F. Burchard.)

68 sosman: peoblems of the oxides of iron

is the explanation offered for many of the deposits of titaniferous

magnetite, such as the Ramsoy deposits of Norway.24 It has

also been suggested that the magnetite may have separated by

gravity as a liquid or partly liquid layer while the entire magma

was still molten.25 These explanations based on magmatic

differentiation have met with various difficulties, geological as

well as chemical and physical. The separation of a liquid layer

of pure magnetite, for instance, is hardly believable, since the

melting point of magnetite is 1580°, whereas the intruding rock

bodies from which it separated could hardly have been at a

temperature of more than 1000? Whether small quantities of

other substances might greatly lower the melting temperature of

magnetite is one of the problems yet to be solved experimentally.

The other mode of origin assumes that the iron was carried

in the hot solution or vapor given off by an intruding igneous

mass. There are many deposits for which this mode of origin

seems well established. Examples of these are the magnetite

deposits of Cornwall, Pennsylvania,26 and the hematite-magnetite

ores of the Island of Elba.27

An interesting feature of the latter, which we discovered in

the course of some magnetic measurements, is the zonal de-

velopment of certain crystals.28 The hematite crystals from

Elba are well known for their large size and excellent devel-

opment. They are not pure Fe203, however, but contain a

considerable percentage of ferrous iron. By chemical analysis

and by magnetic measurements we have shown that the ferrous

iron is zonally distributed, being higher in the core and base

of the crystal and lower in its outer surface and free-growing tip.

Evidently, the temperature or oxygen concentration, or both,

were changing continuously in one direction while these crystals

were being deposited.

The reactions that will lead to the deposition of hematite,

hematite-magnetite, or pure magnetite from a vapor or a liquid

24 Foslie, S. Norges Geol. Unders., vol. 4, 1914.

25 Daly, R. A. Origin of the iron ores at Kiruna. Vetensk. prakt. Unders.

Lappland. Geology, No. 5. 1915.

26 Spencer, A. C. U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 359. 1908.

27 Lotti, B. Mem. descr. carta geol. Italia, II. 1S86.

28 Jour. Wash. Acad. Sci., 6: 309. 1916.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 69

solution are yet to be investigated. It is not certain, even, what

compounds of iron were originally present. The natural sus-

spicion is that the iron was present as chlorides or fluorides,

since these compounds are known to be volatile at comparatively

Low temperatures. Many geologists have objected that in

some cases the associated rocks show no trace of alteration by

pneumatolytic action, or contain little or none of the element

supposed to have been combined with the iron. The Kiruna

magnetite ore-body of Sweden, for instance, shows sharp con-

tacts against unaltered normal prophyries. But in the face of a

phenomenon such as that seen at Kilauea, where vast quantities

of sulfur and its compounds are given off from the lava lake,

Leaving hardly a trace of sulfide of any kind in the solidified

lava around the crater, we need not feel discouraged about pro-

ceeding with experiments on the deposition of iron oxides from

those compounds which are readily volatile and on which the

basic data of temperature and concentration, at least, are

obtainable.

One set of facts regarding hematite deposits of the magmatic-

pneumatolytic type is to be noted at this point, namely, their

magnetic properties and their content of ferrous iron. We have

found by some preliminary, as yet unpublished, measurements

that the force exerted upon a solid solution of Fe304 in Fe203

by a non-uniform magnetic field is roughly proportional to the

percentage of FeO. This holds true for both artificial and natural

oxides, including even some martites high in ferrous iron. On

the other hand, oxides containing ferrous iron (perhaps as

carbonate or as other compounds), but in which the FeO is

not in solid solution, such as the limonite from Mt. Ktaadn,

Maine, have a much lower susceptibility than the corresponding

solid solution.

Again, an oxide formed by the oxidation of precipitated mag-

netite, as has been mentioned above, may have a very high

susceptibility, although the percentage of FeO may be very small.

We have examined one such oxide found by Messrs. Graton and

Butler in a gossan deposit. Hilpert reports that examples have

been found in Europe in association with carbonate ores which

^

70 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

are undergoing oxidation. The usual "magnetic hematite/' how-

ever, owes its magnetic properties to its ferrous iron content.

A simple magnetic test, then, combined with a determination

of the ferrous iron, permits certain preliminary conclusions as to

the origin of many natural oxides of iron. But there are other

magnetic properties which we have not yet touched upon, which

may be expected to vary with the composition and constitution

of the oxide, such as the remanence and the coercive force, and

especially the variation of the magnetic properties with tempera-

ture. This correlation of magnetic, physical, and chemical proper-

ties is not a small task, but it is one for which the apparatus

and methods are now in good working order.

The remanence, or permanent magnetization, offers particular

interest. It is well known that magnetite crystals are frequently

found which are very strong permanent magnets; in fact the

history of magnetism dates from the discovery of these "lode-

stones" by the ancients. Yet most natural magnetite is not

polarized. What causes have produced the polarization and

how are they related to the origin and history of the ore?

There is time to touch only in the briefest way on the prob-

lems connected with other types of iron ores. The study of

replacement ores leads us into the still obscure problem of re-

placement as a geological phenomenon, ably discussed by Lind-

gren in a recent paper29 but still, unfortunately, the subject

of more discussion than experiment. The secondary concen-

tration of oxide ores by circulating waters is another problem in

chemistry at ordinary temperatures which has not yet received

the attention it deserves.

Even the origin of ores which are admittedly almost unaltered

is still somewhat obscure. The genesis of residual ores such

as those of Cuba is not so much a problem of the oxides of

iron, since these play rather a passive role, as of the weathering

of iron-bearing silicates. But the origin of certain sedimentary

deposits is a specific problem in the chemistry of iron, complicated,

however, by a new factor, the biological. It has long been

known that some of the higher bacteria play a part in the prc-

29 Lindgren. W. The nature of replacement. Econ. Geol., 7:521-535. 1912.

sosman: problems of the oxides of iron 71

cipitation of hydrated ferric oxide, and the number of forms which

are known to be associated in some way with the precipitation

is constantly increasing. It is not yet clear in all cases whether

the organism actually brings about the reaction through its

own life processes, whether the precipitation is due to the de-

composition of the dead organism, or whether the organism

acts merely as a nucleus for the collection of agglomerating colloidal

oxide. The origin of the immense and very pure iron ores of

Minas Geraes, Brazil, is ascribed by Harder and Chamberlin30

to bacterial activity, apparently for the indirect reason that

there are objections to any other mode of formation. The

reader is left with the uneasy feeling that perhaps only our lack

of knowledge prevents our objecting to the bacterial explanation

as well.

There is one possibility which deserves attention in this con-

nection. Experiments with closed tubes show that a compara-

tively moderate increase of temperature will hydrolyze various

ferric salt solutions, and precipitate ferric oxide, which does not

redissolve. These ferric solutions seem relatively unstable and

easily hydrolyzed, and the colloidal ferric oxide only needs to

be agglomerated to form a precipitate that will settle. Are there

any possible variations in the composition, concentration, or

temperature of sea water which would cause it to precipitate

the ferric oxide from a hydrolyzed, even very dilute, ferric

solution in much the same way as the Mississippi silt is precipi-

tated by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico? Bacteria, able. and

willing to take advantage of the conditions favorable to the

reaction, need not be excluded, but, as may be the case

with calcium carbonate,31 inorganic causes may be primarily

responsible.

The intimate association of silica with many ores, amounting

even to chemical combination, as in some of the siliceous ores

of the Lake Superior region, may represent a simultaneous

agglomeration of colloidal silica and ferric oxide, or an adsorp-

tion of ferrous and ferric iron by agglomerated silica. It is to be

noted, also, that such precipitated colloids can sometimes be

;,° Jour. Geol., 23:385-404. 1915.

See Johnston and Williamson. Jour. Geol., 24: 729-750. 1910.

72 sosman: problems of the oxides of iron

re-dispersed (peptonized) by pure water, simply through the

leaching out of the salts carried down by them from the strong

precipitating solution. A method of secondary concentration js

thereby suggested. It is evident that from studies in colloid

chemistry we may expect considerable advances in our knowl-

edge of the sedimentary ores.

I have presented a rather varied list of problems, some of

which may seem remote from pure chemistry, but I may possibly

find an excuse in the fact that this meeting has been held as a

joint meeting of the Chemical Society and the Washington

Academy of Sciences. As soon as we begin to consider them in

detail, we find that the problems of the oxides of iron are but

phases of some of the greater problems of chemistry, physics,

biology, and geology. And they can not be solved by taking

thought about them; new facts, to be yielded by new experi-

ments and new observations, are demanded. Nor are the

problems as simple as some of them may have appeared from

my statement of them. The chemist is amazed by the facile

transformations of iron from ferrous to ferric, beholding the two

states of oxidation acting like two absolutely different elements.

The physicist stands appalled before the spectrum of iron,

realizing the many unknown quantities hidden behind its thou-

sands upon thousands of lines. Even the layman can get a

vivid realization of the complexity of the problems involved;

he has but to walk out through the country round about Wash-

ington and note the bewildering play of inorganic colors every-

where about him, ranging from deep brown-black through various

shades of drab, brown, purple, and maroon, and through the

many tints of pink, ocher, and rose, to the most brilliant of reds

and orange-yellows, and then realize that almost every one of

these hundreds of colors is due to an oxide or hydrated oxide

of iron; he will begin to realize then that our chemical knowledge

of these oxides is almost infinitesimal. One thing only is clear

to us, and that is that we are only skirting around the edges of

that vast body of knowledge about iron and its oxides which

is, as the mining geologist says, "in sight," not to mention the

unsuspected problems that lie "in depth," far beyond our farthest

plans for research.

RICHARDSON: DIFFUSION IN OIL-FIELD WATERS

73

GEOLOGY. — Note on the diffusion of sodium chloride in Appa-

lachian oil-field waters.1 G. B. Richardson, Geological

Survey.

During the summer of 1915, while working in the oil fields

of Butler County, Pennsylvania, I became interested in the

common occurrence of brines in oil wells. Samples of salt water

were collected and an analysis (A) of one was made in the Geo-

logical Survey laboratory. This analysis is compared with an-

other analysis (B) of deep-seated water from Washington County,

Pennsylvania, made by Steiger (see table 1). The wells from

TABLE 1

Analyses of Water from Deep Wells in Western Pennsylvania

A. Water from "hundred-foot sand" at depth of 1359 feet, in well on farm of

Charles Hoffman, 5 miles northeast of Butler, Pennsylvania. Analysis by W.

B. Hicks and R. K. Bailey, U. S. Geological Survey.

B. Water from Oriskany sandstone at depth of "6300" (6260?) feet, in well

of Peoples Natural Gas Company, 5 miles northwest of McDonald, Pennsylvania.

Analysis by George Steiger, U. S. Geological Survey. See U. S. Geol. Survey

Water-Supply Paper 364, p. 9, 1914.

1 Published by permission of the Director, U. S. Geological Survey.

74 RICHARDSON: DIFFUSION IN OIL-FIELD WATERS

which the samples were taken are about 40 miles apart, and

the water-bearing horizons, of Devonian age, are separated

stratigraphically about 4500 feet.

The history of deep-seated waters of this kind is a subject

of debate. In a recent number of Economic Geology I have

suggested, as a working hypothesis, that the Appalachian oil-

field brines are a mixture of waters originally occluded with the

sediments when deposited and of meteoric waters of later origin

which have entered the rocks during periods when the region

was above sea level ; that these waters have leached great masses

of sedimentary beds containing disseminated salt, and that

they have undergone a series of changes in composition, the

saline matter tending to accumulate because of the slow circu-

lation dependent on the synclinal structure of the region.

Among other causes of the sodium chloride content of the

waters and of the increase of concentration with depth, I sug-

gest that diffusion from beds of rock salt may be an impor-

tant factor. Such beds in the Salina formation are known to

underlie at least part of the Appalachian oil-fields. Thick

deposits of rock salt actually occur 600 feet below the horizon

in the well from which the water of sample B was obtained,

and others may occur.

It is worthy of consideration that beds of shale, especially

connecting lenses of sandy shale, separating the more porous

beds of sandstone in the Appalachian oil-field section may be

porous to such an extent that there exists a continuous, though

very irregular, network of minute pore spaces connecting the

beds of rock salt with the overlying beds in which salt water

is found. The deep-seated waters are under great artesian

pressure, as shown by the fact that in the well from which

the sample represented by analysis B was obtained the water

was forced 4000 feet above the horizon where it was encoun-

tered in drilling. Such pressure tends to fill with water the

pores even of very fine-grained strata, and it seems plausible

that in the rocks of the Appalachian oil-fields there are con-

tinuous pore spaces occupied by water. If such conditions

exist, diffusion must act.

RICHARDSON: DIFFUSION IN OIL-FIELD WATERS

75

Table 2, based on a paper by Becker2, was kindly prepared

for me by C. E. Van Orstrand.

TABLE 2

Migration of Sodium Chloride in Pure Water

The concentrations are expressed in terms of the initial con-

centration at the plane of contact between a bed of salt and the

base of a column of initially pure water. It is assumed that

the initial concentration remains constant.

The computed concentrations are of course only suggestive,

and the figures can not be directly applied to the Appalachian

region because initially pure water was assumed in computing

the table, whereas the water through which diffusion may have

occurred must have been initially saline. Nevertheless, the

table is of interest in an attempt to account for the high con-

centration of the brine represented by analysis B and for the

general increase in concentration of Appalachian oil-field brines

with depth.

2 Becker, G. F. Note on computing diffusion. Am. Jour. Sci., 3: 220-226.

1897.

ABSTRACTS

Authors of scientific papers are requested to see that abstracts, preferably

prepared and signed by themselves, are forwarded promptly to the editors.

Each of the scientific bureaus in Washington has a representative authorized to

forward such material to this journal and abstracts of official publications should

be transmitted through the representative of the bureau in which they originate.

The abstracts should conform in length and general style to those appearing in

this issue.

GEOLOGY. — The Gold Log mine, Talladega County, Alabama. E. S.

Bastin. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 640-1. Pp. 159-161.

1916.

The geologic features of a gold mine that has been worked inter-

mittently for seventy years near Talladega, Alabama, are described.

The country rock is Talladega slate, probably of Lower Cambrian age.

The ore consists of (1) irregularly interlocking white to light-gray quartz,

white to pale-pink calcite, and very minor amounts of sulphides and

free gold, and (2) schist partly replaced by some or all of these minerals.

Chalcopyrite is the principal sulphide. Free gold occurs locally in

irregular masses in the quartz.

The value of the gold and silver recovered is reported to average

about $4 to the ton of ore treated. R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — Ozokerite in central Utah. Heath M. Robinson.

U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 641-A. Pp. 1-16, with 1 plate.

1916.

The American needs for ozokerite (a substance commonly known as

mineral wax) have been largely met in the past by imports from the

Galician mines in Austria, but interest in the domestic supply has

recently been stimulated. The largest district in the United States in

which it has been mined and prospected is an area in central Utah a

little more than 12 miles long and from 1 to 4 miles wide between

Gilluly and Colton.

The rocks of this field have a total thickness of about 4000 feet and

were deposited as nonmarine sediments in early Tertiary (Eocene)

time. The lower 1000 feet of the beds exposed are known to contain

ozokerite, and the remaining 3000 feet contain bituminous or oil shale

76

abstracts: geology 77

interbedded with other rocks. The principal ozokerite mines and

prospects have been opened in the Wasatch formation and are scattered

irregularly through a stratigraphic distance of 600 to 700 feet. The

ozokerite fills cavities that have resulted from fracturing. The com-

position, properties, origin, and uses of ozokerite are discussed, and

the mines and prospects are described. R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — The oil and gas geology of the Foraker quadrangle, Osage

County, Oklahoma. K. C. Heald. U. S. Geological Survey

Bulletin 641-B. Pp. i-iv, 17-47, with 2 plates and 11 figures.

1916.

This paper describes and portrays those features of the Foraker

quadrangle that may be of interest and assistance in the discovery and

development of accumulations of oil and gas. Under the heading

"Stratigraphy" those strata valuable as key horizons in mapping

structure are described in detail, and the probable positions of oil

sands are given. The geologic structure is portrayed by map and

stereogram, and the anticlines believed to be favorable for the accumula-

tion of oil and gas are described in detail. In conclusion specific

recommendations for prospecting are given, and the writer's belief

concerning the probability of the occurrence of oil and gas accumulations

is set forth. R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — Possibilities of oil and gas in north-central Montana.

Eugene Stebinger. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 641-C.

Pp. 49-91, with 4 plates. 1916.

The thick bodies of Upper Cretaceous shale with which most of the

oil and gas in both Wyoming and Alberta are associated are known to

be continuous between these two localities under the plains of Montana,

making it apparent that favorable structural features, especially

anticlines and domes similar to those that are productive in Wyoming

and Alberta, offer a chance of success with the drill in this part of Mon-

tana. The facts observed appear to warrant the conclusions that a

considerable gas territory, comparable in extent to the Alberta fields,

may be found, and that the area shows some probability of yielding oil.

The character and distribution of the sedimentary rocks, particularly

those of importance in the search for oil and gas, are discussed, and the

geologic structure of north-central Montana is described. Particular

attention is paid to the structural features of the area of tilted and

faulted rocks north and south of the Bearpaw Mountains. R. W. S.

78 abstracts: geology

GEOLOGY. — Molybdenite and nickel ore in San Diego County, Cali-

fornia. F. C. Calkins. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 640-D.

Pp. 73-82. 1916.

Molybdenite has been reported to occur at several places in San

Diego County. The deposit near Ramona, which has attracted most

attention, was visited in December, 1915. The molybdenite at this

locality is unevenly disseminated in an aplite dike which cuts granite,

the principal rock of the region. The deposit has not been shown to

have commercial value, though further development and prospecting

seem to be warranted.

A nickel prospect, the Friday mine, near Julian, was also visited.

The nickeliferous deposit, which has been explored to a depth of 200

or 300 feet, lies at an irregular contact between mica schist and gabbro.

It consists mainly of pyrrhotite, but contains pyrite, chalcopyrite, and

an iron-nickel sulphide, probably polydymite. Both in constitution

and mode of occurrence it resembles the Sudbury deposits and is pre-

sumably similar in origin. The sulphides are high enough in nickel

to constitute ore, provided a fairly large body of them can be uncovered.

F. C. C.

GEOLOGY.- — Gypsum in the southern part of the Bighorn Mountains,

Wyoming. Charles T. Lupton and D. Dale Condit. U. S.

Geological Survey Bulletin 640-H. Pp. 139-157, with 3 plates.

1916.

Gypsum has been known to occur in a belt of rocks surrounding the

Bighorn and Owl Creek mountains, Wyoming, from the early days of

exploration. The amount of this material at several places is great,

but owing to the slight demand for it little attention has been given to

its utilization until the last few years.

The gypsum occurs at two horizons — the upper at or near the top of

the Chugwater formation, or Red Beds, and the other in the upper

part of the Embar formation. Only the upper bed, however, is of

economic importance at Sheep Mountain and in the vicinity of

Thermopolis.

The rocks exposed in the region described in this report range in age

from pre-Cambrian to Quaternary. The Embar and Chugwater

formations, winch contain the gypsum beds, are described in detail.

R. W. S.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 781st meeting was held on January 6, 1917, at the Cosmos Club.

Vice-President Sosman in the chair; 37 persons present. The minutes

of the 779th meeting were read in abstract and approved.

Mr. E. Buckingham gave a paper on The effect of elastic strain on the

equilibrium temperature of a solid and its liquid. By methods not in-

volving any reference to the details of the theory of elasticity, a general

formula was deduced for the effect on the equilibrium temperature of

a solid and a liquid under a stress which produces a strain in the solid at

the surface of contact with the liquid. No restrictions Avere imposed

on the nature of the body or on that of the strain, except that the

strain must be non-dissipative.

The general formula was applied to the case of linear compression,

and the result compared with some other formulas which have been

proposed. It agrees with Riecke's formula but does not agree with the

interpretation sometimes given to Poynting's formula. Comparison

with Bridgman's formula did not lead to any definite conclusion.

Mr. E. D. Williamson gave a second paper on the same subject.

The particular case of an isotropic solid under the influence of a one-

sided thrust was treated. Formulas were deduced by methods similar

to those used by Gibbs for the change of the equilibrium temperature

on the face where the thrust was applied, and also at the free surface,

on the hypothesis in each case that a reversible equilibrium is possible.

At the free surface the change of temperature is always negative and

small, i.e. at such a surface the melting point is always lowered by a

small amount by any strain whatever. On the other hand at the sur-

face where the stress is applied the effect is very much greater and is

negative for a push but positive for a tension. The possibility of the

physical realization of this second case is in doubt.

. The method can be extended to the case of solubility by the introduc-

tion of another variable — namely, the concentration of the solution.

The results are similar to those mentioned above, the solubilit}r being-

very slightly increased over the free surface but increased or decreased on

the stressed surface by a push or a tension, respectively, by a much

greater amount.

Mi-. J. C. Hostetter then gave an illustrated communication on

The influence of non-uniform pressure on solubility. It is possible that

fluctuating temperature and, perhaps, some indirect effects brought

79

80 proceedings: geological society

about by pressure may account for the solidification of crystals com-

pressed in contact with their solution by loosely fitting pistons — as found

by James Thomson, Le Chatelier, and Spring — without the necessity

of postulating large increases in solubility due to pressure.

In preliminary experiments, individual crystals were subjected to

stress at constant temperature by direct loading, and the effect on the

concentration of the surrounding solution studied, by measuring the

conductivity. No change in concentration was found. The test was

sufficiently sensitive to show that the effect of non -uniform pressure is

much less than that produced by the same pressure acting uniformly,

and not many times greater, as had been postulated by Johnston and

Adams.

However, in another series of experiments in which an unloaded

crystal was placed alongside a loaded crystal, the former grew at the

expense of the latter, showing that a very slight increase of solubility

was produced by the stress. The method of loading the crystals has

a large influence on the effects found, thus indicating the importance

of the stress distribution.

In conclusion, the experiments of Becker and Day on the linear force

of growing crystals were cited as indicating the stability of a crystal in

its solution, even when subjected to pressure. In their experiments

loaded crystals were found to lift the load during growth, although

the pressures on the supporting edges of the crystals were finally of the

order of magnitude of the crushing strength of the crystal.

Discussion. The three papers were discussed by Messrs. Briggs,

Buckingham, Hostetter, Sosman, and Williamson. Mr. Hostetter

remarked that the reason for the effect of hydrostatic pressure on melt-

ing and solubility was much more obvious than that for the similar

effect due to strain in the solid only, as hydrostatic pressure directly

aids or opposes the volume changes accompanying such change in state.

Mr. Buckingham referred to the complications introduced by the

change in cross section of a crystal under load as it dissolves.

Correction. In the minutes of the 780th meeting, this Journal,

7 : 24. 1917, for " Messrs. Ferner and Rothermel were appointed tellers,"

read, "Messrs. Fenner and Rothermel were appointed tellers."

D. H. Sweet, Secretary.

THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 311th meeting was held in the lecture room of the Cosmos Club

on November 22, 1916.

INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

T. W. Stanton : A Cretaceous volcanic ash bed on the Great Plains in

North Dakota. Near Linton, North Dakota, in the southern part of

the State about 15 miles east of the Missouri River, there are several

conspicuous white outcrops that at a distance suggest chalk or diato-

maceous earth. At one of the best exposures, 1 mile southeast of Lin-

proceedings: geological society 81

ton, the measured thickness of the white bed is 26 feet, and it lies in the

Fox Hills sandstone about 35 feet above the top of the Pierre shale.

The rock is very fine-grained and mostly massive, though it contains

some thin-bedded layers. A sample of it has been examined by Dr.

G. F. Loughlin, who finds that it "consists of 80 per cent of volcanic

glass, 15 per cent of quartz and feldspar, 2 or 3 per cent of biotite (some-

what bleached) and scattered grains of calcite, hornblende, magnetite,

and chlorite."

No fossils were found in the white ash bed itself, but in the sandstone

directly overlying it distinctive Fox Hills invertebrates were collected

at several horizons distributed through a total thickness of about 100

feet. A fossiliferous green band colored by greenalite, which lies 16

feet above the white bed, also contains a considerable amount of vol-

canic glass, thus showing that volcanic material is not restricted to the

white ash bed.

This seems to be the first recorded observation of such a bed of vol-

canic ash in the Cretaceous sediments of the Great Plains. The nature

and location of the deposit are such that its material must have been

carried a long distance in the air and finally deposited in the sea. The

nearest probable source, according to present knowledge of Cretaceous

volcanism in the Rocky Mountains, is in the • Livingston region, Mon-

tana, about 500 miles west. Remnants of this great ash shower should

occur in other parts of the Great Plains and 'Rocky Mountains, and

when recognized and identified they should be of some service in the

definite correlation of local sections.

REGULAR PROGRAM

Henry M. Eakin: The Quaternary history of central Alaska. Cen-

tral Alaska is rather evenly divided between uplands that are formed by

solid rocks, and a number of basins floored with Quaternary sediments

that head far inland and extend, apparently without interruption, to

the sea. These basins seem to be interpreted properly as pre-Quater-

nary erosional depressions. The physical aspects of the region indicate

that in Quaternary time the normal drainage outlets of these basins

were temporarily dammed, large areas were inundated and silted up,

new outlets through low passes in the rims of the old basins were formed,

and the drainage of the whole region was reorganized. Various hypo-

theses as to the nature of the dams have been considered, including

crustal warping, lava flows, gravel deposits, and glacier extension across

the old basins.

The hypothesis that glaciers were the agents meets the requirements

that the dams were formed simultaneously in widely separated locali-

ties and were transient. For two major stream diversions and for many

minor ones ice damming seems clearly indicated, and no item of posi-

tive evidence antagonistic to this hypothesis has been discovered.

However, complete knowledge of certain areas essential to the final

solution of the problem is still lacking.

82 proceedings: geological society

J. S. Diller: Was the new lava from Lassen Peak viscous at the time

of its eruption? That it was viscous is indicated by the following

considerations:

1. The material that rose from the volcanic chimney into the crater

on the summit of Lassen Peak spread in all directions and filled the fun-

nel-shaped crater to its rim, forming a lid to the volcano.

2. Upon reaching the crest of the crater's rim the lava overflowed at

the lowest points, one stream flowing down the western slope of the

peak and another toward Lost Creek on the northeast.

3. The flow down the west slope is about 1000 feet in length and is a

normal stream of siliceous lava with very rough broken surface. That

it was a hot, viscous mass beneath the surface at the time of its eruption

is proved by the written testimony of a number of observers, who from

9.30 to 11.30 on the night of May 19, 1915, watched the glow and

flashes of light from the flowing, breaking lava as, in plain view, it

crossed the crater rim and descended the slope.

4. In the overflow stream at the head of Lost Creek the delicate,

steam-torn lava was bent and folded, as if viscous, while advancing across

the crater rim, and much of it was carried away by the tremendous

blast of hot gas (from beneath the lid) that devastated the Hat Creek

country.

5. When the hot blast escaped from beneath the lava lid a portion of

the lid, apparently where hottest, subsided into the former crater and

exposed a number of fracture surfaces of lava blocks. On some of these

surfaces there are distinct lines of viscous flow, and as the surfaces origi-

nated dining the subsidence following the great eruption in May, 1915,

the lava must have been viscous at that time.

G. W. Stose: Age of certain shales in Cumberland-Lebanon Valley,

Pennsylvania. The shales referred to are in detached areas in the lime-

stone valley. The limestones range in age from Lower Cambrian to

Ordovician and may be divided into seven formations. The shales

were regarded by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey as equivalent

to the shales formerly called Hudson River but now called Martinsburg,

which overlie the limestones and adjoin them on the northwest. In

weathered outcrop the various shales are closely similar and, as east of

Harrisburg they have been brought together like parts of the same for-

mation, this miscorrelation is not surprising.

The real age of the shales in the detached areas was determined only

after tracing the seven formations of the limestone from their known

outcrops in the Carlisle quadrangle, southwest of Harrisburg. The

largest area of the shales south of Harrisburg was proved, by its rela-

tion to the Elbrook limestone, to be the Waynesboro shale of Middle

Cambrian age, and typical purple siliceous shale of the Waynesboro

was later found in it. The irregular relations to other formations on

its north side are due to overthrust faulting, which terminates the area

against the Martinsburg shale east of Harrisburg. The Waynesboro

shale occurs also in prominent hills east of Schaefferstown and in small

hills near Shillington, southwest of Reading. The shale thins abruptly

proceedings: botanical society 83

toward the east and north and is not visible on the north side of North

Mountain, where it is probably present, although thin and covered with

wash. Its greater thickness at Schaefferstown and south of Harrisburg

is probably due to the fact that at these localities it is overthrust from

farther south, where its thickness is greater.

Certain rocks at the Cornwall mines south of Lebanon, Pennsylvania,

which were regarded as Hudson River shales by the Pennsylvania Geo-

logical Survey, were foimd to be metamorphosed siliceous banded lime-

stones of the Conococheague limestone of Upper Cambrian age.

T. Wayland Vaughan: Significance of reef coral fauna at Carrizo

Creek, Imperial County, California. Owing to the lateness of the hour

this paper was postponed to another meeting.

At the 312th meeting, held December 20, 1916, the presidential ad-

dress was delivered by the retiring President, Arthur C. Spencer:

Stream terraces in the Rocky Mountain province (Illustrated). The ad-

dress will be published at a later date.

At the twenty-fourth annual meeting held on the same evening the

following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, Walter

C. Mendenhall; Vice-Presidents, Frank H. Knowlton and Arthur

L. Day; Secretaries, H. E. Merwin and Esper S. Larsen, Jr.; Treas-

urer, B. L. Johnson; M ember s-at-large-of-the-Council, B. S. Butler, H.

S. Gale, C. W. Gilmore, R. W. Pack, and L. W. Stephenson.

Carroll H. Wegemann, Secretary.

THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 116th regular meeting of The Botanical Society of Washington

was held in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club at 8.00 p.m., Tuesday,

December 5, 1916, President T. H. Kearney presiding.

The program of the evening consisted of a symposium on the behavior

of hybrids in different groups of plants.

Mr. G. N. Collins discussed the behavior of Indian corn. In about

25 cases out of 50 where the vigor of first-generation hybrids had been

compared with that of the parents, definite evidence of greater vigor

was secured, and in no instance was there clear evidence of decreased

vigor. It was suggested that the differences in the degree of vigor

observed in different varietal combinations appeared to be influenced

by the length of time the parental strains have been isolated. Strains

which are widely separated geographically, and on this accomit proba-

bly have been kept distinct for long periods of time, usually exhibit the

greatest increase in vigor when crossed, while strains from the same or

adjacent regions, although they may show more marked morphologi-

cal differences, generally show a less marked increase in vigor in the

first generation of the cross.

In a cross between two varieties having many sharply contrasting

characters, a comparison of the variability of the first and second gen-

84 proceedings: botanical society

erations showed two characters where the first generation was more

variable than the second, six characters in which the second generation

was more variable than the first, and eleven characters in which there

was no measurable difference. In the same cross, in correlation

studies involving eleven contrasted characters with fifty-five possi-

bilities of correlation, twenty cases of correlation were observed. All

but five of these correlations, however, appear to be physical or physio-

logical in their nature rather than genetic, such as the correlation be-

tween branching space and number of branches.

There are but few alternative or discontinuous characters in maize,

and most of these are color differences or differences in chemical com-

position, as in the endosperm characters.

The discontinuous characters are for the most part Mendelian.

Horny or sweet endosperm is perhaps the best example of a simple

Mendelian character pair thus far encountered in maize. Horny and

waxy endosperm are completely alternative, but there are definite de-

partures from the expected ratios. Aleurone and endosperm color show

all gradation between Mendelian monohybrid ratios and continuous

inheritance.

Mr. 0. F. Cook called attention to differences in behavior of dif-

ferent kinds of plants and animals, as indicating a possibility that the

expectation of finding general laws applicable to the whole organic

world may not be realized. Each case must be treated in a specific

way. Increased vigor in the first generation is one of the more general

phenomena attending hybridization. In cotton, for example, when

distinct types are crossed, there is usually evidence of increased vigor

and hardiness. These are expressed in larger size, better yield, and a

greater ability to withstand adverse conditions. By distinct types of

cotton are meant types which have a range comparable to the more

divergent races of men, or to the Indian zebu as distinguished from our

domestic races of cattle. The cotton types appear much more diver-

gent than the types of corn. •

The discussion was largely confined to examples in hybridization of

cotton. As a rule the conjugate or Fi generation is intermediate be-

tween the parents, while splitting is pronounced in the second and later

generations but with no cases of complete return to either ancestral

type. As a rule there is a great deal of correlation or coherence in the

characters shown in the perjugate (F2 and subsequent) generations.

It has not been possible to secure a cotton combining in stable form the

Upland type of vegetation and the Sea Island or Egyptian type of lint.

Plants which resemble the Upland type have lint with the Upland char-

acters and vice versa, but the plants that most nearly resemble the

parental types in other respects are usually very inferior with respect

to abundance and quality of lint.

Thus, one of the results of hybridization may be described as a total

loss of the increment of selection which had been developed in the parent

stocks previous to crossing. Some characters are more or less dis-

continuous, but others appear to be continuous. The opportunities for

proceedings: botanical society 85

selection in the conjugate generation are not good, on account of the

general uniformity of the plants. Selections have been carried in some

cases as far as 12 generations without securing evidences of stable com-

binations of desirable characters. Hybrids between Sea Island and

Upland varieties were not so good as the better class of long-staple

Upland varieties, when work with the hybrids was discontinued.

Mr. H. V. Harlan discussed the behavior of barley hybrids. He

first called attention to the strikingly different characteristics of the

barley group and the sharply contrasting characters such as naked .

and hulled grain, black, purple, blue, or white colors, two and six-rowed,

awned and hooded heads, smooth and toothed awns, etc. Individuals

of the Fi generation in barley either may be intermediate in character

or may resemble one of the parents, and are quite uniform. In most

of these crosses the characters are inherited in a 3 : 1 ratio. The sub-

stitution of hoods in the place of the awn, which has a very decided

effect upon the physiology of the plant, is dominant to the presence of

awns. The smoothness or roughness of the awns behaves as a Men-

delian character. There is also a correlation between the smoothness

of the awn and the hairiness of the stigma. Crossing between the two-

rowed and six-rowed barley often results in an intermediate variety.

Such characters as the following: hulled and naked, black and white,

hooded and awned, are inherited in the 1 : 3 ratio. Fertility does not

necessarily follow the 1:3 ratio.

Dr. C. E. Leighty discussed hybridization in wheat varieties and

species. Nine groups are available for hybridization : Triticum morio-

coccum, Triticum polonicum, wild wheat of Palestine, and six sub-

species of Triticum sativum. All of these species and subspecies hy-

bridize and fertile hybrids have been obtained, rarely, however, between

Triticum monococcum and any other group. Wheat and rye hybrids

have been secured always by using wheat as the female parent.

Aegilops ovata and triticoides have also been used in hybridization with

wheat. The first generation shows increased vigor, so far as noted, and

great uniformity. Most of the characters, however, are intermediate.

When wild wheat is used in hybridization the spikelets of the hybrid

fall apart as does the wild wheat. In the second generation segrega-

tion of most characters occurs in a 3 : 1 or 1 : 2 : 1 ratio, but in some cases

the ratio may be 15 : 1 or otherwise, as when a club wheat and wheat

with tapering head are crossed. In most cases the behavior can be

explained on the basis of Mendel's law. Wheat hybrids are often fixed

and many of the good commercial strains have originated in this way.

No bud variations or mutations have been noted.

Mr. J. B. Norton discussed the crosses which he and Mr. A. D.

Shamel had made between wheat and rye. Wheat is always used as

the mother parent, as rye refuses to set seed with foreign pollen. The

first generation plants show great vigor, and though they resemble the

mother at first, at blooming time the resemblance to rye increases until

they would normally be mistaken for that plant. The hybrids are

nearly sterile, as out of thousands of first generation flowers only three

86 proceedings: botanical society

produced viable seed, the plants from which were accidentally lost.

In hybrids between tobacco varieties first generation uniformity and

vigor are noticed in a marked degree.

In the case of oat hybrids Mr. Norton noted that the segregation in

the second and later generations was normally Mendelian, though in

one or two cases intermediate forms became fixed. There is a distinct

coherence of characters shown when naked oats are crossed with the

ordinary hulled type. Naked oats have more than three grains to the

spikelet, while in hulled oats the spikelets are limited to two or three.

The first generation gives a peculiar intermediate, while in the second

the parent types reappear with the intermediates in a 1:2:1 ratio,

showing complete coherence of the two pairs of characters. While

this coherence has not been split, two strains of the intermediate type

were fixed.

Of asparagus hybrids a peculiar case was mentioned. Asparagus

davuricus, a Chinese species, when crossed with pollen of Asparagus

officinalis gave a progeny that resembled in most characters the A.

davuricus mother, with the exception of a greater vigor. The first

generation plants dropped their branches in the fall like A. davuricus.

These hybrids were crossed back with A. officinalis, but the second gen-

eration showed none of the abcission phenomena exhibited by their

mother parent, although the expected ratio was 1:1. One of the first

generation plants of this cross shows a vine-like habit, a character not

present in either parent or in any close relative, although vining is

common in other sections of the genus.

Dr. W. A. Orton discussed the behavior of disease resistance in

hybrids, with special reference to the wilt diseases of cotton, okra,

watermelons, and cowpeas, caused by the well-known vascular parasite

belonging to the genus Fusarium.

In cotton, resistance which occurs in rare individuals is separated

out by selection, and the crosses discussed were made between such

resistant strains and other varieties of Upland cotton.

Certain conditions impair the exactness of results with reference to

Mendelian ratios. The strains used were not of pure type and the

most resistant show some disease; uniform exposure to infection is se-

cured with difficulty; the severity of the disease varies with weather

conditions. Susceptible plants are killed and their progeny are not

available for further study.

In the first generation in cotton hybrids wilt-resistance is dominant,

only a small percentage showing disease, usually less than that of the

resistant parent. In the second generation there is a segregation of the

wilt-resistant character and a large percentage of non-resistant plants

are produced. In reciprocal crosses an effect from the female parent

is apparent in the second generation. By selection from the resistant

plants the selected third generation shows a marked increase in

resistance.

In the cowpea wilt-resistance seems to be limited to a distinct variety,

the Iron. In the first generation of crosses with other varieties wilt-

proceedings: botanical society 87

resistance is dominant. In the second generation about one-third of

the plants were sterile, the percentage being as high as 73 in some

hybrids. About 67 per cent of the plants were seed producing.

In the case of the watermelon, the citron or stock melon was used in

breeding for a disease-resistant variety. In the first generation in-

creased vigor was very noticeable, and in the second generation char-

acters were noted Which had not been noted before in either of the

parents, particularly in the colors of the fruits, and also in a bitter

taste not noted in either of the parents.

Mr. W. J. Morse called attention to the behavior of hybrids in the

soy bean, in which group study was made of the following characters:

(1) flowers (white, purple); (2) pubescence (white, tawny); (3) seed

(yellow, green, brown, black, bicolored); (4) cotyledons (yellow, green);

(5) hypocotyl (green, purple); (6) smoothness; and (7) non-shattering.

All of these are found to behave as Mendelian characters and to segre-

gate according to Mendelian ratio. The only interrelation of characters

noted is between the flower and the hypocotyl, the white flower being

associated with the green hypocot}*! and the purple flower with the

purple hypocotyl. The non-shattering character is held to be one of

the most important, and hybrids with this character have been fixed.

Further work on this character with the standard commercial varieties

is in progress. In the course of the hybrid work numerous sterile

plants have been found. Natural hybrids of Fx generation can usually

be told in the field by the plants having a few smooth pods at the tip

of the branches.

With the cowpea a large number of crosses have been made between

the different commercial sorts, seeking to combine desirable characters.

A stud}* of the seed colors shows them to segregate in Mendelian ratio.

Wilt and nematode resistance have been fixed in hybrids.

In the case of alfalfa, when hybrids of tender forms of Medicago

sativa, such as Peruvian alfalfa, are made with Medicago falcata and the

offspring subjected to severe winter conditions, there appears to be no

tendency toward the elimination of the. blue or purple-flowered forms,

indicating that flower color is not particularly correlated with char-

acters resulting in hardiness. There have been several crosses reported

between rather distantly related species of Medicago, but it is believed

that most of them are not true hybrids. It is believed that the Medicago

sativa X prostrata hybrid is the only authentic one in the genus Medi-

cago dutside of the forms which Urban lists in his classification under

Medicago sativa, which include Medicago falcata and M . glandidosa.

Mr. Walter T. Swingle called attention to the great difference in

the behavior of Citrus from other groups mentioned, in that a larger

amount of variability occurred in the first generation of the hybrids.

In Citrus many of these first generation hybrids are of commercial

value and may be propagated without variation from seeds which con-

tain usually only false embryos originating from the nucellar tissue of

the mother plant. For example, hybrids secured between Poncirus

trifoliata and the common orange, Citrus sinensis, are sterile, notwith-

88 proceedings: botanical society

standing which they produce an abundance of seeds. These seeds

originate parthenogenetically and represent a pure strain of the female

parent. But in some few cases there is a true second generation.

The individuals of the first generation vary greatly. The fruit may be

smaller than that of either parent, or larger than the combined fruits of

the two parents; it may be smooth or hairy, lemon-colored or orange-

colored, with a great profusion of oil glands or almost without any; the

shape of the tree may vary; the leaves are often 5-foliolate, although one

parent is unifoliolate and the other always 3-foliolate. There is a very

considerable cohesion of characters in the second generation of Citrus-

Poncirus hybrids. It seems all but impossible, however, to secure hard-

iness and an orange flavored fruit at the same time. In the case of

Citrus-Poncirus hybrids great vigor is observed in the first generation.

If this first generation is crossed with a kumquat, increased vigor also

is shown; but no increase in vigor results from the return cross between

the first generation and the parental species. The kumquat belongs

to a distinct genus, Fortunella, so that in crossing a citrange with a

kumquat a trigeneric hybrid is produced, combining Citrus and Pon-

cirus with Fortunella. Although the kumquat is a dwarf plant, its

diversity from Citrus and Poncirus is so great that when crossed with

a citrange it brings about greatly increased vigor. By crossing Pon-

cirus trifoliata with the ordinary orange, and then crossing this first

generation hybrid with the kumquat, a fruit somewhat resembling the

lime has been produced; it has no direct genetic relationship with the

latter, however.

During the general discussion Mr. L. C. Corbett and Prof. William

Stuart discussed the behavior of carnation hybrids, and the latter

called attention to the desirability of securing as high a percentage of

germination as possible in the second generation, in order that no selec-

tive error be introduced into percentage determinations. Mr. Norton

said that of several thousand cases of carnations grow n from commercial

types, the percentage of singles never was higher than 23 per cent.

H% L. Shantz, Corresponding Secretary.

JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII FEBRUARY 19, 1917 No. 4

BIOPHYSICS. — The living plant as a physical system.1 Lyman

J. Briggs, Bureau of Plant Industry.

In early investigations relating to the growth of plants, the

conception of a so-called " vital force" was frequently employed

in the interpretation of the observed phenomena. It was long

held, for example, that the organic substances found in plants

and animals were dependent in their formation upon the exist-

ence of vital forces, and that in consequence such products could

not be produced in the laboratory. The classical discovery of

Wohler that urea could be synthesized in the laboratory revo-

lutionized the conception that all animal and plant products are

dependent upon some vital force for their production. Since

that time many other organic substances found in or derived

from plants have been prepared synthetically. Many other

phenomena associated with plant growth and formerly attrib-

uted to the existence of some peculiar vital force have through

modern methods of investigation been satisfactorily explained

from physico-chemical considerations. Until matter in that

state which we term "living" can be synthesized, the doctrine of

vitalism can scarcely be said to have been disproved; but it is

surely being restricted more and more a's our knowledge of plant

phenomena increases. The situation at present may perhaps be

fairly summarized as follows: The mechanism of plant processes

1 Address of the retiring President of the Philosophical Society of Washing-

ton, presented before the Society January 19, 1917.

89

90 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

not at present explainable on a physico-chemical basis would be

termed by the vitalistic school as " vital;" by the physico-

chemical school, "unknown."

The efficiency of plant systems. I shall ask you in what fol-

lows to consider the plant from the point of view of a physical

system, a system which is absorbing energy and performing

useful work. Radiant energy is absorbed by this system from the

sun and sky, and under some conditions heat is absorbed from

the surrounding air as well. This energy is used to do work upon

water and nutrients taken in through the roots and upon car-

bon dioxide absorbed through the leaves. A part of the energy,

through the agency of remarkable catalyzing substances — the

chlorophyll bodies and the protoplasm — is employed in the

transformation of the materials absorbed into plant tissue. The

latter represents the useful work performed by the system,

which may be quantitatively determined by measuring the heat

of combustion of the total plant substance formed. The re-

mainder of the absorbed energy is spent in lifting and vaporizing

water, except in those cases where the temperature of the plant

rises above that of the surrounding air. In such instances heat

energy is also transferred to the air.

Let us for the present assume that the temperature of the

plant does not exceed that of the air, an assumption which leaf

temperature measurements have shown to be amply justified

in the case of actively growing plants in a dry atmosphere. The

total energy used by the system in a given time will then be

represented by the total heat equivalent of the water evaporated,

plus the total heat of combustion of the plant substance devel-

oped during this period. If we represent the former by Qe and

the latter Qc, both expressed in gram-calories, the efficiency (E)

of the system may be represented by the relation

• E = —Q°— (1)

Qe+Qc

Both quantities are capable of direct measurement. The

water evaporated can be determined by means of suitably con-

trolled field experiments designed to prevent all loss of water

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 91

except that taking place through the leaves, while the heat of

combustion may be found by finally burning in a bomb calorim-

eter a representative sample of the plant substance produced.

Numerous investigations have been made of the water re-

quirement of plants, i.e., the ratio of the weight of water absorbed

by the plant during its growth period to the weight of dry matter

produced. It will accordingly be convenient to transform our

efficiency equation to include this term. If a mass Mw of water

is transpired in the production of a mass Mp of plant tissue, and

if hv and hc represent the heat of vaporization of water and the

heat of combustion per gram of plant substance respectively,

then

Qe = MJu (2)

Qc = MPhc (3)

Substituting these quantities in equation (1) and remember-

ing that Mw/Mv is by definition the water requirement Rw, we

have

E = -J— (4)

he

Determinations of the heat of combustion of the dry matter of

various plants do not appear to have been made. In the absence

of more specific data, we may assume the heat of combustion

to be represented approximately by that of cellulose, namely,

4200 gram-calories per gram. By substituting this value to-

gether with that of the heat of vaporization of water (536 gram-

calories per gram) in equation (4) we have as a first approxima-

tion to the efficiency of the plant system

E = (5)

0.13 #w + l

The water requirement of field crops in the Great Plains as

measured by Dr. H. L. Shantz and the writer ranges from 200

to 1000, depending upon the species and the evaporation-rate.2

2 Briggs, L. J., and Shantz, H. L. Relative water requirement of plants.

Journ. Agr. Research, 3: 1-63. 1914.

92 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

The lowest water requirement so far observed in the case of a

field crop was obtained at Arlington, Virginia, in 1915, where

corn and sorghum gave values of 151 ± 2 and 150 ± 2 respec-

tively. If we substitute these values in equation (5) we find

that the efficiency of the plants with the lowest water require-

ment so far measured is only about 5 per cent, while in the case

of plants with a water requirement of 1000, the efficiency is less

than 1 per cent. In other words, the fuel value of the plant,

i.e., the potential energy stored in the plant substance, repre-

sents only from 1 to 5 per cent of the energy dissipated during

the growth of the plant.

Since the efficiency is approximately inversely proportional

to the water requirement it is of interest to consider briefly how

the latter may be reduced. Two procedures are open, namely,

plant selection and reduction in the evaporation rate. Dif-

ferent species of plants under the same environment show wide

differences in water requirement. For example, Shantz and the

writer have found the water requirement of alfalfa to be ap-

proximately three times that of millet, when the two species are

grown in large pots side by side. It is thus evident that in a

region where the rainfall is the limiting factor in plant production,

the fuel value of the plant material produced will vary widely

according to the water requirement of the plant. It would be

of much interest in this connection to know something of the

efficiency of different forest trees, but no water requirement

measurements of such plants are yet available.

The second means of reducing the water requirement consists

in the selection of habitats where the evaporation-rate is low.

Here again little is known quantitatively as to what extent the

efficiency may be increased in this way, and the subject affords a

wide field for exploration. It is evident that if the absorption

of water from the soil is so far reduced by increasing the hu-

midity that the plant receives an inadequate supply of nutri-

ents from the soil, growth would be retarded from this cause.

Again, if we reduce the energy dissipated in evaporation by

shading the plants, a limit will be set by the minimum quantity

of radiant energy necessary for the photosynthetic processes.

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 93

The growth-rate. We pass now to the consideration of our

plant system from the standpoint of the growth-rate. The

plant system is remarkable in that the useful work done is ex-

pended in increasing the size of the system, at least during the

earlier stages of growth. Furthermore, the quantity of cata-

lyzer available for transforming the absorbed substances also

increases with the size of the system. Therefore, while the

efficiency of the system may not change during the growth of the

plant, the quantity of useful work which it is capable of doing may

theoretically increase at a rate proportional to the size of the

system, assuming that an adequate supply of the products used

in synthesis, i.e., carbon-dioxide, water, and nutrients from the

soil, are present. This hypothesis is equivalent to saying that

the rate of change of the weight m of the plant system is pro-

portional to the weight itself, or, put into mathematical form :

dm fa.

— = axm (6)

at

Let us now see how nearly this assumption may be realized in

nature.

Since it is not possible to determine directly the dry weight

m without destroying the plant, we must have recourse to some

indirect means of determining the mass of material present at

any time. We shall, therefore, make a further assumption that

the increase in size of the plant from day to day is accompanied

by a corresponding increase in the quantity of water which it

transpires, a quantity which as we have seen is readily meas-

ured. This latter quantity, however, would obviously depend

upon the weather of each day, so that we must either maintain

the plant under constant conditions from day to day during the

course of the experiment, or we must correct the transpiration

in accordance with the intensity of the weather factors each day.

The latter procedure is the one which we have actually em-

ployed. This correction may be made in a simple manner by

dividing the observed transpiration during a day by the observed

evaporation from a shallow blackened tank for the corresponding

day. This gives us a series of numbers which are proportional

94

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

to the transpiration or water loss from the plant during a series

of uniform days, providing transpiration and evaporation are

influenced in the same way by the changes in the weather. Our

problem then is to determine how the transpiration corrected

to the basis of uniform days varies with the time, our assumption

being that the daily transpiration is dependent upon and is a

measure of the size of the plant.

-/. <?

-/. 2

- /.o

-2.8

2.6

■2.4

-2.

-2 0

P2 24 26 2G 30 2 4

6 8 /O /2 /4 /6

Fig. 1. Graph showing linear relationship between the logarithm of the trans-

piration-evaporation ratio of Sudan grass and the time. After Briggs and Shantz.

If now we return to our original hypothesis, that the rate of

change in the size of the plant is proportional to the size of the

plant itself, we will have by substituting the transpiration-

T

evaporation ratio — = k for the weight m of the plant in our

Mi

original equation (6)

dk

dt

= dik

(6a)

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

95

Integrating this equation and transforming to common log-

arithms, we have

logioft = at + c (7)

in which c is the logarithm of k when t = 0, that is at the be-

1

1

1

1

1

I

I

.24

22

20

/<?

/6

,/4

/<?

/O

08

.06

04

02

§1

o /

9/9

^__ ° /

h^^

o ~Z^* o

So

24 26 26 30 2 4 6 &

<JO/VE /S/4 iJULy

/O /2

Fig. 2. Daily change in the ratio of transpiration to evaporation during

early growth of Sudan grass. Circles represent observed ratios. Solid line

computed from relationship in figure 1. After Briggs and Shantz.

ginning of the period under discussion. Expressing (7) expo-

nentially, we have

k = 10at + c = k0-10at (8)

Therefore, if the logarithms of the daily transpiration-evapo-

ration ratio, when plotted against the time, form a straight line,

the condition expressed in equation (6a) is satisfied, and the

96

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

plant increases in size in accordance with the compound interest

law.

This method has been employed by Shantz and the writer

in the examination of the daily transpiration of Sudan grass,

corn, sorghum, and alfalfa.3 The results indicate that during

the early stages of the growth of these crops an approximately

linear relationship does exist between the logarithm of the

transpiration ratio and the time, as is shown in the case of

Sudan grass in figure 1. In the case of alfalfa, this relationship

held approximately up to the period of flowering. A comparison

of the computed transpiration ratio (solid line) of Sudan grass

with that actually observed (circles) is given in figure 2.

TABLE 1

Hate of Increase in the Transpiration Coefficient of Different Crops

in 1914, According to Briggs and Shantz

CROP

Corn, Northwestern Dent

Corn, Algeria

Sorghum, Minnesota Amber

Sudan grass (in inclosure)

Sudan grass (in open)

Alfalfa, E23 (first crop in open).

Alfalfa, E23-20-52 (first crop). . .

Alfalfa, E23-20-52 (second crop)

OBSERVATION PERIOD

June 18- July 9

June 18-July 11

June 18-July 9

June 18-July 10

June 24- July 11

June 16- July 10

June 19- July 9

July 18-Aug. 5

DATS

REQUIRED

FOR k TO

DOUBLE IN

VALUE

11.6

6.8

7.3

4.6

3.7

9.1

8.1

8.1

It is also possible to compute from the slope of the graphs

the value of the exponent a in equation (8) and so to determine

the daily rate of increase in the size of the plant. The results of

such calculations for a number of plants are given in table 1.

It will be seen that in the case of Sudan grass the plant system

was doubling in size every four days, and in the case of alfalfa

about every eight days.

Therefore during the early stages of growth the size of some of

3 Briggs, L. J., and Shantz, H. L. Daily transpiration during the normal

growth period, and its correlation with the weather. Journ. Agr. Research, 7: 155-

212. 1916.

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

97

our common plants varies as an exponential function of the time,

in so far at least as such changes in size are reflected by the

change in transpiration through a series of uniform days. In

other words the young plant confronted with the problem of

maturing its seed and completing its life cycle before the ad-

vent of frost, proceeds to develop its system at the maximum

possible rate consistent with the conditions, i.e., in accordance

with the compound interest law. When an adequate leaf system

is secured, the plant apparently turns its attention to the elabora-

tion of material for seed production and the rate of increase in the

size of the leaf system is modified. It is evident that any in-

hibiting factor, such as a limitation in the supply of water or

of nutrient solution also would bring about the same result.

100 200 300 400 500

1000 .1500 2000

Age of ti-ees in years

2500

3000

Fig. 3. Change in thickness of annual rings of Sequoia with the time. After

Huntington.

Let us now turn from annual plants, which complete their

life cycle in a few months, to the other extreme, and examine the

rate of growth of the giants of the plant world, the Sequoias or

big trees of California. Huntington4 has recently made extensive

measurements of the thickness of the annular rings of these trees

with a view to determining to what extent the variation in

thickness of these rings is correlated with fluctuations in the

weather conditions during the life of the tree. His measurements

showing the change in thickness of the ring as the tree grows

older, based upon measurements of trees of varying ages up to

4 Huntington, E. The climatic factor as illustrated in arid America. Car-

negie Inst, of Washington, Pub. No. 192. 1914.

98 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

3200 years, are summarized graphically in figure 3. The dotted

line in this figure connects the 100 -year means, through which a

smoothed graph has been drawn. If we assume the latter to

represent the relation between the thickness of the rings and the

age of the tree, we see that after the trees have reached an age

dv

of about 1200 years, the ring thickness — is a linear function of

tit

the time, or

<t=-at + b (9)

at

Integrating this equation and evaluating the constants from

figure 3, we have as the relation between the stump radius of the

tree in millimeters and the time in years, starting with trees 1200

years old,

r = - 0.00005*2 + O.S3t + 1670 (10)

From 1200 to 3200 years then the radius does not increase pro-

portionally to the time, but is subject to a negative correction

term varying as the square of the elapsed time.

The straight line portion of Huntington's graph (fig. 3) would

if extrapolated cut the axis of abscissae at about 9000 years.

It is more probable that the graph approaches the axis of ab-

scissae asymptotically, since the straight line relationship would

lead to a shrinkage after 9000 years. The relationship ex-

pressed in equation (10) must therefore be restricted practically

to the period covered by the observations.

It is perhaps of more interest to -consider the rate of growth of

these old trees. In this connection let us determine how the

tree would increase in diameter if a uniform quantity of woody

tissue were laid down each year. We may for this purpose as-

sume the stem of the tree to have the form of a right cone with

a base radius r and height h, and we will also assume that the

height of the cone increases in proportion to the radius. We

may then look upon the growth each year as consisting of a thin

layer or shell of thickness dr wrapped closely about the cone.

The volume V of the trunk of this idealized tree at any time

would be

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 99

V = Ur-h (11)

or, since by assumption h = ar

V = i 7r«r3 (12)

The rate of growth would be

dV „dr /10v

= irar2 — (13)

dt dt

hence the necessary condition for a uniform growth rate is that

— = cr~ (14)

dr

where c is a constant.

Let us now examine Huntington's data for the Sequoia by

i±

plotting ~- against r2. If a portion of the resulting graph is a

ar

straight Jine, the growth-rate during the corresponding period

will be constant, subject of course to the assumption made re-

garding the form of the tree. This graph is presented in figure

4. It will be seen that the growth-rate decreases for values of

r- up to 30,000 cm2, corresponding to trees about 1200 years

of age. For values greater than this, however, the relationship

is approximately linear, i.e., the growth-rate is constant within

the errors of the determinations. The oldest trees included in

these measurements were over 3000 years of age. Since the

birth of Christ, therefore, these giant trees have been growing

at a practically uniform rate, save as that rate has been modi-

fied by weather conditions.

Gas exchange between the leaf and the air. We pass now to a

consideration of some of the physical processes within the plant.

We shall first consider the path by which carbon dioxide enters

the leaf. The rate of assimilation of carbon-dioxide by an ac-

tive leaf in bright sunlight is very great. In fact Brown and

Escombe have found that a Catalpa leaf in bright sunshine will

absorb carbon-dioxide at a rate one-half as fast as it would if the

lower surface of the leaf were covered with a film of caustic pot-

ash solution constantly renewed. The stomatal openings in the

100 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

BRIGGSI THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 101

leaf are extremely minute and their total area is only about 1

per cent of the leaf area. How does the carbon-dioxide enter

the leaf? Does the interchange of gas and water vapor between

the leaves and the air take place by means of diffusion through

the cuticle of the leaf? Or do the minute stomatal openings

provide the means of entrance and exit?

The early experiments of Boussingault,5 in which the rate of

assimilation of carbon-dioxide by leaves having their stomata

blocked with lard was compared with that of normal leaves, led

to the conclusion that the absorption of carbon-dioxide by the

leaf takes place by means of cuticular diffusion, and that the

stomata play little or no part in the process. The cuticular

diffusion hypothesis found favor also on account of the relatively

large surface available for diffusion compared with the area of

the stomatal openings.

Boussingault's experiments, however, were carried out in an

atmosphere abnormally high in carbon dioxide, and in 1895,

Blackman6 showed that the relative amount of carbon dioxide

assimilated by leaves with stomata blocked and free was depen-

dent upon the carbon dioxide content of the air. When the

carbon dioxide content was reduced to partial pressures corre-

sponding more nearly with atmospheric conditions, an Oleander

leaf with its stomata blocked showed a much lower assimilation

of carbon dioxide than a similar leaf with open stomata. In

other words, the high partial pressure of carbon dioxide in Bous-

singault's experiments resulted in a carbon dioxide poisoning

of the leaf having open stomata, and a corresponding reduction

in assimilation; whereas, in the case of the leaf with its stomata

blocked, sufficient protection was afforded to permit assimilation

to proceed normally. Blackman concluded that for partial

pressures of carbon dioxide approaching that in the atmosphere,

no appreciable diffusion through the cuticle of the leaf takes

place.

6 Boussingault, M. Etude sur les fonctions des feuilles. Agronomie, Chemie

Agricole et Physiologie, 4: 267-401. 1868.

6 Blackman, F. F. On the paths of gaseous exchange between aerial leaves and

the atmosphere. Phil. Trans., 186b: 508-562. 1895.

102 BRIGGSI THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

Living plants in the dark slowly give off carbon dioxide as a

respiration product, similar to animals. Blackmail made use

of this phenomenon in a further investigation of the function of

the stomata. Two constant currents of air free from carbon

dioxide were passed through capsules clamped to the leaf and

made tight with wax seals, and the amount of carbon dioxide

given up by the leaf determined. A summary of some of Black-

man's measurements is presented in table 2. The first three

plants are evergreens with a thick cuticle. The leaves of the

other plants investigated are thin, and those of Polygonum, in

particular, are extremely delicate. In all cases the stomata are

TABLE 2

Respiration of C02 in Cubic Centimeters per Hour from Upper and Lower

Surfaces of Leaves Having Stomata Confined to Lower Surfaces,

According to Blackman

PLANT

Nerium oleander

Prunus laurocerasus

Hedera helix

Platanus occidentalis ....

Ampelopsis hederacea. . . .

Polygonum sacchalinense

DEVELOPING LEAVES

Upper

surface

0.001

0.001

0.001

Lower

surface

0.147

0.085

0.075

Ratio

iotr

_2

1 0(7

10(5"

MATURE LEAVES

Upper

surface

0.002

0.002

0.002

0.001

0.003

0.002

Lower

surface

0.078

0.076

0.054

0.05

0.10

0.03

Ratio

3

io~o"

3

4

2

TO 75"

3

i oxf

6

To~7

confined to the under side of the leaf. Reference to the table will

show that the respiration is confined almost wholly to the

stomatal side of the leaf, the maximum respiration from the

upper side being only 6 per cent of that from the lower and in

most instances far less than this.

This capsule method was also employed by Blackman for in-

vestigating the relative rate of absorption of carbon dioxide by

the two sides of the leaf. Air containing a known amount of

carbon dioxide was passed through capsules provided with glass

faces, the surface of the leaves being brightly illuminated. The

air after traversing the capsules was analyzed for carbon di-

oxide. In this way, Blackman found that in the case of leaves

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

103

having their stomata all on the under side no carbon dioxide

was taken up by the upper surface of the leaf even in direct sun-

shine. On the other hand, in the case of leaves with stomata

on both sides, both the upper and the under side of the leaf

were active in assimilation.

We have seen that according to Brown and Escombe, absorp-

tion of carbon dioxide by the under side of the Catalpa leaf

proceeds about one-half as rapidly as it would if the leaf sur-

face were covered with a constantly renewed film of caustic soda.

If, then, the absorption of carbon dioxide takes place only through

the stomata, the total area of which when fully opened is only

TABLE 3

Diffusion of Carbon Dioxide Through Circular Apertures of Different

Diameters, According to Brown and Escombe

about 0.9 per cent of the area of the under side of the leaf, the

rate of diffusion per unit area through these openings must be

approximately 50 times the rate at which carbon dioxide is ab-

sorbed per unit area by a caustic soda solution of the same total

area as the leaf.

Diffusion through perforate septa. It will at once be noted

that the two systems just compared differ in one important re-

spect. The absorbing surface presented by caustic soda solu-

tion is in the form of a single continuous surface. The stomatal

system on the other hand is made up of minute elliptical openings

separated by intervals from 5 to 10 times the diameter of the

104 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

stomata. Is the diffusion-rate through a multi-perforate sep-

tum of this kind sufficient to account for the rate at which carbon

dioxide is absorbed by the leaf?

This problem was made the subject of an extensive investiga-

tion by Brown and Escombe7 in 1900. The diffusion of carbon

dioxide in cylinders partially filled wih caustic soda solutions

was first studied. When such cylinders were exposed in still air

it was found, as might be expected, that the amount of carbon

dioxide diffusing down the cylinders in a given time varied di-

rectly as the cross-sectional area of the cylinders and inversely

as their length. If, however, the diffusing tubes were par-

tially closed at the top by

septa with single circular

openings of different diam-

eters, the diffusion was

found to be proportional,

not to the areas of the

apertures, but approxi-

mately to their radii. In

other words, the diffusion

through small isolated cir-

cular openings proceeds

much more rapidly than

would be indicated by the

area of the opening. Some

of the results obtained by

Brown and Escombe, from which they developed the so-called

diameter law controlling stomatal diffusion, are given in table 3.

Brown and Escombe call attention to the analogy between the

diffusion system which they investigated and that of an elec-

trified disk. The electrostatic capacity of such a disk may be

shown from theoretical considerations to be proportional, not

to the area of the disk, but to its diameter. The equipotential

surfaces about such a disk (fig. 5) are ellipsoids having the edges

7 Brown, H. T., and Escombe, F. Static diffusion of gases and liquids in re-

lation to the assimilation of carbon and translocation in plants. Phil. Trans.,

193b: 223-291. 1900.

Fig. 5. Diffusion of carbon dioxide into a

stomatal opening of a leaf surrounded by still

air. The surfaces representing uniform par-

tial pressures of CO2 are ellipsoids, which are

cut at right angles by the diffusion stream

lines (hyperbolas). After Brown and Es-

combe.

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 105

of the disk as foci; while the lines of force along which an elec-

trified particle would move to the disk lie in the surfaces of

hyperboloids which cut the ellipsoids at right angles and have

their foci in the edges of the disk.

Consider the electrified disk to be replaced by a liquid film

which absorbs carbon-dioxide perfectly and which is surrounded

by still air. The ellipsoidal shells now become surfaces repre-

senting uniform concentrations of carbon-dioxide, and the

hyperboloidal shells represent surfaces along which the carbon-

dioxide molecules are streaming to the disk. It is evident that

the rate of diffusion through the absorbing surface is far greater

than for an equal area in free space; and if the electrostatic

analogy holds, the diffusion in unit time would be proportional

to the diameter of the disk, which is in accord with Brown and

Escombe's results.

We pass now to the consideration of multi-perforate septa.

It is evident that if the small openings through the septum were

sufficiently close together, one aperture would modify the stream

lines through another, and the diameter law would not hold.

This matter was experimentally investigated by Brown and

Escombe, using septa perforated with holes 0.38 nun. in diameter.

They concluded that when the distance between the apertures

is not less than ten times the diameter of an aperture, there is

no interference in the diffusion through neighboring holes.

It remains to be seen how closely the rate of diffusion of car-

bon-dioxide into the leaf of a plant may be calculated from the

diameter law, when the size and number of the stomatal openings

are known. Such calculations as a matter of fact lead to values

very much in excess of the actual quantity of carbon-dioxide

taken in by a leaf, even when it is assimilating most actively.

The maximum assimilation of carbon-dioxide by sunflower so

far recorded amounts to only 5 to 6 per cent of the possible as-

similation according to theory. This lack of agreement is

ascribed by Brown and Escombe to the fact that the cells in the

stomatal cavity are not perfect absorbers of carbon-dioxide ; in

other words that the partial pressure of carbon-dioxide at the

surface of these cells is not reduced to zero as assumed in the

106 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

theoretical deductions. This explanation is not altogether sat-

isfying and leads to the query whether the diameter law holds

when extrapolated to the degree necessary to apply to the

stomatal system. The smallest apertures used in the develop-

ment of the diameter relationship was about 2 mm., whereas the

diameter of the stomatal openings is of the order of 0.01 mm.

The rate of diffusion of water vapor outward through the

stomatal opening affords a possible method for checking Brown

and Escombe's deductions, which they do not appear to have

employed. By observing the diffusion-rate of water vapor in-

stead of carbon-dioxide the assumption regarding the imperfect

absorption of carbon-dioxide would be avoided. The determi-

nation of the vapor pressure in the interior of the leaf would be

necessary, but this could be made with a fair degree of accuracy

by measuring the temperature of the leaf and the concentration

of the cell contents.

It is of interest to consider in this connection the work of

Buckingham8 on the diffusion of carbon-dioxide through soils.

He found experimentally that the rate of diffusion varied as the

square of the porosity, the latter term denoting the volume of

the interstitial space between the soil grains unoccupied by

water, expressed in per cent of the total volume. He also

tested this observed relationship by assuming all the soil

grains to be removed, so that the porosity would be 100 per

cent. This should lead to the velocity of free diffusion of car-

bon-dioxide in air, and Buckingham's empirical equation gave

a result well in accord with previous determinations of free

diffusion by other investigators. It will at once appear that this

deduction departs widely from the diameter law of Brown and

Escombe. If we consider a volume of soil of unit thickness, the

porosity will be proportional to the integrated area of the

interstitial spaces in any plane parallel to the surface. If we

assume as a first approximation that the pores are uniform in

cross-section, then the porosity would be equal to the product

of the number of pores n and the cross-section a, or the diffusion

3 Buckingham, E. Contributions to our knowledge of the aeration of soils.

U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Soils Bulletin No. 25. 1904.

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 107

would be proportional to rfia?. According to Brown and Es-

combe the diffusion would be proportional to n\/a. While it is

evident that in this comparison we are not fulfilling one impor-

tant condition imposed by Brown and Escombe, namely, that

the pores shall be sufficiently far apart to avoid interference in

the diffusion stream lines, the two conclusions are at such great

variance as to invite a further examination of the diameter law.

The ascent of sap. We have to consider finally the means by

which the water is lifted to the tops of the highest trees, amount-

ing in the case of the Sequoia to a distance of 300 feet above the

ground.

Strasburger,9 by poisoning the cells of various plants, has

shown that the living elements of the wood play no essential

part in the elevation of the water. An oak nearly 22 meters

high cut off obliquely at its base and set in a picric acid solu-

tion was found to take up the poisonous solution readily. After

the acid had reached a height of 15 meters and the topmost

leaves had changed markedly in appearance, fuchsin was added

to the picric acid solution. At the end of nine days the highest

branches were found to be impregnated with picric acid, which

had been drawn up to a height of nearly 22 meters. Fuchsin

also was found in these branches, although preceded by the pic-

ric acid by three days. This experiment, then, demonstrated

that water solutions can rise in trees without the assistance of

living cells to heights far above those that can be accounted for

by atmospheric pressure. Strasburger also found that stems of

plants killed by subjecting them to a temperature of 90°C.

were still capable of raising water to a height of 10.5 meters.

We may, therefore, conclude that vital processes are not essen-

tial to the ascent of sap.

Of the numerous theories which have been advanced in ex-

planation of this phenomenon, that of Dixon and Joly10 alone

appears to be physically sound. According to these authors,

sap rises through the trunk of the tree as the result of evapora-

9 Strasburger, E. Ueber das Saftsteigen. Histol. Beitr., 5: 10. 1893.

10 Dixon, H. H., and Joly, J. On the ascent of sap. Phil. Trans., 186b: 563-

576. 1895.

108 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

tion from cells communicating with the stomatal cavities of the

leaf. The column is then, so to speak, hung from these leaf cells,

and is supported by the adhesion of the water to the walls of these

cells. We may consider the outer surfaces of these cells to be

saturated with water, which retreats into the wall tissue in such

a way as to form a great number of capillary surfaces of high cur-

vature, this curvature in fact being such as would be necessary

to support a capillary column of the observed height. If

through the evaporation of water from the leaves the curva-

ture tends to increase, the force exerted by these curved surfaces

will increase proportionally, and additional water will be drawn

from the soil, tending to restore the equilibrium.

It will at once be evident that this conception postulates

that water must have great cohesion, sufficient in fact to with-

stand the weight of a column 300 feet or more in height. Since

this is an essential condition of the theory, we may profitably

consider the cohesion of water in more detail.

Berthelot11 in 1850 showed that a column of water under

suitable conditions can withstand a very great tensile stress.

A strong capillary tube sealed at one end and drawn to a fine

point at the other was filled with water at a temperature of 30°.

The water was then cooled to 18° and the tube allowed to draw

in air, after which the tube was sealed. The tube was now heated

to 30° and the contained air was forced into solution, so that the

water occupied the entire volume of the tube. On again cooling

the tube to 18° it was found that the liquid continued to occupy

the entire volume of the tube. To produce a compression equal

to this observed dilatation would require a pressure of about

50 atmospheres, from which Berthelot concluded that a water

column is capable, under suitable conditions, of withstanding a

tensile stress of 50 atmospheres. Dixon, using Berthelot's

method, has concluded that the cohesive force of water per unit

cross-section amounts to at least 150 atmospheres. The water

used in his experiments was saturated with air and also con-

tained pieces of the conducting tracts of plants. The measure-

11 Berthelot, M. Sur quelques phenomenes de dilatation fore ee des liquides.

Ann. Chem. et de Phys., 30: 250. 1850.

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

109

ments were made through a series of temperatures ranging from

25° to 80°C.

Renner12 and Ursprung13 working independently, have re-

cently used the annulus cells of the spore cases of fern as a

means of measuring the cohesion of water. Both investigators

find that the cell contents of many of the spore cases may be

brought into equilibrium (through the vapor phase) with solu-

tions having an osmotic pressure of 300 atmospheres before the

limit of cohesion is reached and air bubbles appear in the

cells. All of these experiments appear to support the

conclusion that the cohesion of water is amply

sufficient to withstand the stresses in the stem of

a tree.

The cohesion of water may be easily demon-

strated, as Dixon has shown, by means of a

J-shaped sealed tube (fig. 6). A quantity of

water more than sufficient to fill the lower limb

is introduced into the tube, which is then par-

tially exhausted and sealed off. It is unneces-

sary to reduce the air pressure below 2 cm. of mercury; in

other words, the water may contain very appreciable quan-

tities of air. If the tube is now first inclined so that the

water fills the longer limb completely, which may be

over a meter in length, and is then carefully raised

to the position shown in figure 6, the water column

remains hanging from the top of the tube. On de-

stroying the cohesion of the column at some point

by a sharp blow, or preferably by heating a stout

platinum wire previously sealed through the wall of

the tube for this purpose, the water column sudden-

ly falls to the level determined by the gas pressure in the bulb.

Cohesion may also be readily demonstrated by a Bourdon

spring connected with a bulb through a flexible capillary tube.

Fig. 6. Sealed

tube for illus-

t rating the

cohesion of

water. The

water column

is shown hung

from the top

of the long

tube.

r-

12 Renner, 0. Theoretische und Experimentalles zur Kohasionstheorie der

Wasserbewegung. Jahrb. Wiss. Bot., 56: 617-667. 1915.

13 Ursprung, A. Ueber die Kohasion des Wassers in Farnannulus. Ber.

Deutsch. Bot. Gesells., 33: 153-162. 1915.

110 BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM

The system is completely filled with alcohol at room temperature

and sealed. The spring with its index is placed under a bell-jar,

which is then evacuated. On cooling the bulb, the spring will

close somewhat, due to the internal stress set up by the con-

tracting liquid. This stress may be demonstrated by heating

the capillary locally, thus breaking the liquid column, when the

spring will be observed to fly back suddenly to the unstressed

position. The stress exerted by the liquid at the time may be

found by determining the external pressure necessary to produce

the same distortion of the spring.

The channels in the stem of a tree through which water is

conducted are divided into minute compartments by means of

numerous longitudinal and transverse partitions. This con-

figuration seems ill adapted to the conduction of fluids; for while

the walls are permeable to water, they offer a great resistance to

its flow. But from the standpoint of the cohesion theory of the

ascent of sap this structure becomes, as Dixon14 has shown, a

beautiful adaptation of the plant to confer stability on the ten-

silely stressed transpiration stream. The ascending column of

water, interlaced by these innumerable permeable partitions, is

given great stability even though subjected to great tensile

stress.

Observers agree that air bubbles are of common occurrence

in the water ducts of the stems of plants. It is evident from

Dixon's experiments that dissolved air is not prejudicial to co-

hesion. But if a minute bubble appears in an experimental

tube in which the water is subjected to great stress the bubble

expands rapidly and the column is at once ruptured. How then

can the presence of air in the conducting channels be harmonized

with the cohesion theory of the rise of sap? Here the plant

again shows in the minute subdivisions of its conducting chan-

nels a beautiful provision against the interruption of its water

supply through the development of bubbles in the stem. If an

air bubble appears in one of the minute compartments, it may

expand, as Dixon has pointed out, until it fills the compartment,

14 Dixon, H. H. Transpiration and the ascent of sap. Progressus Rei Botan-

icae, 3 : 1-66. 1909.

BRIGGS: THE LIVING PLANT AS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM 111

but beyond that it can not go. As the air follows the water back

into the imbibing walls minute capillary surfaces of great curva-

ture are developed, which successfully withstand the pressure of

the gas from within, and what is far greater, the stresses from

without. This compartment then simply becomes inoperative.

The transpiration stream flows around it, as the waters of a

river flow around an island in its center.

When the world's supply of coal and oil is exhausted, man

will be reduced to the extremity of dependence upon solar engines,

water power, and wood as sources of energy, unless his ingenuity

has meantime been equal to the task of liberating the energy of

the atom. So far as we can see at present, wood and plant

products will then constitute, as in fact they do now, the only

means of storing in a readily transportable form the energy re-

ceived from the sun. Hence, efficiency in plant production

from the standpoint of both food and fuel promises to be a

problem of rapidly increasing importance as the years progress —

a problem which demands for its complete solution the fullest

possible understanding of the physical and chemical processes

associated with plant growth.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 782nd meeting was held at the Cosmos Club, January 20, 1917.

President Buckingham in the chair; 88 persons present. The min-

utes of the 781st meeting were read in abstract and approved.

The evening was devoted to hearing the address of the retiring

President, Mr. Lyman J. Briggs, on The living plant as a physical

system. The address is published in this Journal, 7: 89-111. 1917.

Donald H. Sweet, Secretary.

THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 260th meeting of the society was held at the Cosmos Club,

April 13, 1916. Dr. C. L. Parsons, Secretary of the American Chemi-

cal Society, presented announcements in relation to the Spring Meeting

of the society at Urbana, 111. and the projected work of the Naval

Advisory Board in its attempt to inventory the resources of the coun-

try. Dr. Parsons represents the Chemical Society in this work in the

District of Columbia. The following program was presented:

H. W. Daudt, Bureau of Chemistry: Investigations of the Kjeldahl

method of determining nitrogen.

The proper conditions for the complete decomposition of refrac-

tory compounds of nitrogen with acid ammonium sulphate were dis-

cussed. Mercuric oxide cannot be replaced by other catalysts, or

potassium sulphate by sodium sulphate. The results of analyses of

compounds of various constitutions were discussed.

A new aeration apparatus is devised for this determination.

Folin's method for determining ammonia is adapted to the Kjeldahl

method. All the operation, including the measurement and addition

of the sodium hydroxide, the passing of air through the resulting alka-

line solution, and the absorption of the ammonia in standard acid solu-

tion, are carried on by means of air pressure or suction. The advan-

tages over the more commonly used distillation method were discussed.

(Author's abstract.)

J. M. Johnson, Bureau of Chemistry: A fourth pentacetate of galac-

tose.

In continuation of the work on the preparation of the various iso-

meric acetates of the sugars, carried out in conjunction with Hudson,

a fourth crystalline pentacetate of galactose, having properties quite

distinct from those of the three known isomers, has been isolated.

An account of the method of preparation and properties was presented.

112

proceedings: chemical society 113

E. A. Hill, Patent Office: Van't Hoff's principle of optical super-

position. The lactonic constitution of the aldose sugars and the mela-

saccharins and the constants from which their specific rotatory powers can

be computed.

By a comparison of the experimental values with the values of the

specific rotation computed on the basis of certain assumptions as to

constitution and structure, it is shown:

1. That in carbohydrates and their derivatives having a plurality

of asymmetric carbon atoms, more particularly the aldose sugars

(provided we assume the modern 7-oxidic or lactonic ring theory of

their structure), the specific rotation [a\d is the algebraic sum of certain

constants corresponding to such asymmetric atoms so that, if A, a, /3,

7, 8, etc., be the constants for a given group of active isomers, the

specific rotation will be given by the formula;

[a]d = ±.4±a±/3±7±5 . . .

2. That Van't Hoff's so-called principle of optical superposition is

therefore valid for these cases.

3. That the 7-oxidic or lactonic ring theory of these sugars, which

has been used to explain the phenomenon of mutarotation, is thereby

confirmed.

The agreement between observed and computed values is very sat-

isfactory in each of the five groups presented. Thus, in both the

aldopentose and aldohexose sugars the maximum difference does not

exceed 1 per cent and the average difference is 0.1 per cent of the ob-

served values.

The methods used for computing the constants are: 1st, a strictly

algebraic method; 2nd, a method similar to that used by Dr. Hudson

in computing his quantity A and which is as follows: When the

structural formulas of two active isomers differ only in the configura-

tion of one and the same asymmetric atom, the algebraic difference of

their specific rotations will be twice the value of the constant of such

atom.

The 261st meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall

of the Y. M. C. A. Building, May 11, 1916. Amendments to the con-

stitution were adopted abolishing the office of first and second vice-

presidents, the present incumbents to become members of the Execu-

tive Committee, the membership of which was increased to six elected

members. Mr. F. C. Cook was elected member of the Executive Com-

mittee to succeed H. M. Loomis, retiring from the section. The fol-

lowing resolution presented by a special committee consisting of J. A.

LeClerc, J. T. Keister, and H. S. Bailey was adopted:

In the death of Prof. George E. Patrick the Chemical Society of Washington

has lost one of its oldest members. Professor Patrick was ever a faithful attend-

ant at its meetings and frequently took an active part in the discussions.

114 proceedings: chemical society

He was a man of broad discernment and of high ideals, brave, yet unob-

trusive. One of his most noble deeds was the gift of several thousand dollars

to The University of Kansas, a large part of the yearly proceeds of which is to be

presented to the student preparing the best essay on Applied Christianity.

The Chemical Society of Washington records with sorrow the death of their

fellow member and hereby places this meager testimony of his worth in its

minutes.

The following program consisting of papers from the Hygienic

Laboratory was presented :

C. N. Myers: The preparation of heavy metal salts of certain organic

acids.

An account of the methods of preparation and the properties of some

of the less commonly known heavy metal salts of organic acids was

given. These salts were prepared for use in such pharmacological

investigations as are mentioned in the following abstract.

G. C. Lake: Some observations on the toxicity and chemotherapy of

the heavy metals.

This paper is a brief report on. work done, under the direction of

Prof. Voegtlin, with the lactates and thioglycollates of nearly all the

heavy metals. Toxidty was determined on rats and guinea pigs by

several routes of injection, the dosage being based on actual content

of metal, and given in mgs. per kg. of body weight. The action and

pathology were studied to some extent. It was found that all are rela-

tively toxic provided they enter the circulation. There seems to be no

constant relation between toxicity and atomic -weight of the metal or

its position in the periodic system. The preparations were all studied

in relation to their action on Tr. Brucei in vitro and in vivo, using rats

and guinea pigs. The only preparation giving any marked trypano-

cidal action was an antimonial. The great specificity of drugs in re-

gard to their chemotherapeutic action is again emphasized by this

work. (Author's abstract.)

Elias Elvove: The 'separation and determination of small amounts

of antimony.

Small amounts of antimony (less than 1 mg.) can be estimated by

comparing the color produced by treating the unknown solution with

hydrogen sulphide water, with the colors similarly produced in solu-

tions containing known amounts of antimony. As little as one-

hundredth of a milligram of antimony in 20 cc. can be detected by

means of the hydrogen sulphide test. The antimony sulphide result-

ing from amounts of antimony up to about 0.1 mg. in 25 cc. remains in

colloidal solution for an hour or two and thus admits of its colorimetric

estimation. In the presence of arsenic and tin (up to 5 mg.) the arsenic

is first separated as ammonium magnesium arsenate by the aid of the

simultaneous phosphate precipitation of Smith (Bur. Chem. Cir. No.

102). The filtrate is boiled down to about 10 cc, cooled, made up to

15 cc. with water acidified with 1 cc. concentrated hydrochloric acid

(Sp. gr. 1. 19) and boiled for two minutes. After cooling, it is diluted

again to 15 cc. with water further acidified by adding 5 cc. of

proceedings: botanical society 115

concentrated hydrochloric acid, and then mixed with 5 cc.of a satu-

rated solution of hydrogen sulphide. This concentration of hydro-

chloric acid serves to keep the tin in solution but does not prevent the

antimony from reacting with the hydrogen sulphide. The antimony

standards are prepared simultaneously with the carrying out of the

determination and are subjected to exactly the same treatment as the

unknown. (Author's abstract.)

The 262nd meeting was held at the New National Museum as a

joint meeting with the Washington Society of Engineers, May 24,

1916. The illustrated lecture of the evening was given by Mr. Joseph

Steinmetz, President of tht Aero Club of Pennsylvania, on The ma-

chine shop and the chemical laboratory as related to national preparedness

for defense.

E. C. McKelvy, Secretary.

THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 114th regular meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly

Hall of the Cosmos Club, Tuesday, October 3, 1916. Twenty-four

members and six guests were present. The program consisted of the

following papers:

Dr. C. A. Davis, an appreciation. David White: To be published

elsewhere.

R. M. Meade, an appreciation. F. L. Lewton:

Rowland Montgomery Meade, a most promising young botanist

connected with the United States Department of Agriculture, died at

San Antonio, Texas, June 25, 1916, a few weeks after his twenty-

seventh birthday. He was born at Clyde, New York, May 16, 1889,

graduated at the high school of his home town, and on the recom-

mendation of Mr. O. F. Cook was appointed, March 15, 1905, as an

assistant in experiments with boll-weevil resistant cotton. In 1907,

as field agent, he accompanied Mr. Cook to Guatemala, to aid him in

his studies of tropical species of cotton and his experiments with cot-

ton insects. On July 1, 1908, after passing a civil service examination,

he was appointed a Scientific Assistant in the Bureau of Plant In-

dustry, and he continued his investigations in connection with the

cotton plant in Texas, Arizona, and California. In December, 1908,

he was elected to membership in the Botanical Society of Washington.

On March 1, 1916, he was appointed superintendent of the experi-

mental farm at San Antonio, Texas, under the office of Western Irri-

gation Agriculture. It was while performing his duties under this

assignment that he was stricken with amoebic dysentery and died

after an illness of ten days. He leaves a wife and an infant son. All

those who came in contact with Roland Meade were attracted by his

personal charm and sunny temperament and recognized his mental

alertness, which gave promise for a bright future. His interest in grow-

ing plants was intense. He looked upon them as real living things,

110 proceedings: botanical society

and delighted to watch their morphological responses to changes of

environment. He devised methods of describing and tabulating the

minute differences of individual plants, as may be seen in his published

papers. The following list of United States Department of Agricul-

ture publications indicates the nature of his studies:

Supernumerary Carpels in Cotton Bolls. Bur. PI. Ind. Circ. 111.

Methods of Securing Self-Pollination in Cotton. Bur. PI. Ind.

Circ. 121. ,. . , . . ^ _

A Study of Diversity in Egyptian Cotton (joint author with O. F.

Cook and A. McLachlan). Bur. PI. Ind. Bull. 156.

Arrangement of Parts in the Cotton Plant. Bur. PI. Ind. Bull. 222.

Single-Stalk Cotton Culture at San Antonio. Dept. Bull. 279.

Roland Meade's many friends in this Society and the Department

of Agriculture will always remember him as a clean, lovable young

man of great promise, who was cut off at the beginning of his life's

work.

Experiments in the use of peat in the greenhouse (with lantern) : H. C.

Thompson.

Four years experimental work in growing greenhouse crops on

muck soils shows that there is a greater difference in the productive-

ness of the various types than can be accounted for on the basis of

fertilizing elements present. Three types of muck soil were used in

the experiments. The type showing the smallest percentage of ni-

trogen and potash produced the largest yields of lettuce, cauliflower,

and tomatoes. This was true of the pure muck plats as well as all

plats containing muck and clay mixtures (mixtures 75 per cent muck

and 25 per cent clay, to 12.5 per cent muck and 87.5 per cent clay).

The difference in yields where the various types of mucks were used was

probably due to the physical condition and to the organic life in the

soil. In a field experiment the muck showing, on analysis, the high-

est nitrogen content gave the greatest increase in yield when manure

was used. This increase from manure could not possibly be ac-

counted for on the basis of plant food, as plats treated with large quan-

tities of complete fertilizers showed a still greater increase when manure

was applied. The manure was of special value in inoculating the soil

with beneficial organisms. The muck producing the largest yield in the

greenhouses showed no increase from the use of manure that could

not be accounted for on the basis of plant food. It is interesting to

Qote that the soil producing the largest yield in the greenhouse has

been under cultivation much longer than the one producing the smaller

yield.

The soil giving the best results produced good yields of lettuce,

cauliflower, tomatoes, carnations, and roses. With the first two crops

the pure muck plats produced the largest yields, while with tomatoes,

carnations, and roses the mixture containing 50 per cent muck and 50

per cent clay produced the largest yields. All mixtures containing 50

per cent or more muck produced greater yields of lettuce, cauliflower,

id tomatoes than a mixture containing 3 parts clay, 1 part sand, and

proceedings: botanical society 117

2 parts well rotted manure. In fact, 25 per cent muck practically

equalled 33.5 per cent manure.

The speaker concludes that a good type of cultivated muck soil is

valuable for greenhouse work and might be used to take the place of a

part or all of the manure. However, it is doubtful if it would be prac-

ticable to use muck soil for greenhouse work except where it could be

secured near at hand at a low cost.

The origin and use of upland peat (with lantern) : Frederick V.

COVILLE.

Upland peat, formed in thickets of laurel (Kalmia latifolia), was

used experimentally in growing various species of plants. Among

those successfully grown were a number of rare species seldom seen in

cultivation and very difficult to propagate, including plants belonging

to the Ericaceae, or heath family, which cannot be grown with suc-

cess in ordinary soils. The list includes also several insectivorous

plants and orchids.

Perhaps the most interesting and striking of all is an ornamental

tree, Franklinia alatamaha, discovered in 1765 by Bartram and named

in honor of Benjamin Franklin. It has beautiful white, sweet-scented

flowers resembling those of a magnolia, but with one of the petals

modified to a pouch-like form. This plant, originally from Georgia,

is not now known to exist in the wild state. Closely allied to it but

with evergreen instead of deciduous leaves is the Gordonia lasianthus,

of the Southern States, sometimes known as black laurel or loblolly

bay. Among our native orchids are the royal lady's slipper, Cypri-

pedium reginae, and the pink-flowered C. acaule. A fit companion

to them is an exquisite climbing lily-like plant sometimes called the

empress lily (Lapageria rosea) with pendant flowers. This plant, dis-

covered in the forest region of Chile, takes its generic name from

that of the family of the Empress Josephine. Among insectivorous

plants successfully grown are Drosera rotundifolia and other sundews;

the curious Venus's flytrap {Dionaea muscipula) ; Utricularia subulata

and U. cleistogama of sandy swamps and pine barrens. Other plants

are Cornus canadensis, the dwarf dogwood or bunch berry; the fra-

grant twin-flower (Linnaea borealis) ; Pinckneya pubens, with flowers

having inconspicuous petals but with a remarkable calyx of which one

or two of the lobes are expanded into large conspicuous blades; and

Viola pedata, the pansy violet of our rocky woods and sterile hills,

with palmate leaves and velvety upper petals.

Among the Ericales are Clethra alnifolia, the sweet pepper bush of

the Atlantic coast; Dendrium prostratum, the sand myrtle of the pine

barrens; Azalea vaseyi, a remarkably beautiful pink-flowered species

from the Appalachian region; A. lutea, with orange or yellow flowers;

the common A. nudifiora; A. viscosa, with sweet-scented white flowers;

and the cultivated Indian Azalea (A. indica). The list also includes

Rhododendron maximum, the rose bay laurel; R. carolinianum; and R.

praecoz, an interesting early-blooming hybrid formed from R. dahuri-

cam from the Lake Baikal district of Siberia and R. ciliatum of the

US proceedings: biological society

Himalayas: Kalmia Utifolia, the mountain laurel; and K angusti-

folia commonly known as lamb kill or sheep laurel; Leucothoe cates-

with racemes of white flowers; Eubotrys racemosa, a coastal swamp

plant • Pieris floribunda, an evergreen shrub of the Southern States;

P jdpmica, with long pendant racemes of white flowers; Neopiens

nitida; Epigaea repens, the trailing arbutus or mayflower; Gaultheria

procumbens, the aromatic wintergreen ; and Pernettya mucronata, from

the Magellan region. Among the heaths are Calluna vulgaris, the

heather of Scotland; Daboecia polifolia, Irish heather; various

species of heath from Europe and the Cape of Good Hope; Gaylus-

sacia dumosa, the dwarf huckleberry; G. frondosa, the dangleberry;

G. ursina, the bear huckleberry of the southern mountains; Pohjco-

dium stamineum, the squaw huckleberry or deer berry; Vacnnium

membranaceum; V. parvifolium, the red fruited whortleberry of the

northwest coast; V. reticulatum, the "ohelo" of Hawaii; V. myrsmites,

the evergreen blueberry of Florida; V. vacillans; V. corymbosum, the

high blueberry; V. pallidum; V. hirsutum; V. erythrocarpum, of the

Alleghenv Mountains; V. vitis-idaea, a circumpolar evergreen species;

V. canadense; V. angustifolium; V. nigrum; V. simulatum; V. atro-

coccum; V. ovatum, of the Pacific coast; and V. ciliatum, the Japanese

species. In addition to these species of Vaccinium there are also

hybrids between several species. The list also includes Oxijcoccus

macrocarpus, the large American cranberry; Arbutus unedo, the Medi-

terranean madrono or strawberry tree; A. canariensis, with large edible

fruit, from the Canary Islands; A. arizonica, from Arizona; and A.

menziesii from the Pacific coast of North America.

The Rubiaceae are represented by the partridge berry, Mitchella

repens; the Empetraceae by the circumpolar crowberry, Empetrum

nigrum; and the Galacaceae by the well known evergreen Galax aphylla

of our southern woods.

In addition to these may be mentioned a handsome gentian of the

pine barrens, Gentiana porphyria, with flowers two inches in diameter;

a dwarf fern, Schizaea pusilla; several species of Sphagnum, including

S. cymbifolium; and two exotic plants with exquisitely fragrant flow-

ers, Daphne odora from India, and D. blagayana from the Balkan region.

W. E. Safford, Corresponding Secretary.

THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 563rd meeting of the Biological Society of Washington was

held at the Cosmos Club, Saturday, January 13, 1917; called to order

by President Hay at 8 p.m. with 45 persons in attendance.

On recommendation of the council Dr. George W. Field, of the

Biological Survey, was elected to membership.

President Hay announced as Committee on Publications: C. W.

Richmond, J. H. Riley, Ned Dearborn, W. L. McAtee; and as

Committee on Communications: William Palmer, Alex. Wetmore,

R. E. Coker, L. 0. Howard, A. S. Hitchcock.

proceedings: biological society 119

Under the heading of Brief Notes, W. L. McAtee and Alex. Wet-

moke called attention to the presence of white-winged crossbills in the

vicinity of Washington, constituting the second authentic record of

this species in the District fauna. The first specimen was seen by

Mr. McAtee on December 10, 1916, in a flock of American crossbills.

Later, on December 24, 27, and 30, other specimens were seen, as

single birds and also in flocks, Mr. Wetmore having seen as many as

forty birds together. In contrast to this unusual visit of a northern

bird Mr. McAtee mentioned the lingering of summer birds, having

noted a Cape May warbler on December 6, and a bluegray gnat-

catcher about January 1. He mentioned also having found a box

turtle out and active on January 7, 1917.

Mr. E. A. Goldman mentioned the reported occurrence of Hud-

sonian chickadees in the vicinity of New York City and Boston.

Mr. A. S. Hitchcock called attention to the unusual precautions

that were being taken in the cai-e of the Linnaean Herbarium to pro-

tect it from damage by aircraft.

The regular program was as follows:

L. O. Howard: Some European experiences with entomologists.

Under this title Dr. Howard read three short papers, entitled

"Rennes and Rene Oberthiir," "An Entomological Trip to the Cri-

mea," and "The Episode of Theophile Gautier," all illustrated with

lantern slides. In the first he described the personality of Rene Ober-

thiir, one of the great amateur collectors of insects in Europe, and his

beautiful place at Rennes where he has a private museum, an extra-

ordinary arboretum, and one of the largest collections of orchids in

existence. He spoke at some length of the very important volun-

tary assistance which M. Oberthiir had given the Bureau of Ento-

mology in the collection and importation of the parasites of the gipsy

moth and the brown-tailed moth from Europe into the United States,

and gave an account of an automobile journey through Brittany and

Normandy in the summer of 1909, on which he was accompanied by

M. Oberthiir and by Paul Marchal of the Station Entomologique de

Paris.

In the second paper he described a journey from Budapest through

Lemberg to Kiew in 1907; the establishment of an experimental sta-

tion at Kiew under the direction of Prof. Waldemar Pospielow of the

University of Kiew; "the journey thence to Sebastopol, Bachtisserai,

and Simferopol, the reginal museum at the latter place under the charge

of Prof. Sigismond Mokchetsky; and the excellent work in economic

entomology done by Professor Mokchetsky in the Crimea. He men-

tioned also the old palace of the Khan of the Crimea at Bachtisserai

and the marine zoological laboratory at Sebastopol.

In the concluding episode he described his personal experiences in

1910 and 1912 with Theophile Gautier, one of the most successful rose

growers of France, at Angers, a man of the simplest appearance and

habits and of the highest standing in horticultural circles and an

Officier of the order of Merite Agricole.

120 proceedings: biological society

H. C. Oberholser: Recent additions to the list of North American

birds.

Mr. Oberholser said that the period from 1910 to 1916 inclusive

was one of great ornithological activity. During this period fully 125

species and subspecies were added to the list of birds known from

North America. Most of these additions resulted from the descrip-

tion of new subspecies or the revival of hitherto unrecognized forms,

which together amount to over 100, among the most interesting being

five new subspecies from Newfoundland. Two distinct species were

described from North America during this time: Aestrelata cahow

from the Bermuda Islands, and a remarkable new gull, allied to Larus

calif ornicus, called Larus thayeri, from Ellesmere Land. Also a num-

ber of extralimital forms were for the first time detected within our

boundaries, among the most notable of which might be mentioned

Puffinus carneipes taken in California; Totanus totanus from Green-

land; Calliope calliope camtschaikensis and Hypocentor rusticus, both

from Kiska Island, Alaska; Nyroca ferina, Marila fuligula, Clangula

clangula clangula, Cryptoglaux funerea funerea, Coccothaustes cocco-

thaustes japonicus, and Fringilla montifringilla, all from the Pribilof

Islands; Poecilonetta bahamensis from Florida; Petrochelidon fulva

pallida from Texas; and Tyrannus melancholicus satrapa from Maine.

William Palmer: The fossil seacow of Maryland.

Mr. Palmer exhibited the fifth thoracic neural arch of a sirenian

which was shown to be unlike that of the manatee and to agree abso-

lutely, except in size, with a similar bone of Steller's seacow (Hydro-

damalis) from Bering Sea. The specimen was found, freshly fallen,

under a cliff of the Calvert Miocene on the western shore of Maryland.

It was suggested that the species was living during the period follow-

ing the first erosion of the Cretaceous and the deposition of the Eocene,

as all the specimens so far found in the Miocene were clearly redeposits

from an earlier age.

M. W. Lyon, Jr., Recording Secretary.

JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII MARCH 4, 1917 No. 5

BOTANY. — The Mascarene cabbage palm as a new genus. O. F.

Cook, Bureau of Plant Industry.

Soon after landing at Payta, in northern Peru, March 24, 1915,

my attention was attracted by a palm growing in the garden of

the plaza. Seen from a distance there was a marked similarity

in habit and general appearance to the coconut palm, but the

proportions were smaller throughout. With a closer view it was

soon apparent that the palm did not belong to any American

group but to the Old World family Arecaceae, natives of the

islands and shores of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Relation-

ship with the genus Loroma, described in a former volume of

this Journal,1 became apparent from an examination of the

flowers and fruits, and notes were made of the following features :

Trunk riniose, about 6 inches in diameter, thickened at the base to

a foot or over, bearing a crown of about 12 leaves, of the general form,

texture, and light yellowish-green color of the leaves of the coconut

palm, but only about half as long (7-8 feet), with 60-62 pinnae on each

side of the rachis. Leaf sheaths grayish, scaly on the back. Lowest

pinnae much reduced, the first measuring 8 mm. wide by about 18 cm.

long, remaining connected with those above by long marginal ribbons.

Second pinnae 9 nun. by 17 cm.; fifth pinnae 1.3 cm. by 28 cm., split

at tip; middle pinnae 5.3 by 87 cm., split at the tip a distance of 10-

12 cm.; penultimate pinnae 2.8 by 35 cm.; uppermost pinnae about

2.7 cm. by 30 cm., but irregular, consisting of 2-3 small united seg-

ments.

Inflorescence attaining a length of 62 cm., the basal joint 4 cm. long,

very broad, encircling the trunk. Second joint 1 cm. long, the branches

1 Jo urn. Wash. Acad. Sci., 5: 117. 1915.

121

122 cook: the mascarene cabbage palm

beginning only 1 cm. or less above the spathe scar. Branches 58, all

simple, attaining a length of 45-53 cm., about 5 mm. thick, at base

1 cm. or more, tapering to the apex. Total length of axis 32 cm.,

26 cm. above lowest branch.

Buds and flowers light green, the petals somewhat yellowish green,

the sepals paler and more whitish. Filaments and pistillode white.

Anthers and pollen rather dull, light yellow or buff. Flowers mostly

in groups of two, in broad impressions or notches; only staminate

(lowers on the branch collected. Pistillate flowers with the calyx

n inch larger, and petals imbricate instead of valvate, as shown on the

fruits. Pistillode narrowly conic, from a somewhat broader base,

slightly iobed at apex, over half as long as the filaments. Mature

fruits purplish, with grayish bloom in the wrinkles, pointed-oval, 1.6

cm. long, 9mm. wide, with a mesocarp of vertical fibers and an endo-

carp of columnar shell tissue, as in Loroma and Archontophoenix.

Seeds 1.1 cm. long by 7 mm. wide, oval, showing an open network of

ruminations, much plainer than in Archontophoenix.

Examined afterward at Washington, the seeds seemed to be

the same as those representing Dictyosperma album (Bory) in the

collections. The species is a native of the Mascarene Islands in

the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, and is rather well known

liorticulturally.

Nevertheless, the identification appeared unsatisfactory be-

cause the generic description of Dictyosperma was in some repects

distinctly inapplicable, and the availability of the name Dictyo-

sperma was brought into question by Mr. S. C. Stuntz. The

same name had been used twice before being applied to the

palm, first in the form Dyctisperma, proposed by Rafinesque in

1838 for a genus of Rubiaceae, and again as Dictyospermum,

applied by Wight in 1853 to a genus of spiderworts. Its appli-

cation to a genus of palms, in the form Dictyosperma, dates from

1875. Still another version, Dyctosperma, perhaps accidental,

appeared in a list of palms published by Wendland in 1878.2

No detailed description or reference to particular material is

given in connection with the original description of Dictyosperma,

but the distribution, " Insulae Borboniae et Franciae," is stated,

also the u Species typica: Areca alba Bory."3 But in spite of the

Kerchove de Denterghem, O. Les Palmiers, p. 254. 1878.

•Wendland, H., and Drtjde, O. Palmae Auslralasicae, Linnaea, 39: 181.

1875.

cook: the mascarene cabbage palm 123

designation of a generic type the application of the name Dictyo-

sperma appears somewhat uncertain. The possibility has to be

considered that the genus was not in reality based on the true

Areca alba Bory, but upon some other palm or palms whose

characters had been adopted as those of Bory's species. The

original description of the genus includes several characters that

do not appear in the palm studied at Payta. In this the flowers

are crowded irregularly and are often in pairs or solitary, instead

of being arranged in clusters of three, distichous at the base of

the branches and in spirals above. The pistillode is conic and

tapering instead of long and columnar, and the fruit rather nar-

rowly conic-oval, instead of globose-elliptic.

Thus the problem is not merely to find a name that can be

used in place of Dictyosperma, if this be rejected as a homonym,

but to have a generic designation that is more definitely appli-

cable to the palm current in the horticultural world as Areca

alba or Dictyosperma album. Under the circumstances it appears

inadvisable to propose a new name merely as a substitute for

Dictyosperma, since this might carry over to the future the

same uncertainty that now attends the application of this

generic name. These possibilities of further confusion may be

reduced by considering the specimens collected at Payta as type

material of a new genus, for which the name Linoma is proposed.

The specimens have been labeled Linoma alba (Bory), deposited

in the U. S. National Herbarium, and catalogued under numbers

866367; 866368, 866369, and 866370.

Linoma Cook, gen. nov.

Trunk solitary, rather robust, distinctly enlarged at base, with

rather short internodes and deeply impressed leaf-scars. Leaves large,

compound, with very numerous lanceolate pinnae, slender, splitting

at the tip, not praemorse.

Spathes two, both complete, thin and membranous in texture,

promptlv deciduous as soon as released by the fall of the subtending

leaf.

Inflorescence with numerous, simple, tapering branches, the flowers

crowded irregularly on the axis, inserted singly or in pairs in distinct

notches or pits.

Flowers pale green, the staminate with small, triangular sepals,

rather thick and fleshy in the middle, prominent or somewhat carinate

124 cook: the mascarene cabbage palm

on the back; petals oblong-oval, narrowed and somewhat apiculate at

the tip, valvate in the bud; stamens 6, the anthers much longer than

the filaments in the bud, but exserted at anthesis, when the filaments

somewhat exceed the petals. Pistillode tapering gradually from a

rather robust conic base, distinctly but minutely tridentate at apex,

distinctly exceeded by the mature filaments. Pistillate flowers with

sepals Mini pistils similar, broadly suborbicular, subcordate at base, the

petals over twice as long as the sepals, somewhat apiculate at apex,

widely overlapping to form a rather deep cup. Stammodes minute,

broadly triangular, persistent.

Fruit dull purplish at maturity, nearly symmetrical, rather narrowly

conic-oval or subfusiform, tapering abruptly below but much more

gradually above, and with an abruptly shouldered apical stigma-scar;

pericarp fleshy, greenish, very thin, when dry adherent to the thin

mesocarp, and this in turn to the thin, bony endocarp; mesocarp

fibers fine, close-set, frequently branched or anastomosing but the

branches not diverging; endocarp thin and fragile, but consisting of

a distinct laver of bony palisade tissue, as in Archontophoenix.

Seed oval, somewhat flattened at the base and slightly apiculate

above at the chalaza; raphe scarcely impressed, without distinct fibers,

but j>;ivin<i- rise at the chalaza and sparingly elsewhere to an open

aetwork of impressed fibers following the grooves of the deep radial

ruminations. Embrj^o erect, basal.

. As diagnostic characters may be mentioned the simply branched

inflorescence, the small number of stamens, the rather narrowly oval

fruit and seed, the mesocarp of fine compact fibers, and the bony endo-

carp. The last feature is shared with Archontophoenix, but not the

others. The broad coarse mesocarp fibers and adherent endocarp of

Loroma are very different.

In general habit and aspect Linoma is not unlike Loroma, which

shares the attractive resemblance to the coconut palm. A few days

after Leaving Payta a fine display of Loroma was seen in the Plaza

de Armas, at Lima, in front of the Cathedral where tourists goto pay

their respects to the bones of Pizarro.

The generic name alludes to the fine, compact texture of the fibrous

mesocarp layer of the fruit, a feature which distinguishes at once this

genus from Loroma and Archontophoenix.

The mesocarp filters are much more numerous, finer, and closer than

those of Loroma. The individual fibers begin to branch not far above

the base, and the divisions often split again near the middle of the seed,

and then taper gradually, becoming very delicate before the apex is

reached. .\11 of the fibers are very closely united, forming a much

thinner and more compact coal than in Loroma or Archontophoenix.

cook: the mascarene cabbage palm 125

Two of the fibers lying above the raphe are thicker and more prom-

inent than the others and remain unbranched.

The lack of fibers on the raphe is a rather peculiar feature. A verti-

cal band of a paler color is visible on the inside of the endocarp running

from a basal expansion below the embryo to an apical pit at the chalaza.

Five or six of the grooves corresponding to the ruminations radiate

from the chalaza. The seed when sectioned transversely near the

middle also shows grooves, as more or less regular radial divisions

around a solid central core. The number of radiating grooves varies

from 8 to 11.

The shape of the seed may be considered as a resemblance to Sea-

forthia and Ptychosperma, but there are no indications of the broad

longitudinal grooves that characterize the seeds of those genera.

The characters of the pistillodes in this group of palms show an

unusual form of specialization of these rudimentary organs. The

usual tendency in the evolution of unisexual flowers is to reduce the

functionless organs, or to suppress them altogether. The staminodes

of these palms are mere rudiments of stamens, but the pistillodes

show distinct tendencies to share the characters of the filaments, in

size, form, and texture. This tendency is least apparent in Loroma,

is moderately pronounced in Linoma, and is best developed in Sea-

forthia and Archontophoenix, where the pistillodes even exceed the

filaments. Whether the pistillode will be found in any case to be

replaced by a normal functional stamen, remains to be seen. Such

a change, in which one organ assumes characters that belonged origi-

nally to another, is recognized as representing a general class of evolu-

tionary phenomena called translocation or metaphanic variations.4

The spathes when fresh are of a thin, fleshy or membranous texture,

the inner more delicate, becoming chartaceous when dry and splitting

readily into longitudinal shreds. As in Loroma the original function

of the spathes in protecting the young inflorescences has been assumed

by the leaf sheaths. The inflorescence with its spathes remains com-

pletely enclosed by the leaf sheath until the flowering stage is reached,

being unable to emerge until the leaf falls. Very soon after this the

spathes also fall off and the flowers open. The outer and inner spathes

of Linoma are both complete, and of nearly equal length, but the outer

is much broader. The margins are broadly carinate-alate, with the

edges very thin and densely pilose, at least near the apex.

4 Cook, O. F. Br achy sm, a hereditary deformity of cotton and other plants.

Journ. Agr. Research, 4: 397. 1915.

iV>

126 cook: the mascarene cabbage palm

The inner spathes also have a distinct but very narrow carina on

each side, running about halfway up. The tip is distinctly apiculate,

bu1 not produced. The outer surface is even, but dull, and of a rather

light rusty-brown color, while the inner surface appears smooth and

shining, bu1 is marked with distinct slightly prominent longitudinal

brownish lines, with finer lines and wrinkles between, representing

the finer ramifications of the fibro-vascular system.

The number of pinnae and several other features noted at Payta

seem not to have been recorded before. Bory and Martius refer to

p.tioles and other parts of leaves as sometimes tinged with red, which

may have caused confusion with another palm from Reunion, de-

scribed by Bory as Areca rubra, but now placed in the genus Acantho-

phoenix. It is distinguished readily by the presence of spines on the

trunks and leaf-bases. A third species, Areca crinita, also described

by Bory from the same island, has the trunk and leaf-bases clothed

with slender curved spines and hairs. This also is referred by modern

botanists to Acanthophoenix.

It appears from Bory's account that all three species afford edible

"cabbages," but the species now referred to Acanthophoenix are said

to grow in the mountains, while Areca alba is said to prefer the shores

and inhabited parts of the island.

It might be presumed that this is the species that is now put up

in tins and shipped to Europe and America as a salad delicacy,

under the name "hearts of palms" (coeur de palmier). A study of a

specimen of this commercial product shows the presence of minute

slender spines embedded in the loose flocculent coating of the surfaces

of the embryonic leaves, which would indicate that the material repre-

sents Acanthophoenix.

In addition to seeds that have been received on different occasions

from commercial horticulturists the Office of Seed and Plant Intro-

duction, Bureau of Plant Industry, has received seeds closely similar

to those collected at Payta from Mr. G. Regnard, Port Louis, Mauritius,

.■iceompanied by the following note:

A palm that attains a height of 50 feet. Young plants have dark

rod margins on new leaves which diminishes when the tree becomes

older. The true red variety is getting very scarce now as almost all

the trees newly planted are a cross mixture with the white. These

seeds were gathered on true red sort in a wide plantation of them.

The cabbage of this palm is commonly eaten here and has a quite

delicate flavor.

CLARK! CRINOID FAMILY ANTEDONIDAE 127

These seeds have the Inventory number 38,696. Other importa-

tions are numbered 1928, 1929, and 42,365.

ZOOLOGY. — A revision of the crinoid family Antedonidae, with

the diagnoses of nine new genera.1 Austin H. Clark, Na-

tional Museum.

The family Antedonidae is the most universally distributed of

all the families of recent crinoids; its species occur everywhere,

ranging from the tropical littoral in both hemispheres uninter-

ruptedly down to the greatest depths at which crinoids have been

found, and include all of the strictly antarctic and all of the

arctic comatulids.

Owing to the difficulty involved in dealing with the species of

this family, which arises chiefly from the altogether extraordinary

brittleness and fragility of the great majority, and the resultant

lack of some essential feature or other in very many of the

published descriptions, no really satisfactory disposition of the

included types has as yet been proposed ; but it is believed that

the following arrangement more nearly represents the true inter-

relationships of the component species than any of its prede-

cessors.

The species referable to the family Antedonidae fall naturally

into forty genera, which in turn are distributed among seven well

characterized groups, ranking as subfamilies. These subfamilies

with their included genera are the following :

Antedoninae: Antedon, Compsometra, Mastigometra, Euantedon, Toxo-

metra, Dorometra (nov.), Eumetra, Iridometra, Hybometra, Andro-

metra (nov.), and Argyrometra (nov.).

Thysanometrinae : Thysanometra and Coccometra.

Perometrinae : Perometra, Nanometra, Erythrometra, and Hypalo-

metra.

Heliometrinae : Heliometra, Promachocrinus, Anthometra, Solano-

metra, Florometra, and Cyclornetra.

Zexometrinae : Balanometra, Psathyrometra, Leptometra, Adelometra,

Zenometra, Sarametra (nov.), and Eumorphometra.

Isometrinae : Isometra.

1 Published with the permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-

tion.

12 N CLARK: CRINOID FAMILY ANTEDONIDAE

Bathymetkin \i:: Orthometra (nov.), Tonrometra (nov.), Fariometra

(nov.), Trichometra, Hathrometra, Nepio?netra (nov.), Phrixometra

iiiov.), Thaumatometra, and Bathymetra.

Dorometra, gen. nov.

Genotype. Antedon nana Hartlaub, 1890.

Diagnosis. — P3 is much the longest and stoutest pinnule on the arm;

the cirri arc XX-XLV (rarely over XL), with not over 16 segments;

these have produced distal ends which overlap the proximal ends of

those succeeding, and the outer are much longer than their proximal

width; the size is small, the arms being from 23 mm. to 50 mm. long;

the brachials have smooth, or only very finely spinous, distal edges.

Geographical Range. — Red Sea to Madagascar and Mauritius, east-

ward to northern Australia and the East Indies, and northward to

southern Japan.

Bathy metrical Range. — From the shore line down to 106 meters.

Included Species. — Dorometra nana (Hartlaub), Dorometra mauritiana

(A. II. Clark), Dorometra gracilis (A. H. Clark), Dorometra briseis (A.

H. Clark), Dorometra parvicirra (P. H. Carpenter), Dorometra aegyptica

(A; H. Clark), and Dorometra clymene (A. H. Clark).

Andrometra, gen. nov.

'linotype. — Antedon psyche A. H. Clark, 1908.

Diagnosis. — P2 is much longer than Pi, and longer than P3 though

similar to the latter; the centrodorsal is more or less sharply conical.

Geographical Range. — Andaman Islands to southern Japan.

Bathymetrical Range.— From 54 to 201 (?250) meters.

Included Species. — Andrometra psyche (A. H. Clark) and Andrometra

initial (A. H. Clark).

Argyrometra, gen. nov.

Genotype. — Iridometra crispa A. H. Clark, 1908.

Diagnosis.— Centrodorsal conical, broader than high, almost com-

pletely covered with cirrus sockets which decrease in size toward the

apex; these are from LX to LXXX in number; cirri very fragile, with

12 17 more or less elongated segments; P3 is of the same length and

character as the succeeding pinnules; Pi and P2, which may be longer

or shorter than the following pinnules, have 12-13 segments, and taper

evenly to a point; their component segments become progressively

elongated; the brachial structure resembles that of Antedon petasus;

the size is small, the arms being about 30 mm. in length.

Geographical Range. Hawaiian Islands to northern New Zealand.

Bathymetrical Range. From 108 to 293 meters.

Included Species. Argyrometra crispa (A. H. Clark) and Argyro-

metra mortenst ni, nov.

CLARK: CRINOID FAMILY ANTEDONIDAE 129

Argyrometra mortenseni, sp. nov.

Diagnosis. — This species is easily distinguished from A. crispa by

the much more expanded distal ends of the cirrus segments (in crispa

the dorsal and ventral profiles of the cirrus segments are everywhere

practically parallel), and by the different relationships of the earlier

pinnules.

Pi is 3.3 mm. long, slender and evenly tapering, composed of 12 seg-

ments of which the first is slightly broader than long, the second and

third are very slightly longer than broad, and the following become

progressively elongated, being between four and five times as long as

broad distally; the segments are cylindrical and smooth, with little or

no development of spines on the distal edges. P2 is 4 mm. long, very

slightly stouter, composed of 12 segments of which the distal are more

elongated than those of Pi. P3 is 5 mm. long with about 12 segments,

about as stout basally as P2 but tapering more slowly and hence appear-

ing stouter, with relatively shorter segments which beyond the third

have prominently overlapping and finely spinous distal ends. The

following pinnules resemble P3.

The cirri have 17 segments of which the longest are from four to

six times as long as the terminal diameter. The arms are about 30

mm. long.

Locality. — North Cape, New Zealand.

Depth. — Sixty fathoms.

Sarametra, gen. nov.

Genotype. — Zenometra triserialis A. H. Clark, 1908.

Diagnosis. — The division series and arm bases are very spiny; the

very long rounded conical centrodorsal bears three regular columns of

cirrus sockets in each radial area, the radial areas being delimited by

broad bare lines; the cirri have 50-60 segments of which the proximal

are more or less elongated and the distal are short, never longer than

broad, and bear prominent dorsal spines; all of the pinnules are present;

the size is large, the arms being about 150 mm. long.

Geographical Range. — Known only from the Hawaiian Islands.

Bathymetrical Range. — Between 346 and 633 meters.

Included Species. — Sarametra triserialis (A. H. Clark).

Orthometra, gen. nov.

Genotype. — Trichometra hibernica A. H. Clark, 1913.

Diagnosis. — The cirrus segments, which are 25-33 (usually nearer

the latter) in number, are cylindrical, without expanded distal ends,

and short, the longest (third-fifth) being about one-third again as long-

as broad, and the distal slightly broader than long; the elements of the

IBr series and the lower brachials are without lateral processes, and

are widely free laterally.

130 CLARK : CRINOID FAMILY ANTEDONIDAE

Geographical Range.— Known only from the western coast of Ireland.

Bathymetrical Range.— From 698 to 900 meters.

Included Species.— Orthometr a hibernica (A. H. Clark).

Tonrometra, gen. no v.

Genotype— Antedon remota P. H. Carpenter, 1888.

hiagnosis.—The cirrus, segments, which are not more than 20 in

number, are all short, the longest being not so much as twice as long

as the median diameter, and have much swollen distal ends; the IBr

series and lower brachials are in close lateral contact.

Geographical Range.— Moluccas to Marion Island, southeast of

A TIM / "|

Bathymetrical Range.— From 1089 to 2880 meters.

Included Species.— Tonrometra brevipes (A. H. Clark) and Tonro-

metra remota (P. H. Carpenter).

Fariometra, gen. nov.

Genotype. — Trichometra explicata A. H. Clark, 1908.

Diagnosis. — The centrodorsal is sharply conical with straight sides,

nearly or quite as high as broad at the base; the proximal cirrus seg-

ments are elongated, at least twice as long as the median diameter and

usually much longer.

Geographical Range. — Philippine Islands to Celebes.

Bathymetrical Range. — From 509 to 1314 meters.

Included Species. — Fariometra explicata (A. H. Clark), Fariometra

scutifera A. H. Clark, and Fariometra dione A. H. Clark.

Nepiometra, gen. nov.

Genotype. — Antedon laevis P. H. Carpenter, 1888.

Diagnosis. — The centrodorsal is rounded conical or hemispherical,

not so high as broad at the base; the proximal cirrus segments are

elongated, at least twice as long as the median diameter, and usually

much longer; the brachials do not have strongly produced and very

spinous distal (mils; at most the distal edges of the outer brachials are

bordered with fine spines; the cirri have 20-30 relatively short seg-

ments of which the last 6-13 are only very slightly, if at all, longer than

broad; the pinnules are not especially long, and the distal pinnules are

of the same length as the proximal; P2 resembles P3 and the following

pinnules and is slightly longer and stouter than Pi with somewhat

fewer segments which are proportionately longer; P2 may bear a gonad,

though these usually begin on P3; the arms are between 25 mm. and

<>() mm. in length.

Geographical Range. — Kei and Meangis Islands and southern Celebes;

? ( lalapagos Islands and Panama.

Bathymetrical Range. — From 204 to 1158 (?1760) meters.

Included Species. — Nepiometra obscura (A. H. Clark), Nepiometra

alcyon (A. H. Clark), Nepiometra laevis (P. H. Carpenter), Nepiometra

io (A. H. Clark), and Nepiometra (?) parvula (Hartlaub).

CLARK! CRINOID FAMILY ANTEDONIDAE 131

Phrixometra, gen. nov.

Genotype. — Antedon longipinna P. H. Carpenter, 1888.

Diagnosis. — The centrodorsal is rounded conical or hemispherical,

not so high as broad at the base; the cirri are about XXX, 20-25;

the proximal cirrus segments are elongated, at least twice as long as

the median diameter and usually much longer; the brachials do not

have strongly produced and very spinous distal ends ; at most the distal

edges of the outer brachials are bordered with fine spines; the pinnules

are very long, the proximal longer than the distal; P2 is very slightly

shorter than Px, but similar to it, with about 18 elongated segments;

the following pinnules are similar; the arms are about 20 mm. long.

Geographical Range. — Southeastern South America.

Bathy metrical Range. — Known only from 1080 meters.

Included Species. — Phrixometra longipinna (P. H. Carpenter).

ABSTRACTS

Authors of scientific papers are requested to see that abstracts, preferably

prepared and signed by themselves, are forwarded promptly to the editors.

Each of the scientific bureaus in Washington has a representative authorized to

forward such material to this journal and abstracts of official publications should

be transmitted through the representative of the bureau in which they originate.

The abstracts should conform in length and general style to those appearing in

this issue.

GEOGRAPHY. — The Navajo country, a geographic and hydrographic

reconnaissance of parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Her-

bert E. Gregory. U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper

380. Pp. 219, with maps, sections, and illustrations. 1916.

The Navajo country includes 25,000 square miles of arid and semi-

arid lands occupied by about 32,000 Indians and 500 whites. Only a

small pari of it has previously been described. The report, therefore,

includes an unusually full treatment of geography under the heads:

historical sketch, geographic provinces, climate, soil, flora, fauna, min-

eral wealth, population, and industries. Many additions have been

made to existing maps, and the list of geographic terms has been re-

vised. Since the future of the country depends upon the solution of

the problem of water supply, particular attention was given to the oc-

currence of surface and ground waters. The Colorado and the San

Juan rivers are perennial; all others are intermittent or ephemeral, but

their flood waters may be utilized by construction of suitable works.

Manx- springs and seeps may also be developed. The sinking of wells

in deposits of various types is recommended, and the parts of the region

favorable for artesian flows are indicated. Except for structure sec-

tions and maps and the description of water-bearing beds, the report

contains little strictly geological material. Such matter will appear in

Professional Paper 93, now in preparation. H. E. ('.

GEODESY. — Precise leveling from Reno to Las Vegas, Nev., and from

Tonopah J unction, Nev. to Laws, Cat. H. G. Avers and G. D.

Cowie. U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Special Publication

No. 39. Pp. 49. 1916.

This publication gives the results of a line of levels run in 1915

along the railroads between Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and between

132

abstracts: geology 133

Tonopah Junction, Nevada, and Laws, California. The line is 547

miles long and fixes the elevations of 228 permanent bench marks.

The elevation of the top of rail in front of the railroad stations along

the line was also determined. The elevations of the bench marks and

of the top of rail in front of the railway stations are given in meters

and also in feet. As in all precise leveling in the United States the

datum used is mean sea level. The highest point of the line is at

Sunland, Nevada, 2171 meters (7122 feet).

The result of a study of the errors of leveling is also given in this

publication. The practice of the observer, while setting up the instru-

ment, always to face in the same direction with respect to the line of

progress had a tendency to make the line of sight higher for the back

sights than for the fore sights. The effect of this has been eliminated

by the observer facing in opposite directions at alternate set-ups of

the instrument. H. G. A.

GEOLOGY. — Geology of the Hound Creek district of the Great Falls

coal field, Cascade County, Montana. V. H. Barnett. U. S.

Geological Survey Bulletin 641-H. Pp. 215-231, with 1 plate.

1916.

This paper describes the geologic formations, the structure relating to

the occurrence or absence of coal-bearing rocks, and the coal resources

of the Hound Creek district. The rocks that crop out in the district

belong to the Carboniferous, Jurassic, and Cretaceous systems, but

detailed study was confined to the coal-bearing Kootenai formation

(Lower Cretaceous). R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — Contributions to the geology and paleontology of San Juan

County, New Mexico. I. Stratigraphy of a part of the Chaco River

V alley. Clyde Max Bauer. U. S. Geological Survey Pro-

fessional Paper 98-P. Pp. 271-278, with 8 plates. 1916.

This paper is an attempt to set forth the principal features of the

stratigraphy in a part of the San Juan Basin, to describe the succession

of strata irrespective of possible correlations and thereby to establish a

type section for the formations exposed, and to bring out their relations

to the strata immediately above and below.

The area studied and mapped comprises about 1500 square miles in

northwestern New Mexico extending along Chaco River for about 50

miles from the Great Hogback to Meyers Creek. It includes the out-

crops of strata overlying the Mesaverde formation, which have in the

134 abstracts: geology

past been referred to the Lewis, Laramie, Puerco, Torrejon, and Wasatch

formations.

The stratified rocks of this area consist of a succession of marine,

brackish-water, and fresh-water sediments, which now occur as sand-

stone, slate, coal, and conglomerate, in almost every gradation and

combination possible. The strata throughout the greater part of the

area dip from 1° to 3° toward the center of the basin. The Mesaverde

and Lewis formations and the Pictured Cliffs sandstone are accepted

as described by previous workers in the San Juan Basin. The beds

above the Pictured Cliffs sandstone that have been classed by others

as Laramie are divided into mappable lithologic units and described

as the Fruitland formation, Kirtland shale, and Ojo Alamo sandstone.

A bibliography is included. R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — -Some manganese mines in Virginia and Maryland.

D. F. Hewett. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 640-C. Pp.

37-71, with 7 figures. 1916.

Six deposits of manganese ore are described with regard to location,

geology, and occurrence and origin of the ore. Maps show the surface

relations and underground workings of three mines. Replacement

deposits of four types are recognized — deposits (1) in residual clay,

(2) in the clay of a fault zone, (3) along pervious zones in schistose

rocks, and (4) in sediments that fill an ancient channel. Five of the

deposits are on the east side of the Great Valley in western Virginia

and one is near Lynchburg in the Piedmont region.

The conclusion is tentatively reached that all of these deposits, and

probably many more in the belt extending from Maryland to Georgia,

were formed while the early Tertiary peneplain was being established

in this general region. Four of the deposits outcrop on ridges and

spurs that have been so isolated since the peneplain was dissected

that they have received little surface drainage since that time, but

each of the deposits contains much more manganese than could be

derived from the decomposition of a mass of rocks having the volume

of the residual clays in which the deposits occur. The clays and

manganese minerals have been mined from 200 to 260 feet below the

surface and from 170 to 220 feet below water level. In two mines the

zone of residual clay and associated manganese minerals extends 105

mil 130 feet, respectively, below the level of the nearest streams,

which flow in channels cut in bedrock. It therefore appears that the

sedimentary rocks of the region may undergo thorough decomposition

abstracts: engineering 135

to greater depths not only below an extensive erosion surface but also

below the present water level than has previously been considered

possible. D. F. H.

GEOLOGY. — Geology of the Upper Stillwater Basin, Stillwater and

Carbon Counties, Montana. W. R. Calvert. U. S. Geological

Srn-vey Bulletin 641-G. Pp. 199-214, with 2 plates. 1916.

The rocks of this area comprise a great thickness of strata ranging

from the coal measures of lower Montana (Upper Cretaceous) age to

beds more than 8000 feet above the base of the Fort Union formation,

of Eocene age. Older sedimentary formations and crystalline rocks

are exposed in the Beartooth Mountains, along whose north base

there is a profound fault that brings Paleozoic rocks into contact with

Tertiary formations south of Red Lodge and with successively older

strata to the west.

The Cretaceous and younger rocks, both sedimentary and igneous,

are described, together with the geologic structure, which is simple. A

discussion of the coal resources is followed by a statement concerning

oil prospects. R. W. S.

ENGINEERING.— Surface water supply of the United States, 1913,

Part X, the Great Basin. Nathan C. Grover, et al. U. S. Geo-

logical Survey Water-Supply Paper 360, Pp. 293, with 2 plates.

1916.

Surface water supply of the United States, 1914, Part I, North

Atlantic slope basins. Nathan C. Grover, et al. U. S. Geo-

logical Survey Water-Supply Paper 381. Pp. 192 and XXXI,

with 2 plates. 1916.

Surface water supply of the United States, 1914, Part II, South

Atlantic and eastern Gulf of Mexico basins. Nathan C. Grover,

et al. U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 382. Pp.

66 and XXX, with 2 plates. 1916.

Surface water supply of the United States, 1914, Part VII, Lower

Mississippi River basin. Nathan C. Grover, et al. U. S. Geo-

logical Survey Water-Supply Paper 387. Pp. 60 and XXXIV,

with 2 plates. 1916.

Surface water supply of the United States, 1914, Part XII, North

Pacific drainage basins, B, Snake River basin. Nathan C. Grover,

et al, U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 393. Pp.

248, with 2 plates. 1916.

136 abstracts: engineering

The water-supply papers listed above are parts of a series giving the

results of measurements of flow of streams in the basins indicated in

the titles. Numbers 382 and 387 contain appendixes giving lists of

stream-gaging stations and publications relating to the water resources

of the basins. B. D. W.

ENGINEERING — The measurement of silt-laden streams. R. C.

Pierce. U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 400-C.

Pp. 39-51, with diagrams. 1916.

San Juan River, in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, carries an un-

usually heavy load of silt, especially during the torrential floods that

often occur. The formation of "sand waves" is an interesting phe-

nomenon connected with the heavy silt burden of this stream. Flood

measurements are very difficult and sometimes impossible because

of the heavy silt load and the accompanying conditions, such as

high velocities, trash and drift, shifting channel, and rapid variations

in stage. By the use of a stay line and a 60-pound torpedo-shaped

weighl to hold the current meter in position, with a windlass built into

one end of the gage car for handling the meter and weight, it was found

possible to obtain measurements during all except the very worst con-

ditions. In spite of the difficulties a good record of the stream flow was

obtained. R- C. P.

ENGINEERING.— Surface waters of Massachusetts. C. H. Pierce

and II. J. Dean. U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper

415. Pp. 433, with 12 plates. 1916. ' .

This volume contains the results of stream-flow investigations in

Massachusetts, and a compilation of the available records. The data

are arranged on the basis of the climatic year ending September 30,

thai being the division of the year now generally used by the Geologi-

cal Survey fchroughoul its work of water-resources investigations. The

report contains an introduction by N. C. Grover, briefly sketching the

uses and development of the water resources of Massachusetts, which

have at all times played an important part in the industrial and com-

mercial development of the Commonwealth. An article on Topogra-

phy by Arthur Keith outlines the geology of Massachusetts with special

reference to the various drainage basins, and gives in non-technical

language the geologic history of the river systems. The tables of dis-

charge, showing the flow of the rivers as measured at the gaging sta-

tions, are followed by a gazetteer of streams, which lists and describes

all the streams, lakes, and ponds shown on the topographic maps of

abstracts: technology 137

Massachusetts. A contour map on a scale of 1 : 250,000, printed in

colors, shows the principal drainage basins and the location of gaging

stations. C. H. P.

ENGINEERING. — Accuracy of stream-flow data. N. C. Grover and

J. C. Hoyt. U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 400-D.

Pp. 53-59. 1916.

Records of stream flow at different gaging stations vary in accuracy

with the permanence of the stage-discharge relation, the precision with

which the discharge rating curve is defined, the refinement of gage read-

ings, the frequency of gage readings, and the methods of applying the

daily gage heights to the rating table to obtain the daily discharge.

The contributing factors are so complex that it is generally not prac-

ticable to determine mathematically the probable error. A knowledge

of the approximate accuracy is needed to apply intelligently the records

to different uses; and a knowledge of the sources of error and their

relative effects on the accuracy of the records is essential to the

proper collection of data for different uses requiring different degrees

of accuracy. A study of the accuracy of the records to be collected

at any station, therefore, should begin with the reconnaissance for the

site and continue through the selection, establishment, maintenance,

and operation of the station, the computation and interpretation of

the data, and the preparation of the records for publication.

N. C. G.

TECHNOLOGY. — The resistance of an oil to emulsification. Winslow

II. Herschel, Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 86.

Pp. 37. 1917.

In this paper is described a new test for the emulsification of oils.

Certain results obtained by such measurements are also discussed.

The test may be briefly described as follows: 20 cc. of the oil to be

tested and twice that volume of distilled water are heated to 55°C.

in a 100 cc. cylinder, 26 mm. inside diameter, and stirred for five

minutes at a speed of 1500 r.p.m. The cylinder and contents are

allowed to stand at the same temperature, and readings are taken at

more or less frequent intervals (according to the type of oil) of the vol-

ume of oil settled out from the water. From these readings, a maxi-

mum rate of settling, called " demulsibUity", is easily taken from a

table. The paddle is simply a plate of metal 8.9 by 20 by 1.5 mm.

Since the test is not sensitive to slight changes of paddle dimensions,

they need not be exact, and no calibration is required.

W. H. H.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 263rd meeting of the society was held at the Cosmos Club,

October 12, 1916. The program of the meeting consisted of reports

from members of the section upon the various activities at the Fall

Meeting of the American Chemical Society at New York City, and on

the Second National Exposition of Chemical Industries. W. D.

Bigelow, director of the society, reviewed particularly the work of the

directors and the reorganization of the management of the Journal of

Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. J. Johnston, councilor of the

section, dealt especially with the majority and minority reports of

the Committee on the Proposed Code of Professional Ethics and the

work of the Division of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry. Others

presenting brief reviews of papers presented at the meetings of the

various sections were I. K. Phelps, L. F. Kebler, R. B. Dole, L. C.

Wells, J. B. Tuttle, and W. Blum. H. D. Gibbs gave an account

of the Exposition and the various symposiums on subjects of present

industrial importance.

The 264th meeting, held at the Cosmos Club, November 9, 1916,

was devoted to the annual election of officers. The following were

elected: President, C. S. Hudson, Bureau of Chemistry; Secretary, E.

( . McKelvy, Bureau of Standards; Treasurer, F. P. Dewey, Bureau

of the Mint; Councilors, R. B. Sosman, Geophysical Laboratory, E.

B. Phelps, Hygienic Laboratory, and R. C. Wells, Geological Sur-

vey; Executive Committee, J. C. Hostetter, Geophysical Laboratory,

F, W. Smither, Bureau of Standards. F. C. Cook, Bureau of Chemis-

try. A. Seidell, Hygienic Laboratory, F. A. Wertz, Bureau of Stand-

ards, P. B. Dunbar, Bureau of Chemistry.

The 265th meeting of the society was held as a joint meeting with

t he Botanical Society of Washington at the Cosmos Club, November

23, 1916.

Dr. Frederick B. Power, of the Bureau of Chemistry, until re-

cently with the Wellcome Burroughs Laboratory, London, gave an

address upon the Aims and developments of phyto-chemical research.

The speaker presented the results and conclusions drawn from a

great amount of work carried out in laboratories abroad and largely

published in detail in British journals. Particular emphasis was

placed upon the enormous opportunity for development in this almost

138

proceedings: anthropological society 139

untouched field of scientific endeavor. Chaulmoogra oil was taken

as an example of a phyto-chemical material upon which a great amount

of work for the purpose of determining its structure and constitution

had been carried out by the speaker and his associates.

The 266th meeting of the society, held at the Cosmos Club,

December 14, 1916, was devoted to the presentation of motion pic-

tures showing the manufacture of steel pipe, sheet tin, and tin plate.

These pictures were furnished by the courtesy of the American Sheet

Tin and Tin Plate Company of Pittsburgh and were presented by D.

M. Buck, Metallurgical Engineer of Pittsburgh.

The 267th meeting of the society, a joint meeting with the Wash-

ington Academy of Sciences, was held at the Cosmos Club, January 11,

1917. R. B. Sosman, retiring president of the Chemical Society, pre-

sented an address on Some problems of the oxides of iron (this Journal,

7:55-73. 1917).

E. C. McKelvy, Secretary.

THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS

At the annual meeting of the Society, held at the University Club,

January 18, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year:

President, Filbert Roth; Vice-President, William T. Cox; Secretary,

R. Y. Stuart; Treasurer, C. R. Tillotson; Executive Council, W. B.

Greeley, five years, H. S. Graves, four years, R. C. Bryant, three

years, D. T. Mason, two years, Clyde Leavitt, one year.

R. Y. Stuart, Secretary.

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 505th regular meeting of the Society was held January 16. At

this meeting Mr. William H. Babcock presented a paper on Certain

pre-Columbian notices of the inhabitants of the Atlantic islands.

Beginning at the north, the speaker referred to the well known Norse

colonization of Iceland in the latter part of the ninth century and to

the much earlier establishment of Irish monks at some points of its

coast. From numerous Celtic local names Dr. Nansen has argued that

there may have been a much greater inland Irish settlement. But per-

haps these names should be explained by the fact that there were many

Irish and Hebrideans among the early Norse colonists. There are also

mentions of "trolls" in the saga of Grettir — and perhaps elsewhere in

early Norse writings — as inhabiting hidden places of the mountainous

interior. These may possibly preserve the memory of aboriginal sur-

vivals from pre-Norse and pre-Irish times, but more probably they

merely echo old Norse traditions or are freaks of fancy.

Farther south, perhaps the oldest record is Plato's Atlantis derived

from his ancester Solon, who received it, as we are told, from the Egyp-

tian priests of Sais. The speaker related it in slightly condensed form

with special heed to anthropologic items, but expressed the opinion that

140 proceedings: anthropological society

it merely reflects the civilized life of Plato's time on the Mediterranean

shores and 1 hrows no light on mankind in the Atlantic. He recited also

the description of a far western island, which seems to be Madeira,

given in the time of Julius Caesar by Diodorous Siculus, and added the

same esl imate. He held that this applies also to Plutarch's interesting

account of Ogyggia, possibly Ireland or Iceland and the continent be-

yond it; also to the Irish Sea romances, or Imrama, though the home

life which they at times repeated in their tales was very different from

the life of the Mediterranean.

In the Geography of the Arab writer Edrisi (about 1154) we seem

to find, perhaps for the first time, notes of observations of real human

beings on the islands of the eastern Atlantic. A list of these was given

with most of the relevant items, showing great diversity in matters of

culture, perhaps also of race, but in part agreeing very well with four-

teenth and fifteenth century accounts of the Canary Islanders. His

sources were partly mythical, partly recent Arabic, and to some extent

probably also European, both classic and mediaeval. It is impractic-

able to identify each island; but some of them are doubtless to be located

among the Canaries, one is perhaps Madeira, and two or three at least

should be credited to the Azores. We have nothing certain and ex-

plicit concerning the latter after this time until the Portuguese coloni-

zation, which seems to have found no one in possession, but fortu-

nately there is a considerable body of information as to the Canary

Islanders.

The speaker quoted from Major's introduction to the Canarien of

Bontier and Leverrier, a translation of a letter written at the end of

1341 by certain Florentine merchants dwelling in Seville, Spain, narrat-

ing an expedition to the Canary Islands that year, of three Portuguese

ships manned partly by Italian seamen. It constitutes one of the best

reports ever made of the people of the Canary Islands, who at that time

were less affected by European interference than afterward.

Mr. Babcock mentioned a brief settlement of thirteen Spaniards in

Grand Canary in 1382, and also the conquest of the islands, begun by

Bethencourt in 1402 and completed about 1485. From the same source

(Major's introduction) the speaker quoted Azurara's narrative (in

the History of the Conquest of Guinea, published in 1448) of a slave

raid on the island of Palma, participated in by a Portuguese vessel in

1443, the quotation including some account of the inhabitants of the

other islands. Further quotations were given from Cadmosto's report

on the Canary Islands in 1455, about the middle of the conquest, some

of the islands being then still un conquered and pagan. The speaker

then gave, from the body of the Canarien, several selections presenting

similar anthropological matter. A few words as to matters of race and

culture closed the paper.

The presentation of the paper was followed by a general discussion

of the subject in which the speakers were Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, Dr.

John R. Swanton and Dr. Truman Michelson.

Frances Densmore, Secretary.

JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII MARCH 19, 1917 No. 6

ELECTROCHEMISTRY.— The electrometric titration of zinc

with ferrocyanide. F. Russell v. Bichowsky, Geophysi-

cal Laboratory. (Communicated by Arthur L. Day.)

The purpose of this note is to point out a set of very interest-

ing polarization phenomena that occur at a platinum electrode

when certain insoluble salts, such as zinc, ferric copper, lead, or

manganous ferrocyanide, are being precipitated. Only the case

of zinc ferrocyanide will be discussed here.

If we place a platinum electrode in a solution of potassium

ferrocyanide and titrate this solution with a solution of some zinc

salt the e.m.f. of the electrode measured against some standard

electrode, such as the normal calomel electrode, follows a per-

fectly normal curve beginning at about — 0.08 volt (the e.m.f. of

the ferrocyanide electrode) and increasing slowly with the addi-

tion of the zinc solution until near the end point; on the addi-

tion of a drop in excess of the amount of zinc solution necessary

to precipitate all the ferrocyanide the e.m.f. increases very sharply

to — 0.40 volts. With further excess the e.m.f. stays approxi-

mately constant, reaching a maximum value of about — 0.45 volts.

The electrometric end point is thus very sharp, and the platinum

electrode is by all means the most accurate and convenient

device for determining the end point of the zinc ferrocyanide

titration.

However, if instead of adding zinc solution to a ferrocyanide

solution we reverse the process and add ferrocyanide to the

141

142 bichowsky: electrometric titration of zinc

zinc solution, the initial e.m.f. of the platinum electrode, instead

of having the invariant value of — 0.45 volts can be made to have

almost any value between 0.0 and - 0.5 volts, depending on the

previous treatment of the electrode. If the electrode has been

allowed to stand in contact with a ferrocyanide solution for some

time the e.m.f. will be between - 0.1 and - 0.25 volts, depending

on the length of time it has been in the solution ; if it is charged

to say — 2.0 volts while in contact with a zinc solution the initial

e.m.f. of the electrode may reach the reversible value of — 0.45

volts, or even higher.

If the electrode has been adjusted to an e.m.f. of — 0.45 volts

and the titration of zinc with ferrocyanide carried through as

before, the exact reverse of the previous curve is obtained, the

e.m.f. begins at — 0.45 volts, drops sharply at the end point to

- 0.10 and continues at nearly that value on further addition of

ferrocyanide. In this case, therefore, our initial curve is rever-

sible. If, however, the platinum electrode has been treated so

that it shows an initial voltage of say — 0.20 volts, on adding

the ferrocyanide solution the numerical value of the e.m.f. in-

creases slowly, instead of decreasing, this increase continuing

until the curve that is obtained by plotting e.m.f. against cc. of

ferrocyanide added intercepts the normal curve. At this point

the e.m.f. is a maximum. From this point on the e.m.f. curve

is entirely normal, the end point being perfectly sharp and un-

changed. This phenomenon is similar to the one noted by

Forbes and Bartlett1 for the titration of ferrous iron with dichro-

mate, but in our case not only is it possible to avoid the phe-

nomenon entirely by the proper treatment of the electrode

already indicated, but it is also possible not only to control the

initial e.m.f. of the electrode, but also the shape and slope of the

ascending (abnormal) part of the curve, thus causing the point

of interception of the abnormal and normal curve to be varied.

In a well stirred solution the abnormal curve starting at - 0.2

volts will almost always intercept the normal curve just before

the end point is reached, however, if the stirring is made very

1 Journ. Amer. Che.m. Soc, 35: 1527. 1913.

.wherry: neodymium, cause of red-violet color 143

poor so that there is any large excess of ferrocyanide in contact

with the electrode before the zinc is all precipitated, the end

point can be suppressed entirely; or, if by various devices the

titration is carried on so that the electrode is always in contact

with small concentrations of both zinc and ferrocyanide ion, the

point of interception of the normal and abnormal curve can be

moved almost to the beginning of the titration, the titration

curve thus having a very flat rather than the usual sharp maxi-

mum. Of course, in all these cases, except in the case of no

stirring, the end point is perfectly sharp and reproducible, and

under any of these varied conditions this method of determining

the end point is much more rapid, convenient, and accurate

than those employing the usual indicators (iron or uranium).

All these phenomena seem to show that in cases of this type

depolarization can be accomplished only by some agent (in this

case ferrocyanide, in Forbes and Bartlett's case, ferrous iron)

whose oxidation and reduction reactions on the platinum electrode

are reversible, and that the persistent irreversibility of the

Forbes and Bartlett curve and of our curve was due simply to

the fact that the only substance in the solution capable of rapid

reversible reaction at the electrode was removed from the possi-

bility of acting — by precipitation in our case, and by the excess

of an irreversible strong oxidizing agent in Forbes and Bartlett's

case. This explanation is independent of any theory of the

cause of polarization

MINERALOGY. — Neodymium as the cause of the red-violet

color in certain minerals.1 Edgar T. Wherry, U. S. Na-

tional Museum.

Impressed by the intense red-violet color shown by the per-

manganates, many chemists are inclined to interpret the similar

colors occasionally shown by normally colorless minerals, such

as calcite and apatite, as due to the presence of manganese.

Of course, permanganates may be at once excluded from con-

sideration, for they can only be produced by a somewhat vio-

1 Published by the permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

144 wherry: neodymium, cause of red-violet color

lenl process fusing with alkalies and then acidifying— in the

course of which the minerals would be destroyed; moreover

they are extremely unstable, and even if formed could hardly

persist long. Finally, permanganates show a highly character-

istic absorption spectrum — observable by placing their solutions

between a source of white light and the slit of a spectroscope —

consisting of six bands in the yellowish green, green, and green-

ish blue; but not a trace of this absorption spectrum is shown

by any mineral thus far studied.

Certain manganic compounds, containing trivalent manganese,

are, however, also red- violet in color, and may develop in min-

erals under mildly oxidizing conditions. Even colorless bottle-

glass, on lying out in the sunlight for a time, becomes red-violet

owing to the oxidation of the manganese to that valency.2 Such

manganic compounds show a single rather hazy absorption band

in the greenish blue, but only indistinct general absorption of the

colors complementary to red-violet.

On the other hand, there is at least one other chemical ele-

ment, the rare-earth metal neodymium, which has red-violet or

violet-red colored compounds; and these yield a highly charac-

teristic absorption spectrum, consisting of an intense band in the

orange-yellow, a fainter one in the green, and, if sufficiently

concentrated, additional ones in other parts of the spectrum.

These bands can readily be seen if a solution of monazite in

sulfuric acid is placed between the source of light and the spec-

troscope slit. They can also be observed in a number of min-

erals, by the use of the microspectroscope.3 Of course if the

mineral occurs in large enough masses, the ordinary spectroscope

may be used, and the mineral be simply placed between the

source of light and the slit; those described in this note give

good results by this method.

It was pointed out by Headden some years ago4 that the

2 See Gortner, R. A. Journ. Amer. Chem. Soc, 39: 157-162, 1908.

3 See the writer's paper, The microspectroscope in mineralogy, Smithsonian

Misc. Coll., 65, No. 5, 1915.

* Am. J. Sci., [4] 21: 301, 1906.

wherry: neodymium, cause of red-violet color 145

red-violet5 calcite from Joplin, Missouri, gives this neodymium

absorption spectrum. This was confirmed by the writer in

the paper referred to, and in addition it was noted that the

red-violet calcite from Rossie, New York, shows, faintly, the

same spectrum. Specimens from Sterlingbush, New York, re-

cently received by the National Museum in exchange from the

New York State Museum, have the same color as the latter oc-

currence, and show the same absorption spectrum.

That manganese is not the cause of the color of these calcites

is shown by the following considerations: The calcites con-

tain ferrous iron, and must accordingly have been formed under

reducing rather than oxidizing conditions, so that any manga-

nese present must be in the manganous state. Now manganous

carbonate, the mineral rhodochrosite, is pure red in color, and

that this color is not essentially changed by association of the

manganese with calcium is evident from the pale red color of the

so-called manganocalcite, such as occurs for instance at Franklin

Furnace, New Jersey. Furthermore, many calcites known to

contain moderate amounts of manganese show no color whatever.

The minute trace of manganese present in these red-violet cal-

cites could therefore not bj^ any possibility produce their color.

There is thus both positive evidence (the absorption spec-

trum) and negative evidence (the inability of manganese to pro-

duce the color) in favor of the view that red-violet calcite in

general owes its color to neodymium.

The mineral apatite is sometimes violet in color, but, as re-

corded in the writer's paper above cited, usually shows no ab-

sorption spectrum. Oddly enough the well known brown apatite

from Ontario, Canada, yields the absorption bands of neodym-

ium, although any red-violet color that this metal produces is

masked; most of the crystals show an underlying green color,

due presumably to ferrous iron, the brown being only a sort of

local mottling which could readily be produced by irregular

distribution of a pale red-violet coloring matter.

6 An effort was made to name the colors of these calcites according to Ridg-

way's "Color standards and nomenclature," but accurate comparisons of colors

seen only in thick layers of a transparent mineral and those painted on sheets of

paper are impracticable. The approximate position of the calcite colors is, how-

ever, 67, violet-red, composed of red 52 per cent, violet, 48 per cent.

146 kempton: endosperm color and albinism in maize

It would naturally be expected that an occurrence of neodym-

ium-bearing apatite free from the green color of ferrous iron

would actually show the red-violet; which expectation has now

been fulfilled. The U. S. Geological Survey has recently trans-

mitted to the National Museum an extensive series of minerals

collected by Dr. W. T. Schaller in the pegmatites of southern

California, among which are two kinds of violet apatite. One,

the color of which is pure violet, from the Mountain Lily Mine,

Oak Grove, agrees with apatites from Maine and Saxony, pre-

viously examined, in color and in absence of absorption spec-

trum; no guess will here be hazarded as to the cause of its color.

But the other, from the San Diego Mine, Mesa Grande, has a

red-violet color similar to that of the Joplin calcite, and shows

an even more intense absorption spectrum, so is to be regarded

as also owing its color to neodymium.

GENETICS. — A correlation between endosperm color and albi-

nism in maize. J. H. Kempton, Bureau of Plant Industry.

(Communicated by G. N. Collins.)

Seedlings in which chlorophyll does not develop occur not in-

frequently in many cultivated species. Such plants are known

as albinos. As photosynthesis is impossible without chloro-

phyll these seedlings soon perish. Some varieties of maize pro-

duce many albino seedlings, and it has been possible to isolate

strains which give regularly a certain proportion of albino seed-

lings. Several investigators have tested the exactness of the

ratio between normal and albino plants and have concluded that

albinism is a simple Mendelian character, recessive to the nor-

mal form.1

1 East, E. M., and Hays, H. K. Inheritance in maize. Conn. Agr. Exp.

Sta. Bull., clxvii, 1911.

Emerson, It. A. The inheritance of certain forms of chlorophyll reduction in

corn leaves. Nebr. Agr. Exp. Sta. Twenty-fifth annual report. 1912.

Gernert, W. B. The analysis of characters in corn and their behaviour in

transmission. Published by author, 1912.

Miles, Frank C. A genetic and cytological study of certain types of albinism

in maize. Journal of Genetics, 4: 193. 1915.

kempton: endosperm color and albinism in maize 147

In studying the effects of temperature and light upon the rate

of elongation of albino seedlings the writer had occasion to grow

seedlings from an ear which had both yellow and white seeds,

and found what appears to be a correlation between the color

of the endosperm in the seed and the development of chloro-

phyll in the seedlings. The ear from which this seed was se-

cured was the result of a self-fertilized first generation plant of a

cross between Zea tunicata and Zea ramosa. This cross has been

recently described in detail by Mr. Collins.2

The ear was non-podded and had approximately three yellow

seeds to one white. The actual figures were 70 yellow and 18

white. These yellow seeds were similar to those reported by

other investigators of yellow endosperm in that they varied

greatly in the intensity of the color, but in this instance little

difficulty was encountered in segregating the white seeds. The

70 yellow seeds were divided into four groups with respect to

the intensity of the color, the two darkest groups having 18

seeds each, and the two lightest groups having 17 seeds each.

table i

ALBINO

Dark yellow . . •.

Yellow, grade 1

Yellow, grade 2

Yellow, grade 3

White

Total

1

2

4

6

12

25

Fortunately every seed germinated and it was immediately

seen that there was a correlation between white or colorless en-

dosperm and albino seedlings. The percentage of albino seed-

lings from the yellow seeds is 18.6, while the white seeds pro-

duced 61.5 per cent albinos. Had we been growing only the

white seeds from this ear a very misleading conception of the

ratio of albino to normal plants would have resulted. It is also

2 Collins, G. N. Hybrids of Zea ramosa and Zea tunicata. Read at the meet-

ing of American Naturalists, New York, December 29, 1916.

148 kempton: endosperm color and albinism in maize

obvious that in a population of yellow and white seeds having

an association between white endosperm and albinism the per-

centage of homozygous yellow plants would be greatly increased

owing to the differential death rate between the yellow and

white.

The five classes of seeds planted with the resulting seedling

classes are shown in Table 1.

Arranged in the form of a fourfold table by combining the

four grades of yellow the classes are as shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2

The coefficient of association by Yule's method3 is 0.795 ±-

0.072 which is certainly too large to be ascribed to chance.

Using Pearson's formula4 for the mean square contingency,

C2 = 0.395 ± 0.057, which is a deviation above a zero correla-

tion of 6.9 times the error. Although the number of individuals

is small, the fact that the proportion of albino seedlings increased

as the intensity of the endosperm color diminished may be of

some significance. If it is assumed that the differences in shade

between the four classes of yellow endosperm are due to sepa-

rate factors, it would seem that these several factors are corre-

lated with albinism, which on the linkage hypothesis would

necessitate that these associated factors be located on the same

chromosome.

As with many simple characters there are several degrees of

albinism which grade from white to yellow by imperceptible

stages. The present albino seedlings, while they were easily

separated from the normal plants, varied among themselves

from almost pure white to an appreciable amount of yellow.

3 \ule, G. Udny. On the methods of measuring association between two attri-

butes. Journal Royal Statistical Society, 75, Part VI, May, 1912.

4 Pearson and Heron. Biometrika, 9: 167. 1913.

FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO 149

As the total number of albino seedlings was small no attempt

was made to classify the degrees of albinism in relation to the

degrees of endosperm color.

The inheritance of endosperm color has been studied by sev-

eral investigators who have concluded that this character is

composed of at least two factors. The results are not easily

interpreted even with two factors, the investigations revealing

many complications, and it is possible that these may be due at

least in part to a linkage between the several factors for endo-

sperm color.

The present correlation may be considered in the nature of a

coherence since it is highly probable that the albino character

and white endosperm were brought into this cross from the

tunicate parent. The progeny of a self -pollinated ear from a

sister plant of the male parent of the cross between Zea ramosa

and Zea tunicata was noted in 1916 as having produced many

albino plants. The yellow endosperm undoubtedly came from

the ramosa parent and thus far no albino seedlings have been

found in the strain of Zea ramosa we have been growing.

There is, however, the possibility that this apparent coher-

ence is in reality a physiological correlation between white or

albino endosperm and albino seedlings. As a demonstration of

the truth or fallacy of this statement a strain having yellow endo-

sperm, and producing gametes carrying the albino character

should be crossed with a white strain lacking the albinistic ten-

dency, but the final results of such a cross cannot be obtained

before the fall of 1918.

ETHNOLOGY. — An initiation at Hano in Hopiland, Arizona.

J. Walter Fewkes, Bureau of American Ethnology.

There are three pueblos on the East Mesa of the Hopi In-

dians called Walpi, Sitcomovi, and Hano. These villages, situ-

ated in Northeastern Arizona, are composite in population and

have been affected in different degrees by influx of clans from

different directions the former homes of these clans now indicated

by ruins. The inhabitants of Walpi are homogeneous. Sit-

comovi, originally settled by clans from Zuni, has lost the Zuni

150 FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO

idiom, but still retains a ritual which is essentially Cibolan (Zu-

nian). The latter pueblo is regarded by the Zufii as one of

their pueblos among the Hopi, its architectural features being

those characteristic of Tewa pueblos on the Rio Grande. Archi-

tecturally Hano is also Tewan, and its inhabitants retain the

Tewa idiom, its mythology and ritual being distinctly Tanoan,

little modified by the neighboring Walpi.

The general character of the rituals in these three villages is

known, but very little has been published on the ritual of the

relatives of the Hano people who now live along the Rio Grande,

especially as to the nature of the initiations of youths into soci-

eties of priests. The Hopi introduce personifications of ances-

tors in their pagan dances, and call the personators by the name,

Katcinas (Cachenas), but apart from that our knowledge is

fragmentary. At Hano this worship formerly survived in its

original form, so that the following pages may give an idea of the

initiation of boys and girls into the Katcina cult as once prac-

tised, possibly still persisting, in villages along the Rio Grande.

The month of February is an active one ceremonially in the

calendar of the Hopi towns. It is the month when lustration

rites are performed to purify the earth from the malign influ-

ences of a power which through sorcery is supposed to rule it

in winter. In that month, the return of the Katcinas, led by

their father, the Sun or Sky-god, is personated. The clans that

came to the Hopi from the south personate the return of their

Sky-god in December, the clans of Sitcomovi in January, but the

Katcinas are supposed to return in February and to remain

about the villages until July, when their departure is celebrated

in an extended farewell festival. The February ceremony is

called, in secular language, the Bean Planting, because beans are

sprouted in the kivas to be symbolically used by the returning

Sun-god to represent the fructifying forces of nature. These

sprouted beans are given at that time to the heads of all the

clans by the personator of the Sky-god, in answer to their prayers,

as a symbolic promise of good crops during the year.

Of the various steps in initiatory rites from birth to maturity,

in the life of pueblo children, none is regarded more important

FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO 151

than the last, or that in which they are taught the mysteries of

the Katcinas. A child under thirteen or fourteen years of age

is not supposed to understand the nature of these supernatural

beings, but to believe that from time to time family ancestors or

spirits of the dead revisit the pueblos and receive prayers for the

good of the tribe, after which they return to ghostly homes in

the underworld, through the house of the sun far to the west. At

this age they are among other things made acquainted with the fact

that the Katcinas are not real supernatural beings, but persona-

tions by their own parents. But they must obtain this knowl-

edge through initiation, some of the ordeals of which may be

regarded as severe and are certainly calculated to bring out the

moral courage of the novitiates. Many rites occur, one of which

is a ceremonial flogging of children, which takes place in the

presence of chiefs and other persons of the tribe. The rite at

Hano, the subject of this article, has never been described.

To understand the meaning of this event and the place the

Katcina cult occupies in the pueblo mind, it may be well to say

a word on this subject before we pass to the consideration of the

initiatory episode. In all their cults Hopi ceremonies show many

indications of the worship of divinized ancestors, but this is

especially true in those of the Katcina worship. The spirit dead

are supposed to become Katcinas. The breath bodies of men

pass to their future home, the underworld, a realm of the de-

parted, presided over by the supernatural being called the God

of Germs. The population of this underworld includes not only

the spirits of those long ago deceased, but also those who have

lately joined them. This ghostly population is supposed to have

a social organization like that inhabiting the upper world, being

as on earth divided into clans with related priesthoods, in all

the conditions of life duplicating what is found among the liv-

ing. There are male and female Katcinas, brothers, sisters,

uncles, aunts, and various other relatives on the mother's side.

The clans of the underworld, after death, bear names of the liv-

ing, and are symbolically characterized. We have for instance,

the Bear clan, the Badger clan, and others. Prominent among

all members of each underworld clan are the oldest members,

152 FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO

the ancestral parents of each clan, elevated to the cultus hero

and heroine of the clan. The sun of course is father, and the

earth, mother; they are common parents of all clans.

With this idea of the clan arrangement of the dead in the

underworld let us consider their relation to the living clans, for

this is the foundation of this cultus. Clan relationship not being

severed by death, the deceased members are regarded as still

members of the clan, with the same obligation to the clan as when

alive on earth. What is most important of all is that the powers

of these spirit ancestors are regarded as most efficacious in an-

swering the prayers of the living. In other words, the clansmen

of earth of the Bear clan feel that by addressing prayers to their

relatives in the underworld, they, with their aid, can bring about

what they desire. This can be accomplished by the use of magic

or other supernatural agencies. The personation of ancient

members of the clans are " conjured up" to hear the petitions of

those of their clan, still living.1

The February ceremonial has for its primary purpose a cele-

bration of the advent of these ancestral personages, while that

in July celebrates their return to their homes in the underworld.

The flogging of the young initiates, like other ritualistic episodes,

contain many archaic survivals that have a foundation in an

early myth recounting how the cult hero was initiated by the

Sun father, in like manner.

The flogging ceremony at Hano, here described, took place in

the larger of the two kivas, or sacred rooms, just before sunset

on the 14th of February, 1900. This rite has been witnessed

more than once, but the variations are slight, at most, and have

no great significance.

As with all pueblo ceremonies some time is occupied with

preparation of the paraphernalia used, as it has to be renovated

for the special purpose. The walls of the room were replastered,

and its floor thoroughly swept; all secular objects, as blankets in

progress of weaving, were rolled up and put away, and smaller

1 These returning clan members are represented by living members, who, for

the time being, believe that they really become the members of the spirit branch

of the clan which they represent.

FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO 153

objects tucked in certain niches made in the wall for that pur-

pose. Boxes containing soil, in which bean seeds2 had been

planted a week before, were concealed by a wagon sheet hung

across the end of the room.

Three personators took the prominent parts in the child flog-

ging, two of whom personated the great Sky-god and the third

represented the earth, or old woman, who they believe makes the

germs of life grow. The personator who flogs the children rep-

resents the father of all living on earth as well as inhabitants of

the underworld.3 An account of his costume may be instructive

as embodying their symbolic conception of these supernaturals.

Each personator of the Sky-god wears on his head a mask-

helmet, painted black, and adorned with clusters of feathers,

long beards made of horsehair with attached feathers hanging

from their chins. The body, upper arms, and thighs are painted,

smut from the bottom of an old cooking pot serving for black

paint. Markings are drawn with gypsum on the upper arms

and thighs, and the legs and forearms are painted with the same

material. Several ears of corn strung together form their belts

from which, reaching to their knees, hangs a fringe of horsehair

stained red, the body being naked. This crude representation

of the Sky-god has the same symbolic marks as a wooden idol

of this god on a Hopi altar, and is called Tunwup Katcina.

The three personators dressed near a shrine outside the kiva

on the trail below the pueblo and entered Hano from the east

in order to preserve the illusion that they came from a distant

place in the east, where the sun, whom they personify, rises.

They entered the kiva where spectators had already assembled,

and shortly after their appearance, the man personating the

Earth-woman entered the room passing through the hatchway

2 These beans were forced to sprout in midwinter in a superheated atmosphere

of the kiva, and were carried later by the Sun-god to represent symbolically

fructification of food plants. Children were formerly taught that these sprout-

ing beans are brought by a supernatural being, not being permitted to know that

they were raised by their parents in the kiva.

3 These men belonged to Hano clans. There are two Sky-gods in their myth-

ology, one representing the sun, and the other the moon.

154 FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO

down the ladder bearing a flat basket with sacred meal to be

used in the ceremonies.

It was about four o'clock, in the afternoon, when Anote, the

village chief of the pueblo, Hano, entered the kiva, bearing in

one hand two wands made of the leaves of the yucca or century

plant, in the other hand his medicine bowl and a badge, indi-

cating his standing as a chief. He placed this badge on the

floor and deposited his medicine bowl near it. He then poured

into the latter a white liquid, making passes in sequence with

his hand towards the six cardinal points: north, west, south, east,

above and below. He then stripped off the spines from the

margins and points of the yucca leaves, scooped some of the

medicine from the bowl into one hand and drew the leaves

through it. Aided by another man he tied several leaves to-

gether making two whips, which were laid on the placque con-

taining the prayer meal brought by the old woman.

By this time spectators had begun to assemble in the room,

each one taking his seat on the raised floor at one end of the

room. When they were seated, a number of adults, men and

women, each accompanied by a child, who carried an ear of corn

called "mother" in one hand, filed into the kiva and seated them-

selves along the sides of the room. When all were gathered the

chief began to construct a rude altar on the floor of the room.

He first made a low ridge of sand a few inches high into which

he planted, upright, a row of 20 wing feathers. In front of these

feathers he outlined on the floor, with meal, three semicircular

figures, side by side, representing rainclouds, and added parallel

lines of meal symbolic of falling rain. On the middle raincloud

figure he set upright the badge of his office. A few feet in front

of these figures near the firehole, he outlined with a line of meal

a square figure crossed by two diagonals, on the junction of

which, in the middle, he laid two small feathers. Having com-

pleted these preliminaries the chief took his seat back of the line

of feathers and gave the signal that he was ready for the rite

to begin. Shortly after, steps were heard on the kiva roof above

followed by a voice hooting down the opening or hatchway,

demanding permission to enter. The chief mounted the ladder

FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO 155

and spoke to those above. Immediately there followed him

down the ladder the two personators of the Sky-god, and a man

dressed as an old woman. These three made a circuit around

the fire hole six times, after which the earth woman personator

holding the basket of meal and whips, took position near the

bottom of the ladder, and the two Sky-gOds stood, one on each

side of the rectangular meal figure on the kiva floor. The latter

then began a rapid dance bending and swaying their bodies and

shouting to the assembled spectators. Each was then handed

one of the yucca whips, previously prepared as mentioned above,

after which they resumed their dancing, calling out loudly for

the children to come and be flogged. In a short time a woman

led forward a girl about 11 years old, whose garment had been

semoved from her back, and placed her within the square out-

lined with meal. One of the Sky-gods immediately struck the

bared back with the yucca wand several times, all the while con-

tinuing to dance and shout. He than passed to the other side

exchanging places with his companion and the foster mother

bared her back and was flogged as her child had been before her.

The two Sky-gods again exchanged places, and whips, as yet un-

used, were given to them, after which a man, possibly a father,

led a boy forward, both stepping inside the rectangle of meal.

The boy was first flogged on the back in the same manner as the

little girl, and the father was struck several times also on legs

and arms. As each person entered the space occupied by the

meal figure he took a pinch of meal and, raising it to his lips,

threw it toward the Sky-god, uttering an inaudible prayer. The

flogging continued until four children, and as many foster par-

ents, or the men and women accompanying the children, had

been treated in this way. Generally the punishment was re-

ceived by the children without a flinch, but one of the girls was

frightened. The Sky-god was lenient, simply whirling his whip

over her head, without striking.

At the close of the flogging of initiates, other children, mostly

boys, not initiates, voluntarily came forward and stood with

backs bared for the whips. They were struck, oftentimes rather

severely. Then adults, one after another, including the old

156 FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO

chiefs, stood up and were flogged, in the same way. As each

person passed to the altar after receiving the blows he took a

little liquid from the medicine bowl or meal from the basket,

rubbed it on his wounds, without a word, and took his seat on

the floor. The personators then left the room, after which the

chief spoke at length, in Tewa idiom, to the assembled people.

The author did not understand Tewa, but was told by an inter-

preter that he spoke to them on the meaning of the rite. He

may have explained that it was a dramatization of an old legend

and that the floggers were their own relatives personating super-

natural beings. Following the speech the spectators then

crowded around the altar, dipped their hands in the medicine,

and took a handful of meal with which they rubbed their bodies,

as both liquid and meal are considered salutary. At the close

r»f the ceremony the children were led out of the room by their

parents to their own homes.

On February 15, the day subsequent to that in which the

flogging above described was performed, there was celebrated

at Walpi one of the most unusual of all rites of the Bean-plant-

ing festival. The main events of this ceremony were prayers

to a supernatural being called Masauu, the god of planting,

also known as the supernatural of the "surface of the earth."

The dramatic reception of Masauu occurred in a Walpi kiva at

8 o'clock in the evening and lasted far into the night. It is

such an unusual event, having been witnessed by the author

but once, that although it has no direct connection with the

child-flogging it is introduced here, for want of a more ap-

propriate place.

On the night when Masauu's visit was personated all fires

throughout the East Mesa were extinguished. No one was

met in the streets. • Women and children were in hiding in

back rooms, and darkened house terraces were deserted, for the

dread being is greatly feared by all the Hopi. Knowing that

he was to be personated that night, the author resorted to the

chief kiva, in Walpi, early in the evening, and found about 20

men engaged in decorating their bodies with white kaoline

paint, drawing lines down their backs and legs and placing

FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO 157

great daubs of white on their cheeks and hair. None of these

men were masked, but all claimed they personated sisters or

brothers of Masauu. Shortly after the author's entrance they

began to sing their songs, containing strains of fine archaic

Hopi Indian music, closely resembling in their cadences the

song sung by the antelope priests in the well-known snake

dance. While these songs were being sung a priest came down

the kiva hatchway bearing two large hollow gourds, the sur-

faces of which had been painted black, and spattered with a

wash containing glistening hematite. Each gourd was large

enough to fit over the head and both were later worn as helmets

by personators of Masauu. With these gourds the same priest

brought two planting sticks of ancient form and two flat bas-

ket plaques which were laid with great reverence alongside

the masks, near the fire hole. At the advent of this man all

those present ceased their singing and lighted their pipes for a

formal smoke, during which the pipes were passed around, every

man silently puffing clouds of smoke upon the masks. No one

of that gathering spoke a word but each fervently prayed in

sequence, beginning with the chief, at the conclusion of which

they again returned to their usual songs. During these songs

one of the chiefs raised the painted gourd helmet and talked

directly to it praying for success of crops during the coming

season. The songs rose and became so loud that no one could

tell what was said, but the intent throughout were prayers to

fertilize the fields that the corn might germinate and grow.

Shortly after, while the men were still singing and the light of

the fire had been shielded from all eyes by a blanket, in order

to darken the room, a naked man silently and unannounced

came down the ladder, not as is usually the case backwards

holding on the rungs, but as one would descend a pair of t f airs.

Entering the room without making the customary request,

"Am I welcome here?" he slipped around back of the row of

singers, peering anxiously at the masks on the floor. He fi-

nally came to the front from his hiding and squatted by the

fireplace. Cautiously he placed the strange human skull-like

gourd helmet over his head, threw a rough blanket aroui d his

158 FEWKES: INITIATION AT HANO

neck over his shoulders, and taking a planting stick in his

hands assumed the kneeling posture which the Hopi take when

they are planting on their farms, kneeling on one knee with the

stick held vertically in his two hands. A second man who

entered the kiva, in the same way donned the other helmet and

without a word took his position near his predecessor. The

songs of the assembled priests then became more animated and

finally died down to a low murmur and ceased. The two per-

sonators manipulating their planting sticks in rhythm kept time

to the songs. At the conclusion of which the singers filed out

of the kiva, but as each man passed the fireplace he placed in

the flat basket on the floor by the side of the kneeling figures a

feather, symbolic of a prayer, for a successful harvest. As the

last man left the room he halted for a moment at the fireplace,

with one foot on the ladder rung and announced that in the

spring, at planting time, a great ceremony to the planting god

would occur in the fields to the west of Walpi. The prayers

throughout this rite were particularly fervent, but so low they

could not be heard even a few feet away. There was no loud

talking and the faces of all were very serious as befitting the

reverence for the beings addressed; many even went so far as to

turn their faces away from the dread being to whom they

prayed. After the departure of the men the two planting gods

silently gathered up the feathered prayer offerings offered them,

and departed.

The supernatural being called Masauu, also known as Eototo,

was the chief cult being of the Fire people who migrated into

the Hopi country, according to legends, from the East in pre-

historic times. They formerly lived at a pueblo, now in ruins,

three miles east of Walpi, called Sikyatki. A quarrel arose

between Walpi and the inhabitants of Sikyatki, sometime be-

fore 1540, which eventually led to the overthrow of the latter

pueblo, whose people were incorporated in the former. Their

cultus supernatural, Masauu, transferred to the Hopi pantheon,

is still from time to time personated by descendants of the

ill-fated Sikyatki, now fused with other Walpi clans.

ABSTRACTS

Authors of scientific papers are requested to see that abstracts, preferably

prepared and signed by themselves, are forwarded promptly to the editors.

Each of the scientific bureaus in Washington has a representative authorized to

forward such material to this journal and abstracts of official publications should

be transmitted through the representative of the bureau in which they originate.

The abstracts should conform in length and general style to those appearing in

this issue.

GRAVITY. — Investigations of gravity and isostasy. William Bowie.

U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Special Publication No. 40.

Pp. 196, with 18 illustrations. 1917.

For a number of years the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey has been

carrying on geodetic investigations of isostasy with special reference

to the effect of isostatic compensation upon the deflection from the

vertical and upon the intensity of gravity. Four reports on these

investigations have appeared previously. The first one was in 1909

and the last one in 1912.

The present report has as its main features: (1) The observed value

of the intensity of gravity at the stations in the United States, Canada,

India, and Europe, and at a few scattered stations. (2) Discussions

of the relations between the gravity anomalies and the topography,

the large areas of erosion and deposition, the geological formation as

indicated by the surface rock, and the elevation of the station. (3)

So-called regional versus the local distribution of the isostatic com-

pensation. (4) The determination of a gravity equation and of the

earth's flattening and the depth of compensation upon each of several

assumptions. (5) Summaries of the results of the field observations

with the pendulums, and descriptions of the gravity stations. (6) Illus-

trations, in the pocket at the back of the volume, showing graphically

much data resulting from the investigation.

The results of the investigation may be summarized briefly as follows :

1. The most probable depth of compensation derived from gravity

observations alone is 95 kilometers. As the author believes that the

best value determined by Hay ford from deflection data is 97 kilometers

and that each of these two values should have equal weight, the re-

sulting best value from all geodetic data is 96 kilometers.

159

160 ABSTEACTS: PHYSICS

2. In the United States there was found a decided relation between

the sign of the gravity anomalies and the coast, but there was not found

any apparent relation between the anomalies and any other class of

topography.

3. In the United States there was found a decided relation between

the gravity anomalies and the Pre-Cambrian geologic formation. In

both the United States and in India there was found a decided rela-

tion between the gravity anomalies and the Cenozoic formation. No

relation between the gravity anomalies and the geologic formations

was found in Canada.

4. It was found from certain computations and investigations that

the local distribution of compensation of the topographic feature is in

general nearer the truth than regional distribution of the compensa-

tion out to a distance from the station of 167 kilometers. It was not

proven whether local distribution is more probable than a regional dis-

tribution out to a distance of 59 kilometers from the station.

5. The best formula, resulting from this investigation, by which

theoretical gravity may be computed for any latitude at sea level was

based upon 348 stations; it is

To = 978.039 (1+ 0.005294 sin2 0 - 0.000007 sin2 2 0) in which y0

is the value of gravity sought and 4> is the latitude of the station.

6. From the constants of the above gravity formula, was derived

the value of 297.4 for the reciprocal of the flattening of the earth.

This value of the flattening is very close to other values recently derived

from gravity data in the United States and elsewhere.

7. The cause of the greater part of the anomalies is believed by the

author to be in general the deviation from normal in the densities in

the outer portion of the earth's material and probably not far below

sea level.

The titles of a number of articles dealing with isostasy or related

subjects are given. W. B.

PHYSICS. — A specific gravity balance for gases. J. D. Edwards.

Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 89. Pp. 20. 1917.

The need of an accurate method for determining gas densities has

been especially urgent in the natural gas industry. To supply this

need the apparatus described in this paper was designed. The balance

is enclosed in a gas tight chamber and consists of a beam which is sup-

ported on 2 needle points, and which carries on one end a relatively

large globe and on the other a small counterweight. The gas to be

abstracts: metallography 161

studied is introduced into the balance case and its pressure is changed

until the beam balances. The density is computed from the initial and

the final pressures. The balance is standardized by similar observa-

tions made with the case filled with air. J. D. H.

CHEMISTRY. — Experiments in the destruction of fly larvae in horse

manure. F. C. Cook, R. H. Hutchison, and F. M. Scales.

U. S. Department of Agriculture Bulletins 118 and 245. 1914 and

1915.

Experiments during 1915 in the destruction of fly larvae in horse

manure. F. C. Cook and R. H. Hutchison. U. S. Department

of Agriculture Bulletin 408. 1916.

These three bulletins cover experiments extending over three jrears

searching for satisfactory lar/icides for fly larvae to be applied to

fresh horse manure (the principal breeding place of the house fly)

which would be without extremely toxic properties and without in-

jurious action on the fertilizing value of the manure. The study

involved entomological, bacteriological, and chemical investigations.

Over 50 substances have been tested of which three have been found

effective and practicable. Some were excluded because of their ex-

treme toxicity, such as potassium cyanide. The three that are recom-

mended are borax, hellebore, and calcium cyanamid mixtures with

acid phosphate.

Borax in large amounts injures plant growth, hence should be ap-

plied only to manure that is not to be used as a fertilizer.

Powdered hellebore {Veratrum album and V. viride) applied as a

solution is an effective larvicide and, because it is decomposed in

the course of the fermentation, does not affect the fertilizing value of

the manure even when excessive quantities are used.

Calcium cyanamid mixed with acid phosphate and kainit are ef-

fective and, if enough acid phosphate has been added to give an acid

reaction, the nitrogen and ammonia of the manure will be retained.

The mixture is an advantage in that it adds to the manure nitrogen,

potash, and phosphoric acid. F. C. C.

METALLOGRAPHY. — The structure of the coating on tinned sheet

copper in relation to a curious case of corrosion of this material.

Paul D. Merica. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No.

90. Pp. 18. 1917.

The attention of the author has been directed to a case of local cor-

rosion, or pitting, in tinned sheet copper roofing. The pits occur in

162 abstracts: botany

general along the lines of surface scratches, and are apparently unre-

lated to the service conditions, and to the direction of rolling of the

sheet. They appeared some eight or ten years after the completion of

the roof. The tin coating on copper consists of at least three layers;

viz., a thin layer of CusSn immediately next to the copper, than a layer

of Heycock and Neville's constituent H, containing about 60 per cent

by weight of tin, and finally, a layer of the eutectic of tin and copper,

in which most probably is found any lead that may have been present

in the tinning mixture. The constituents of these intermediate alloy

layers are more electronegative than either the tin or the copper. Con-

sequently, when the copper becomes exposed, as at the bottom of

scratches on the surface, it forms together with the alloy layer a gal-

vanic couple, electrolytic action sets in, and the copper at these points

is corroded, forming the pits mentioned. P. D. M.

GEOLOGY. — Relations of the Embar and Chugwater formations in central

Wyoming. D. Dale Condit. U. S. Geological Survey Profes-

sional Paper 98-0. Pp. 263-270, with 3 plates and 2 figures. 1916.

The Embar formation of central Wyoming, which lies between the

Tensleep sandstone and the Chugwater formation, comprises several

distinct facies, each of which is considered in detail, and some of the

formational boundaries in the Bighorn Mountain region are redefined.

In connection with the description of the gypsum and associated strata

it is suggested that possibly conditions were favorable for accumu-

lation of salt beds also. The chance of finding such deposits down the

dip below the surface is believed to be sufficient to merit further

investigation. R. W. S.

BOTANY. — Maxonia, a new genus of Tropical American ferns. Carl

Christensen. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 669: 1-4.

1916.

The type and sole species of this new genus, M. apiifolia, is a rather

rare polypodiaceous fern of Jamaica and Cuba, described by Swartz

in 1801 under Dicksonia, and since variously referred to Dryopteris

(or Nephrodium) and Polystichum. From Dryopteris, in which it was

last placed as a special subgenus by Maxon in 1909, it differs in the

unique morphology and development of the indusium, as also in its

strongly dimorphic leaves and peculiar rope-like rhizome. The last

two characters recall Polybotrya, between which genus and a small

subgroup of Dryopteris species it is somewhat intermediate. A sub-

species, M. apiifolia dualis, occurs in Guatemala. P. C. S.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 783rd meeting was held at the Cosmos Club, February 3, 1917.

Vice President Burgess in the chair; 61 persons present. The min-

utes of the 782nd meeting were read in abstract and approved.

A letter signed by several members of the society, calling attention

to the recently organized American Metric Association, was read.

Mr. Arthur W. Clime, introduced by Mr. Alexander Graham Bell,

presented a communication on Photoelectric radiophonic experiments.

Mr. Bell, in introducing Mr. Clime, spoke of the history of se-

lenium. He referred to the remarkable property possessed by crystal-

line selenium of having its electrical resistance affected by light; and

of the utilization of that property in the construction of the photophone.

He also referred to the discovery made by the late Prof. W. G. Adams,

of King's College, England, that light produced an electromotive force

in crystalline selenium. Mr. Bell had suggested to Mr. Clime that

this opened up a new field for scientific investigation and recommended

him to follow out the experiments of Prof. Adams by applying the

results to radiophonic researches. He had also pointed out to Mr.

Clime that the remarkable properties of carbon in radiophonic work

would well bear exploration.

Mr. Clime then exhibited some of the radiophonic apparatus he

has constructed, and spoke of the results that had been obtained.

He showed a selenium cell which, when exposed to an intermittent

beam of light, caused a telephone connected with it to emit a musical

sound even when there was no battery in the circuit. The result he

claimed was due to an electromotive force produced in the crystal-

line selenium by the action of light. He also showed a cell in which

the selenium had been replaced by lampblack. So long as there was

a voltaic battery in the circuit the telephone responded well when the

lampblack surface was illuminated by an interrupted beam of light,

but he was unable to detect any audible effect when the batterjr was

removed. A cell in which a mixture of selenium and lampblack was

employed was then exhibited. In this case the sonorous responses of

the telephone were very loud even when no battery was used. The

musical tone was clearly perceived when the telephone was held at a

distance of several inches from the ear. On. account of the magnitude

of the sound produced by the selenium-carbon mixture, Mr. Clime

predicted the possibility of producing, by the action of sunlight, an

electromotive force of sufficient power to be of economic value.

163

164 proceedings: philosophical society

Discussion. The paper was discussed by Messrs. Abbot, Bauer,

and Weed. Mr. Sosman inquired as to the nature of the effect of

adding carbon. Mr. Clime stated that the increase in response seemed

out of all proportion to the increase in absorption due to blackening

the surface. Mr. Briggs asked about a lack of symmetry in the il-

luminated system, and Mr. Swann spoke of observing small electro-

motive forces in very thin films of platinum illuminated by a beam of

light not perpendicular to the surface. The chair expressed the thanks

of the society to Mr. Clime for his interesting communication.

Mr. W. W. Coblentz then gave a paper on Characteristics and com-

parative sensitiveness of various types of radiometers.

The various types of radiometers were divided into three groups.

Group I includes radiometers which are nonselective in their re-

sponse to stimuli of radiant energy of all wave lengths. In these instru-

ments the radiant energy is absorbed and converted into heat. They

include the Nichols radiometer, the thermocouple, the Boys radio-

micrometer, and the Langley bolometer. In all these instruments

the response is proportional to the stimulus, and they are well adapted

for quantitative work.

Group II includes substances which have the property of decreasing

in electrical resistance when exposed to radiant energy of short wave-

lengths, especially visible and ultraviolet rays. The phenomenon de-

pends entirely upon the wave-length of the light stimulus. Many

substances are "light-sensitive," e.g., copper oxide, sulphides of an-

timony and silver, and crystalline selenium. The latter has been the

most extensively investigated. Its sensitivity depends upon heat treat-

ment, and varies with the intensity and wave-length of the light stim-

ulus. After exposure to light for a few seconds, it requires a long

time to recover its normal ("dark") resistance. It is not adapted to

quantitative work.

Group III includes the photo-electric cells, substances which, when

charged to a negative potential, lose their charge when exposed to

light; especially violet and ultra-violet rays. This emission of elec-

trons is a surface phenomenon, easily disturbed by oxidation of the

surface. The photo-electric cells investigated consisted of potassium

and rubidium. .It was found that the response (galvanometer deflec-

tion) was not proportional to the intensity of the stimulus, but, dif-

fering from the selenium cell, this lack of proportionality of response

does not appear to depend upon the wave-length of the exciting light.

In 1907 Angstrom described a new method for studying solar radia-

tion. By covering his pyrheliometer with a blue glass he was able

to study atmospheric diffusion of solar radiation independently of the

water vapor present. He obtained some very interesting data on the

temporary variations in the solar constant. In view of the fact that

the potassium, photoelectric cell has its maximum sensitivity in the

violet, the speaker tried it as a pyrheliometer. It was found entirely

too sensitive (on only 2 volts) to be used with an insensitive d'Arson-

nal galvanometer. Using a higher voltage and a milliammeter, the

proceedings: biological society 165

current released when the cell was exposed (through blue glass to

reduce the intensity of the sun-light) was sufficient to overheat the

wires and crack the glass cell. This investigation should be continued,

using a less sensitive photoelectric substance.

In certain spectral regions the sensitivity of the selective-radiometers

is far greater than that of the non-selective instruments. The sen-

sitivity of the selective instruments seems spread in the non-selective

radiometer over the whole spectrum, with a corresponding reduction

to a uniform and much lower value. From published data it appears

that a single crystal of selenium, 1 sq. mm. in area, is 100 times as

sensitive as the best selenium cell. In connection with a 36 inch tele-

scope such a crystal receiver could detect a candle at a distance of

350 miles. The photoelectric cell is probably even more sensitive

than the selenium cell. However, these instruments are very insensi-

tive in comparison with the eye, which responds to light having an in-

tensity of less than 1 X 10-9 ergs.

Discussion. Mr. Abbot spoke of some radiometers of very high sen-

sitivity in which the alignment of small magnetic needles was changed

by the thermal expansion of the parts holding them. Mr. Swann

spoke of obtaining readings by placing a Peltier j unction beside a thermo-

couple and maintaining the thermocouple at a constant temperature

by the Peltier effect. Mr. Abbot spoke of increasing the sensitivity by

cooling the apparatus in liquid air. Mr. Coblentz stated that tem-

perature differences in the surroundings make it very difficult to get

consistent results.

Donald H. Sweet, Secretary.

THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 564th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall

of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, January 27, 1917; called to order at

8 p.m. by President Hay; 45 persons present.

Under the heading of brief notes, Messrs. W. L. McAtee and A.

Wetmore made remarks on certain misconceptions as to the notes of

some common species of birds and as to a theory of the migration of

birds.

Under the heading exhibition of specimens, Dr. 0. P. Hay showed

a metacarpal of a horse with well developed lateral metacarpals, and

three fused metacarpals of a cow each with well developed digits.

Dr. L. 0. Howard commented on an enthusiastic antimosquito

convention which he had lately attended in New Jersey.

The regular program consisted of two communications:

H. M. Smith: Exploitation of neglected aquatic resources. Dr. Smith

called attention to many forms of fishes not used as food by the Amer-

ican public, but which are of pleasing taste and of good food value.

Many of these have long been used for food by Europeans especially

about the North Sea. He gave a brief resume of the discovery, disap-

pearance, and rediscovery of the tilefish and of its successful introduc-

166 proceedings: biological society

tion to the consumer through exploitation by the Bureau of Fisheries.

He then described the dogfish and its habits destructive to other fish

and the losses caused by it to fishermen. He told of the efforts now-

being made by the Bureau of Fisheries to market the dogfish as a

food. Under the name of grayfish it is now being successfully canned

and marketed by some of the New England fisheries and, during the

winter months when salmon are unattainable, by some of the salmon

canneries on the Pacific coast. The canned meat not only consti-

tutes one of the cheapest forms of protein now available, but the livers

of the dog-fish yield a valuable oil; the oviducts, eggs; and the skin a

leather which has many possibilities. Discussion by Messrs. Ames,

Bean, and Doolittle.

W. L. McAtee: Showers of organic matter. Under this heading

Mr. McAtee gave a review of the various apocryphal and authentic

instances in which hay, grain, various insects, encysted animalcules,

worms, frogs, toads, fishes, and birds had fallen from the sky. The

explanation was offered that the objects had been carried aloft by

violent currents of air.

The 565th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall of

the Cosmos Club, Saturday, February 10, 1917; called to order at 8

p.m. by President Hay; 30 persons present.

Two formal communications were presented:

H. F. Taylor: A mortality of fishes on the ivest coast of Florida.

During the months of October and November, 1916, by some ob-

scure cause, vast numbers of fishes were killed in the region mentioned.

It appears to be a recurrence of the phenomenon observed in 1844, 1854,

1878, 1880, 1882, 1883 and 1908. Of the dead fishes 63 species, repre-

senting 37 families, were identified. The animals killed were confined,

with the exception of king crabs, sea urchins, and sponges, to the class

Pisces. Various suggested causes were examined; foul Everglade water,

diseases, and volcanic eruptions are inadequate explanations. Evidence

at hand seems rather to show that the cause of mortality was the

release of occluded bottom gases by small seismic disturbances, or

possibly by abnormally large numbers of Peridinii. Mr. Taylor's pa-

per was illustrated by lantern slide views of the region involved and

of strips of shore showing the large numbers of stricken fishes. His

paper was discussed by Messrs. Hay, Bartsch, Goldman, Radcliffe,

and others.

Paul Bartsch: Changes in the avifauna about Burlington, Iowa,

1885 to 1917. From 1885 to 1893 Dr. Bartsch was resident of Bur-

lington and an enthusiastic bird collector. In the ideal conditions

found for birds at Burlington he had recorded 275 species. Since

1893 he has been a sporadic visitor to Burlington but has always re-

tained his interest in the local avifauna. Passenger pigeons, Caro-

lina parakeets, whooping and sandhill cranes, and trumpeter swans

were found about Burlington, but are no longer seen. The same is

true of the Mississippi kite, the swallow-tailed kite, wild turkey, and

proceedings: botanical society 167

prairie chickens, the latter in times past having been shot from the

speaker's porch. The prothonotary warbler, once common, appears

to have gone northward. New birds now found at Burlington have

come from the west, such as western meadowlark and red-shafted

flicker. Other newcomers are the tufted tit and Carolina wren. Many

of these changes are due to human agencies, some are unexplainable.

Dr. Bartsch's paper was discussed by Messrs. Hay, McAtee, Wilcox,

Goldman, Jackson, and others.

M. W. Lyon, Jr., Recording Secretary.

THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 117th regular meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly

Hall of the Cosmos Club at 8 p.m., January 2, 1917, President T. H.

Kearney presiding. Mr. C. W. Warburton was elected to member-

ship.

Under Brief Notes and Reviews of Literature, Mr. W. T. Swingle

called attention to a recent trip by Prof. E. D. Merrill of the Phil-

ippine Bureau of Science, to the vicinity of Canton, China, where

3000 botanical specimens were secured.

The regular program was devoted to* the subject of Plant Introduc-

tion under which the following papers were presented:

The need of more foreign agricultural exploration. (Illustrated) :

David Fairchild. Attention was called to the need of more foreign

agricultural exploration and to the fact that only a comparatively

small amount of money had been expended in such work. The

amount had seldom, if ever, exceeded ,$18,000 in any one year,

and for the most part the expense had been much lower. The most

successful type of agricultural exploration has been carried on by men

who are interested in particular lines of agricultural work. Among

those who have been called into the exploration work temporarily are

Messrs. Kearney, Carleton, Hansen, Swingle, Cook, Collins, Oliver,

Aaronsohn, Meyer, Rolfs, Bessey, Knapp, Mason, Scofield, Shamel,

Dorsett, Popenoe, Young, Lake, Bolley, Shear, Tracy, and Fairchild.

Attention was also called to the need of studying the methods of agri-

cultural production in foreign countries, to some of the more important

recent introductions, and to the difficulty in getting people to adopt

new foods.

The wild relatives of our crop plants; their value in breeding; how to

secure them. (Illustrated) : Walter T. Swingle. The importance

of the wild relatives of our cultivated plants in effective breeding for

such desirable qualities as hardiness, earliness or lateness of blooming

or of ripening, disease resistance, extra vigor, etc. was discussed. Fre-

quently these wild relatives were found to be inconspicuous plants

quite unlike the cultivated forms in appearance and were often native

in remote localities. The Australian desert Kumquat, Eremocitrus

glauca, for example, was originally described under the genus Triphasia

and afterwards transferred to the genus Atalantia. In neither of these

168 proceedings: botanical society

genera was it properly placed, since it is closely related to true citrous

fruits and will hybridize with the cultivated forms. Not cursory in-

spection of botanical literature, but protracted critical study of the botan-

ical relationships, was necessary to make plain the desirability of the

introduction of this species for the successful breeding of hardy and

drouth-resistant citrous fruits. Plants not so closely related to the

cultivated forms have been found useful stocks upon which to graft

cultivated varieties. A properly digested taxonomic knowledge of the

wild relatives of our cultivated plants was found to be indispensable

as a foundation for all efficient plant introduction and plant breeding.

The introduction of foreign plant diseases: R. Kent Beattie.

American agriculture has been based largely on introduced plants.

Only twelve of the two hundred and forty-seven species of cultivated

plants studied by De Candolle in his Origin of Cultivated Plants are

clearly indigenous to the United States., Diseases of American eco-

nomic plants may be separated into two groups: (1) Those which have

passed from native plants to the introduced hosts, such as pear blight;

(2) Those which have been introduced, such as citrous canker and

the chestnut bark disease. Plant disease may be introduced in three

ways: (1) The diseased crop plant may be imported for commercial

use; (2) The diseased crop plant may be imported for scientific pur-

poses; (3) The spores of the disease-producing organism may be brought

in on plants not affected by the disease.

Commercial plant introduction, except field crops and florist stock,

has been under a system of permit and inspection. In most states,

however, the inspectors were trained as entomologists rather than

pathologists, and there has been little restriction on the commercial

importation of fungus plant diseases, except in the case of specifically

quarantined crops. Material imported by the U. S. Department of

Agriculture has undergone rigid inspection and plants which show

symptoms of disease or arouse suspicion have been treated or grown

under restraint until danger was passed. During the year 1916 the

Pathological Inpectors of the Federal Horticultural Board while ex-

amining the material imported by the U. S. Department of Agriculture

found one hundred and sixty-three hosts affected with disease and de-

termined one hundred and fifty-seven diseases on these .hosts.

The protection and propagation of plant introductions: B. T. Gal-

loway. The rapid change in public sentiment in the matter of plant

sanitation and plant hygiene and the need for a -constructive policy

in the matter of adequately protecting our crop plants, and at the

same time not closing the doors to the development of new crop in-

dustries through the introduction of plant immigrants, was discussed.

The Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction in the Depart-

ment of Agriculture has received seeds and plants from all over the

world. These seeds and plants were grown, propagated, and tested

at four outlying stations. It has also acted as the agent for handling

seeds and plants from foreign countries for other branches of the De-

partment, for the experiment stations, and for many private and pro-

proceedings: anthropological society 169

fessional experimenters throughout the country. It has recognized the

clangers to our important crop industries and has endeavored to take

such steps as, in the light of our present knowledge, will insure that

nothing but plants free from parasitic enemies and transmissible dis-

eases are distributed.

The practical questions now confronting the office are as follows:

(1) The organization, development, and equipment of a central plant

and seed receiving station where plant introductions and plant mater-

ials of all kinds may be received, inspected, treated, and held if nec-

essary, under conditions that will safeguard the country, and at the

same time not prove to be a bar to a safe and constructive development

of new plant industries; (2) The discovery and application of methods

of treating seeds and plants, cuttings, buds, bulbs, etc., in such fashion

as will free them from parasitic enemies and transmissible diseases,

and at the same time not injure them or completely destroy them; (3)

The discovery and application of improved methods of reproducing

plants by seeds and vegetative parts in such manner that they will be

free from parasitic enemies and transmissible diseases; (4) The con-

ducting of field tests and trials for the purpose of determining the

healthfuhiess of new or promising plant immigrants, and their suit-

ability for general distribution; (5) The great need of further knowledge

of plant propagation and plant and soil sterilization in order to pro-

vide methods which are less empirical than those in use at the present

time.

H. L. Shantz, Corresponding Secretary.

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

■

The 506th meeting of the Society was held in the Lecture Hall of

the Public Library, Tuesday evening, February 6, 1917, at 8 o'clock.

Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, of the Bureau of American Ethnology,

read a paper on Prehistoric rains of the Mesa Verde National Park.

This communication was mainly taken up by an outline of the work

accomplished by him, in the summer of 1916, under direction of the

Bureau of American Ethnology, at the request of the Department of

the Interior. After a brief introduction on the situation and physical

features of the Park and a short account of archeological work already

accomplished, the speaker described in detail the uncovering and re-

pair of one of the large pueblo-like buildings of the Mummy Lake

group, situated on the Government road, 4| miles from the ruin known

as Spruce-tree House.

The mound excavated is one of the largest of the group, and when

the work began gave no indication of the form, size, and architectural

features of the building it covered. After three months' work there

was brought to light a rectangular structure, 113 feet long by 100 feet

wide, three stories high, with an enclosed court on the south side. The

ground plan showed the existence of four circular, ceremonial rooms

compactly embedded in fifty rectangular enclosures which were for-

170 proceedings: anthropological society

merly used for secular purposes. The remarkable feature of this ruin

is the large size of one of the circular rooms, situated in the center of

a compact group of chambers. From the wide .southerly outlook this

ruin has received the name, Far View House. It is a pueblo habitation;

the first of its type ever brought to light on the plateau. The ruin

was repaired, the tops of the kivas being treated with Portland cement

to protect them from the elements.

After describing the various architectural details of the building

Dr. Fewkes passed to a consideration of what he termed the morpholo-

gy of the structure, or the comparison of it with other types, especial-

ly the cliff dwellings of the Mesa Verde. He declared that it is a new

type of ruin for that region, and that there are evidences of many

other examples of the same general character now indicated by mounds;

we may say that formerly there were as many members of this type

on the Park as cliff dwellings in the caves of the canyons. He consid-

ered in detail some of the arguments bearing on the relative age of

buildings like Far View House, and the cliff dwellings, and came to

the conclusion that the former were the more recent, and evolved

from the habitations in cliffs.

Considerable time was devoted to a discussion and comparison of

the so-called kiva or sacred room. He held that this chamber should

be made the basis of classification of pueblo ruins, and that it was

represented by the tower found widely distributed in Utah and ad-

jacent regions of Colorado. He pointed out the wide-spread custom of

dual styles of buildings among primitive races, one type being devoted

to religious purposes, the other to habitations. He claimed that the

former are always better constructed than the latter. He regarded

the tower as a religious building and thought that the people who i^sed

it lived in dugouts or temporary habitations that have disappeared.

In the earliest times these two types were separated, but in later stages

in the evolution of buildings they became united, and habitations

were constructed around the bases of the towers. Later in the course

of development the central original building lost its tower-like form

and became the circular kiva. Several similar architectural units, by

union, formed a pueblo.

Dr. Fewkes pointed out that the great morphological similarity be-

tween Far View House and the pueblos with central kivas and towers,

many miles away, had an important bearing on the distribution or

diffusion of pueblo culture. He regarded the San Juan region as the

nucleus from which the pueblos south and west originated, thus sub-

stantiating by archaeological evidence the legendary traditions of

the inhabited and much modified historic pueblos. He claimed that

there were two nuclei of distribution of house builders in the southwest,

each arising in regions physiographically and climatically distinct,

each possessed of different materials available for architectural ad-

vancement. One arose in the Gila Valley, the other in the San Juan;

the former spread toward the north, the latter to the south. Both

nuclei were extinct before the historic epoch. What remained, or

proceedings: anthropological society 171

that which we now know as the culture of living descendants, is the

product of acculturation, due to cultural contacts in this expansion.

History can afford, therefore, only an imperfect picture. We must

rely on archeology, mainly architectural, and ceramic remains, sup-

plemented by ethnology, to discover the nature of the culture of these

two original nuclei.

In a discussion of their distribution the speaker showed numerous

illustrations of the prehistoric kivas, called towers, situtated in Hill

Canyon, near Ouray, Utah. To these he gave the name, suggested

by their site, Mushroom Rock ruins. Their more striking peculiarity

is their position on the tops of inverted cones, or mushroom-like

formations of rock, produced by the enormous erosion evident in the

region where they occur. He said that this form of ruins was not

morphologically a different type from towers, but their site was so un-

usual that it was convenient to designate them by this name.

While the important question of the antiquity of the cliff dwellings

has not been satisfactorily answered by the observation made at Far

View House, progress is being made in the accumulation of significant

data bearing upon it. As long as this question remains unanswered

the archeologist has plenty of research before him for many more

years of field work in the Southwest.

The communication was illustrated with lantern slides.

The 507th meeting of the Society was held in room 44 of the New

National Museum, February 20 at 4 p.m. The speaker of the after-

noon was Dr. I. M. Casanowicz of the New National Museum, who pre-

sented a paper on The fish in cult, myth, and symbol.

Dr. Casanowicz said, "The fish, as the inhabitant of the mysterious,

indestructible, never-resting water, early impressed man deeply, and

was considered by him as the genius and representative of the life-

producing element. Traces of the veneration of the fish, sometimes

revealed in taboos, are found everywhere in ancient times and still

exist in various parts of the world." An important center of ichthy-

olatry in antiquity, according to the testimony of classical writers,

was Syria where a fish goddess under the name of Derketo-Atargatios

was worshiped as a phase of the great Semitic mother goddess Astarte,

being regarded as a personification of the fructifying power of the

water. Reminiscences of this cult still survive in the cherishing of

sacred inviolate fishes in some places near mosques.

Tales of the fish as a medium of transformation and incarnation of

spirits and ghosts are met with among various nations, and in later

times the fish seems to have been, next to the bird, a symbol of the

departed human soul. The fish as carrier of man across the water

was illustrated by the story of Arion and the dolphin as told by Her-

odotus, and by the Biblical narrative contained in the book of Jonah.

Parallel narratives of a man being swallowed by a sea monster were quot-

ed from Greek, Polynesian, and Cherokee lore.

The belief in the magical and apotropaic properties of the fish was

172 proceedings: anthropological society

also found to be widespread. The fish was generally considered as a

being of good omen, benevolent and beneficient toward man, and by

reason of its own great fertility it was a symbol of increase and abun-

dance. Various regions had their favorite species of fish which were

endowed with supernatural qualities. Thus among the classical na-

tions the dolphin was termed the "saviour fish" (piscis salvator).

In the Far East (China and Japan) the carp was the fish of good omen,

while among the ancient Irish the salmon was the "fish of wisdom,"

the mere sight of which brought healing.

Dr. Swanton introduced the discussion of the paper by calling at-

tention to the fact that migrations of Indians were influenced largely

by the food supply. Thus many tribes of Indians followed the rivers

and streams because of the presence of fish. Dr. Michelson men-

tioned the legend of a miraculous fish among the Delaware Indians,

and also noted a similarity between the ancient beliefs concerning the

fish and those held by the North American Indians. Mr. E. T. Wil-

liams spoke on the use of the fish in Japan and China, the latter country

considering it martial in character because of its fearlessness in pro-

ceeding against the current of a stream, and also because of its scales,

which suggest a coat of mail.

Frances Densmore, Secretary.

JOURNAL

OF THE

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Vol. VII APRIL 4, 1917 No. 7

MATHEMATICS. — Note on multiple algebra: The reduction of

real dyadics and the classification of real homogeneous strains.

Edwin Bidwell Wilson, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-

nology. (Communicated by Arthur L. Day.)

1. About ten years ago I printed an account of some parts of

Gibbs's course of lectures on multiple algebra.1 In the classifi-

cation, or reduction to a canonical form, which was there estab-

lished for dyadics no attention was paid to distinctions between

real and imaginary. I had in mind at that time to give the ex-

tension of Gibbs's work in Vector Analysis2 needed to obtain the

reduction of real dyadics to type forms, but did not publish

my results. I desire now to show how the algebraic methods

used by Gibbs to find the general classification lend themselves

immediately to the further subdivision relative to reality.

The sort of dyadic under consideration is (p. II):3

$ = a | a0 + (3 | 0° + . . . ,

where the antecedents a, 0, . . . are ordinary vectors and the

consequents a0, 0°, . . . are (n-1) -dimensional vectors in n-

dimensional space. (The vertical bars serve as separators and

1 Wilson*, Edwin* B. On the theory of double products and strains in hyper-

space. Trans. Conn. Acad. Arts Sci., 14: 1-57. 1908.

2 Gibbs-Wilson. Vector Analysis, pp. 356-367.

3 The page numbers in the text refer to the memoir cited in Note 1. I here

use an upper zero instead of a dash over a letter to represent an (n-l)-vector.

173

174 WILSON: REDUCTION OF REAL DYADICS

have no connection with Grassmann's Erganzung.) The only

kind of multiplication used in the work is the (progressive or

regressive, single or multiple) combinatory product. That

means that we work with the affine, not with the metric, group

of linear transformations with one point fixed, i. e., with homo-

geneous strains.

2. The essential steps in the reduction of a dyadic are these:

(a) As there are only n2 independent dyads, any dyadic must

satisfy a polynomial equation, with numerical coefficients, of

degree not exceeding n-. Hence any dyadic satisfies an equation

A O) = $m + ci$w_1 + . . . + cm_x 3> + cm 7=0

of lowest degree, I being the idemfactor. This equation is unique

for if there were two of like lowest degree, their difference would

be of lower degree (pp. 15-16.)

(6) As any dyadic is homologous (commutative in multipli-

cation, p. 14) with its powers and with I, the equation of lowest

degree may be factored in the form:

A ($) = ($ - aiy ($ - biy ($ - ciy . . . = o

identical with that obtained in factoring the ordinary polynomial

A (x) = xm + d xm~l + . . . + Cm_! X + cm

= (x - a)p (x - b)q (x - c)r . . . =0.

(c) If we set (p. 26)

$ - al = ¥, * - bl = ¥ + (a - b) I, <J> - cl = * + (a - c) I, . . .

and if we divide (by the ordinary algorism of long division,

which is applicable here) the expression

(?-bI)q(*-cI)r . . . =AI+B*+ . . . +H*q+r+---

into I, we have the result

^I + B'^ + .-. + G'^-1

+

AI +B* + ... + HVn-p

where P is a polynomial of degree m — p - 1. Next, let (p. 27)

WILSON: REDUCTION OF REAL DYADICS 175

/. ={AI +B*+ . . . +H*"1'13) (±-I+Bf*+ . . . +GV-1)

= l-<t>pp O)

with similar expressions for Ib, Ic . . . . corresponding to

each of the roots b, c, . . . . The dyadics Ia, Ib, . . . are

partial idemfactors, their squares are equal to themselves, they

are independent, the product of two having different subscripts

vanishes (Ia Ib '= 0) , and the sum of all is the idemfactor I.

(d) The dyadic <f> may be written as a sum of terms (p. 28)

$ = $/ = $ {Ia + Ib + . . . )

= $B -f- <S>6- + $c + . . .

where the product of any two vanishes ($a $6 =0). The dy-

adics

^ a ^a **-* a j • • • j

are nilpotent, i. e., Z„ = 0. The series of powers (p. 29)

Za, Z~a, . . . , Za , Za = 0

have increasing nullities, but the change of nullity between two

succeeding powers never increases.

The reduction of $ has thus been simplified to that of nilpo-

tent dyadics Z. Beginning with Zv~l we may work back through

descending powers to Za and hence to 3>a. We thus find the

familiar result that, when expressed in matrical or quadrate

form, $ consists of a set of terms along the main diagonal, with

at most some terms in the next parallel partial diagonal (called

shearing terms, p. 31).

3. What additional information is obtainable if the dyadic is

real? The steps in the proof may be traced one at a time.

(a1) The equation of least degree must be real since it is

unique — a complex equation is equivalent to two.

(&') The complex roots of A (x) = 0 occur in conjugate pairs

of the same multiplicity. Hence if a and b are conjugate imag-

inaries, p and q are equal.

(c') If a and b are conjugate imaginaries, so are 3> — al and

$ — bl, and hence so must be Ia and Ib, for they are obtained by

similar real operations applied to conjugate imaginaries.

176 WILSON: REDUCTION OF REAL DYADICS

(d') If a and b are conjugate, so are $0 and $&, and Za and Zb.

If Zo is reduced to a certain standard form, one form of the con-

jugate imaginary dyadic Zb will be that in which each vector

(antecedent or consequent) and each scalar in Za is replaced by

its conjugate value. Hence the types of Za and Zb or of <£>a and

<£& must be identical relative to the distribution of shearing terms.

The results thus obtained allow us to set up canonical forms

for real dyadics which have imaginary latent roots. As the ante-

cedents a, /3, ... of the dyads occur in conjugate imaginary

pairs, the consequents which form the reciprocal set a , /3', . . .

(p. 8) also occur in conjugate imaginary pairs (since they are ob-

tained by multiplication and division).

If there is a pair of simple roots, the corresponding terms in

the reduced form of the dyadic are a a \ a + b /3 | $' where

a' a = 0' 0 = 1, a /3 = p' a = 0,

owing to the relations between reciprocal sets. We may write

a = a{ + a2i b = ax — a2i

a = «! + a2 i j3 = a{ — a2i

I 0 0 „• al 0 I 0 •

with the reciprocal relations yielding

o i o i o on

«l aj -f- a2 a2 = 1 «i a2 — a2 ax = U

&i «j — a2 oc2 = U «i «2 "T «2 ai = "

when real and imaginary parts are separated. Hence

o o n ooi

If we set a[= 2a°u a2= 2a°2, the sets a, /3, . . . and a', /3', . . .

may be replaced byaba2, . . . and a{, a2, . . .

On multiplying, the terms a a \ a + b p | j3' give

aiai I <*i + %*i | a2 s COS0 ax | a[ + S sin0 ax \ a!2

i or

a2a2 I a i+ «i«2 I «2 — S Sin0 a2 \ a\ + S COS0 a2 | a2

if a = se*. This is precisely of the Gibbs cyclotonic form, as

might have been anticipated. The linear transformation or

strain is a combination of stretching with elliptical rotation.4

4 An elliptical rotation of angle q is a projection of an ordinary rotation of

angle q. See Vector Analysis, p. 349.

WILSON: REDUCTION OF REAL DYADICS 177

The proof here given differs radically, however, from that given

by Gibbs5 for the simple three dimensional case; it applies,

moreover, to any pair of conjugate latent roots, simple or not,

when shearing terms are absent.

In case there is a double complex root with shearing, the

terms in the reduced complex form of the dyadic are

aa | a + ay \ y' + a \ y' + bj3 \ $' + 65 | ti + 0 | ti

Multiplication shows that the corresponding real form is, in

matrical notation, as follows:

s cos 9 s sin 0 1 0

— s sin 6 s cos 6 0 1

0 0 s cos 6 s sin 6

0 0 — s sin 6 s cos d

The extension to the case of multiple roots with various

shearing terms is clear. In the matrix there are two-rowed

determinants strung along the main diagonal all alike; and

parallel to the main diagonal there are strung along with any

distribution (depending on the distribution of the original

shearing terms) two -rowed determinants, all alike, and of the

special form shown above; all other places are filled with zeros.

The transformation in the case of multiply complex roots

with shearing might be called a cyclotonic shear. It consists

of a stretch and of an elliptic rotation in a series of planes Pi,

P2, . . . , Pa-ij Pk} the angles of rotation and the factors of

stretching being the same for all, combined with a shift of the

points in PA+1 parallel to Ph for at least some values of h. The

amount of the shift is typical of the shear. For instance, in

the case of a triple complex root with double shearing the

vector

p = Xay + ya2 + 27i + ^72 + ^«l + ^«2

suffers, in addition to the stretch and elliptical rotation, the shift

+ Zcti + Wa2 + M7i + #72 •

' Gibbs-Wilson. Vector Analysis, p. 360.

178 LARSEN AND WHERRY: HALLOYSITE FROM COLORADO

MINERALOGY. — Halloijsite from Colorado? Esper S. Lar-

sen, Geological Survey, and Edgar T. Wherry, National

Museum.

In the upper workings of the fluorite mine at Wagon Wheel

Gap, Colorado, two amorphous hydrous aluminium silicates

have been recognized which agree more or less closely with halloy-

site as defined by Dana but differ from one another considerably

in water content. One has essentially the composition of kao-

linite, but is for the most part sensibly isotropic and has the

index of refraction 1.557. It occurs in rather large amount as

TABLE 1

Analyses and Theoretical Composition

of Halloysite

1 and 2. Analyses of halloysite.

3. Average of 1 and 2.

4. Theoretical for A1203 . 2Si02

TABLE 2

Loss of Water by

Halloysite2

2H20 . 2Aq.

the matrix in which the mineral creedite is imbedded and has

been called "isotropic kaolinite."3 The other contains more

1 Published with the permission of the Director of the U. S. Geological Sur-

vey and of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

2 Lowenstein (Zeit. Anorg. Chem., 63: 88-101. 1909), found that halloysite

from Laurium, Greece, lost 21.4 per cent H20 at 110°-130° or over 97 per cent

H2SO4, and 6.2 per cent above 130°, but most halloysites cited by Dana behave

like the one here described.

3 Larsen, Esper S., and Wells, Roger C. >Some minerals from the fluorite-

barite vein near Wagon Wheel Gap, Color do. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 2: 360. 1916.

LARSEN AND WHERRY: HALLOYSITE FROM COLORADO

179

water, and is less abundant, forming a matrix for nodules of geark-

sutite. It is white and opaline to dull in appearance, and has a

hardness of about 2. Under the microscope it is isotropic and

has a variable index of refraction, averaging about 1.470 ± 0.010

when first examined, but increasing to 1.542 after standing for

six months in a loosely stoppered bottle in a warm room.4

Analysis (by E. T. W.) yielded the results shown in Table 1.

TABLE 3

Change in Optical Properties of Halloysite with Loss op Water

4 Two halloy sites represented by analyses A and B of U. S. Geol. Survey Bull.

591 : 341, were examined microscopically for comparison. That represented by

analysis A, from Horse Cove, Hart County, Kentucky, is pale pinkish in color

and opaline in appearance. Much of it is weakly birefracting and large areas

extinguish much as a unit but with a wavy effect, probably due to strain. The

index of refraction is about 1.549 =*= 0.003. The halloysite represented by analy-

sis B, from Edwards County, Texas, is chalky in appearance, largely isotropic,

and has an index of refraction of 1.556 ="= 0.003, but contains admixed a consid-

erable amount of birefracting kaolinite. However, to what extent their indexes

have changed since analysis is unknown.

180 oberholser: a new family of passeriformes

The water determinations (Table 2) were made by heating

coarse powder in a covered platinum dish. The powder not used

was kept for three months in a small vial in a balance case in

which the air was dried with sulfuric acid, and was then found to

have lost spontaneously 5 per cent of water. Obviously, the

water in halloysite is in part only mechanically held. This part

is given off very readily, and the resulting partially dehydrated

material has a composition near that of kaolinite. The formula

should therefore probably be written Al2O3.2SiO2.2H2O.Aq.

The effects of the loss of water on the optical properties are

shown in Table 3.

The close approach of this and many other analyses of halloy-

site to the composition Al203.2Si02.2H2O.Aq, combined with the

results of optical examination given above, indicates that the

material called halloysite is the amorphous mineral correspond-

ing to crystalline kaolinite, holding through capillarity or adsorp-

tion more or less excess water.

ORNITHOLOGY. — Diagnosis of a new laniine family of Passeri-

formes. Harry C. Oberholser, Bureau of Biological Sur-

vey.

The peculiar shrike-like Madagascar genus Tylas has commonly

been considered a member of the family Pycnonotidae. This

disposition has probably been due to its nuchal hairs, and to the

character of its external nares, which in general resemble those

of the genus Otocompsa.

As Mr. W. P. Pycraft has recently shown,1 this genus is really

not closely allied to the Pycnonotidae. Neither is it a member

of the Prionopidae, to which family Mr. Pycraft has proposed to

refer it, apparently for want of a more satisfactory place. While

in some osteological respects it resembles the Prionopidae, it has

also resemblances to the Muscicapidae, and, on the whole, pre-

sents a very curious combination of characters, a condition re-

flected in the difficulty authors have had in referring it to the

proper family.

That it does not belong in the Prionopidae is at once evident

1 Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1907, p. 376.

michelson: terms of relationships 181

from the structure of the narial capsule alone, which in the latter

group is fully ossified as in the Laniidae, leaving no external nasal

fossa. Since there is no other family to which the genus Tylas is

properly referable, it becomes necessary to provide one for its

accommodation, as follows:

Tylidae, fam. nov.

Family characters. — Bill relatively slender and thrush-like, the

culmen rather sharply ridged, the gonys rounded and but slightly

and gradually ascending, the culmen straight for its basal half,

gently decurved terminally; mental apex opposite anterior end

of nostril; maxilla conspicuously hooked at tip, the commissural

edge notched subterminally; nostril rather small, oval, non-oper-

culate, exposed, and situated in the anterior end of nasal fossa;

nasal capsule not ossified; feathering of forehead covering only

basal portion of nasal fossae; narial bristles rather weak, but

reaching to middle of bill; rictal bristles well developed; head

entirely feathered; nuchal hairs present but short; tail moder-

ately long, making up somewhat less than half the total length

of the bird, square or slightly emarginate, and composed of mod-

erately broad, stimsh feathers; wings much longer than tail but

much rounded, the first (outermost) primary spurius, but more

than half as long as the next, and neither secondaries nor tertials

lengthened; feet and legs of moderate size and length; tarsi scu-

tellate; femur pneumatic; ectepicondylar process of humerus much

reduced.

The genus Tijlas Hartlaub, comprising the following five species,

constitutes this monotypic family : Tylas eduardi Hartlaub ; Tylas

alfredi Sharpe; Tylas albigularis Hartlaub; Tylas fulviventris

Sharpe; Tylas strophiatus Stejneger.

ANTHROPOLOGY. — Remarks on terms of relationship.1 Tru-

man Michelson, Bureau of American Ethnology.

Some years ago Kroeber2 undertook to show that terms of re-

lationship are linguistic and psychological phenomena. Re-

1 Published with the permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-

tion.

2 Journ. Roy. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit, and Irel., 39: 77-84. 1909.

182 michelson: terms of relationships

cently Rivers3 has attempted to overthrow this view, holding

that they are sociological phenomena, and consequently that it

is entirely possible to infer marriage customs and social organi-

zation from these terms. Lowie4 to a certain extent followed

Rivers but has not followed the latter's survival-theories, nor is

it likely that many American ethnologists will do so.5 The pres-

ent writer6 developed Kroeber's linguistic thesis from a different

angle, and also made a new point, namely, that terms of rela-

tionship are likewise disseminative phenomena. Specific data from

Algonquian tribes were given to establish these facts. Lowie,7

some months later, but quite independently, arrived also at this

second theoretic position but extended the principle more broadly

than the present writer had done. It is not without interest to

note that we both assume that Iroquoian and Siouan influence

has played a part in Algonquian terms of relationship. Sapir8

briefly touches upon the methodological considerations and con-

cludes that thoroughly satisfactory results can not be secured

without linguistic analysis of kinship terms; that existing no-

menclature may be retained in the face of sociological develop-

ments requiring its modification; that the factors governing kin-

ship nomenclature are very complicated. Goldenweiser,9 in his

review of Rivers' History of Melanesian Society, says, UA set of

terms must always remain a feature of language and as such it is

subject to those influences which control linguistic changes as

well as to the peculiar spirit of a particular language or linguis-

tic stock." The present writer10 has shown what extraordinary

types of marriage we should have to assume existed formerly

among the Piegans, were we to believe that marriage customs

3 Kinship and Social Organization, 1914. The History of Melanesian Society,

1914.

4 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 1: 346-349. 1915. Amer. Anthrop. n. ser., 17: 223-

239, 329-340, 588-591. 1915.

5 Webster (Amer. Anthrop., n. ser., 17: 175-177. 1915) is an isolated

exception.

6 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 2: 297. May, 1916.

7 Holmes Anniversary Volume, 293. December, 1916.

8 Amer. Anthrop., n. ser., 18: 327, footnote 1. 1916.

9 Science, n. ser., 44: 826. 1916.

10 Holmes Anniversary Volume, 333. 1916.

michelson: terms of relationships 183

might safely be inferred from terms of relationship ; whereas such

marriages are fundamentally repugnant to the Piegans, and their

terms of relationship are new, not old. This is, of course, a con-

crete example of one of Sapir's points. Recently Swanton" quite

similarly brings forward data from Creek and Chickasaw which

prove the unsoundness of such inferences.

The above has been cited to show that American ethnologists

generally have taken a united stand against Rivers' one-sided

attitude. I reopen the case because none of us has given abso-

lute proof that kinship terms are borrowed. In another place'2

I have tried to prove that Cree has borrowed certain terms

from Ojibwa; and somewhat similarly that Peoria has been influ-

enced by Sauk, etc. I think the reasoning given there is sound,

and as near absolute proof as we can expect to have in the case

of prehistoric linguistic borrowing ; yet it is not absolute in so far

as we have no Cree nor Ojibwa records transmitted to us his-

torically, extending over several centuries, showing absolutely

that such borrowing took place. The same is true regarding

Peoria. English is a good language to draw on for illustrative

material to prove such a point, for it has been transmitted his-

torically for several centuries. Every Indo-European philolo-

gist knows that sister is Scandinavian in origin, and that cousin,

niece, nephew, aunt, and uncle are Romance. Furthermore all

our terms of -in-law are directly or indirectly due to the latter's

influence; grand-father and grand-mother are Romance in the first

member of their compounds. Similarly Albanian frat " brother"

is Romance in origin and is not a native word, as is shown by

the phonetics. In the same way Hungarian bar at " brother" is

borrowed from Slavic, a case of borrowing across linguistic stocks.

[Ojibwa nimpdpa, nimdrnd (Fort William) are other illustrations

of kinship terms borrowed across linguistic stocks.] These

facts, long known, are brought forward simply because they seem

to have escaped the attention of ethnologists. Delbriick13 was

well aware of the fact that Indo-European terms of relationship

11 Amer. Anthrop. n. ser., 18: 463. 1916 [1917].

12 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 2: 297. 1916.

13 Die Verwandtschaftsnamen. Leipzig. 1889. Also in Abh. phil.-hist.

Klasse sachs. Ges. Wiss., 11: 379. 1889.

184 michelson: terms of relationships

are linguistic phenomena. Several terms that correspond pho-

netically occur in so many Indo-European languages that it is

evident they belonged to the Indo-European parent language.

The social organization of the peoples speaking the historical

languages had nothing to do with it, as is shown by their diverse

social organization. Nor can it be said that such German com-

pounds as Schwieger-mutter, Schwieger-vater, Schwieger-tochter

have replaced the Old High German words by reason of a change

in social organization. Similarly, the fact that the Slavic word

for " father" (Old Bulgarian oibcb) has a different termination

than Greek arra, Gothic atta, is of linguistic significance, not

sociological. These data support my contenion referred to pre-

viously.4

Let us return once more to Rivers' position. On looking

over the tables given at the end of volume 1 of Rivers' History of

Melanesian Society, I am convinced that after all, he may have

just as much a linguistic and disseminative problem as a sociologi-

cal one. For example, the social organization of Mota, Banks

Islands, and Eddystone, Solomon Islands, is entirely different;

nevertheless the terms for father, elder brother, and younger

brother are evidently the same. Furthermore, the distribution

of slightly varying forms of the words tama, Una (father and

mother respectively) even across linguistic stocks, points in the

same direction. As I am not a specialist in Melanesian and

Polynesian linguistics, I regret that I can not thresh this out to

the end, and can only indicate a problem for others to solve.

ABSTRACTS

Authors of scientific papers are requested to see that abstracts, preferably

prepared and signed by themselves, are forwarded promptly to the editors.

Each of the scientific bureaus in Washington has a representative authorized to

forward such material to this journal and abstracts of official publications should

be transmitted through the representative of the bureau in which they originate.

The abstracts should conform in length and general style to those appearing in

this issue.

GEOLOGY. — Contributions to the geology and 'paleontology of San Juan

County, New Mexico. 2. Vertebrate faunas of the Ojo Alamo,

Kirtland, and Fruitland formations. Charles W. Gtlmore. U. S.

Geological Survey Professional Paper 98-Q. Pp. 279-308, with 8

plates and 13 figures. 1916.

The known vertebrate fauna of the dinosaur-bearing beds in the San

Juan basin in northern New Mexico consists of a considerable number

of genera and species. The dinosaur-bearing deposits are subdivided

into three formations — the uppermost, or Ojo Alamo, the Kirtland, .and

the Fruitland. No mammal, bird, or amphibian remains have yet

been recorded from these formations. The dinosaurs were apparently

the predominating vertebrates of these times, and they afford the best

basis for a comparison with forms found elsewhere. The vertebrate

remains from the Ojo Alamo, Kirtland, and Fruitland formations show

beyond all question that they pertain to a fauna or faunas distinctly

older than that of the Lance, and such evidence as there is contributes

to the support of the contention that the Ojo Alamo sandstone is syn-

chronous with the Judith River and Belly River formations as found

in areas to the north. R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — Contributions to the geology and -paleontology of San Juan

County, New Mexico. 3. Nonmarine cretaceous invertebrates of the

San Juan basin. T. W. Stanton. U. S. Geological Survey Pro-

fessional Paper 98-R. Pp. 309-326, with 5 plates and figures.

1916.

Overlying the Pictured Cliffs sandstone with apparent conformity in

the San Juan basin and underlying the Puerco formation is a group

of nonmarine sediments, coal bearing in the lower part, which in many

previous reports have been referred more or less doubtfully to the Lar-

amie formation. The rocks occupying this interval are fully described

185

186 abstracts: geology

and a considerable area of them is mapped in a stratigraphic paper by

C. M. Bauer, who recognizes in them three formations, the Fruitland

formation containing all the coal beds at the base, the Kirtland shale

in the middle, and the Ojo Alamo sandstone at the top. The inverte-

brates, which form the subject of the present paper, nearly all come

from the Fruitland formation.

The list of species shows that the nonmarine invertebrates of the

Fruitland formation include both a fresh-water fauna and a brackish-

water fauna. The fresh-water fauna is especially notable for the

greatly varied development of the genus Unio and for the abundance

and considerable variety of the gastropods. The invertebrate evidence

as a whole favors the assignment of the Fruitland formation to an

epoch considerably later than Mesaverde and Judith River, and possi-

bly somewhat earlier than Lance. The Fruitland can hardly be older

than Fox Hills, and the sequence from the base of the Fruitland up

to the top of the Ojo Alamo, which is conformable, may include the

equivalents of everything from the Fox Hills to the Lance inclusive.

R. W. S.

GEOLOGY. — Contributions to the geology and paleontology of San Juan

County, New Mexico. 4- Flora of the Fruitland and Kirtland for-

mations. F. H. Knowlton. U. S. Geological Survey Professional

Paper 98-S. Pp. 327-353, with 8 plates and figures. 1916.

The object of the present study is to ascertain the bearing of the

fossil plants on the age of the series of coal-bearing and related rocks

in San Juan basin, New Mexico. A brief historical setting for the

geologic facts is given. The material on which the present report is

based comprises 20 collections, of which 15 are from the Fruitland for-

mation, 3 from the Kirtland shale, and only 1 from the Ojo Alamo

sandstone. The bulk of the material comes from the lower or coal-

bearing portion of the section, and much of this is preserved on a red

baked shale, indicating proximity to coal. Of the 40 forms making up

the known flora of the Fruitland and Kirtland formations, 16 have been

found in other areas, and the list of these forms brings out the fact

that no less than 15 are known to occur in the Montana. A further

analysis of the list shows that 12 of the 15 forms occur in the Vermejo

formation of Colorado and New Mexico, 10 occur in the Mesaverde, or

rocks of about this age, in Wyoming and elsewhere, and 6 species are

common to both these areas. On the basis of this showing the con-

clusion that the Fruitland and Kirtland formations are of Montana age,

seems justified. R. W. S.

abstracts: phytopathology 187

PHYTOPATHOLOGY. — Mechanism of tumor growth in crown gall.

Erwin F. Smith. Journ. Agr. Research, 8: 165-186, plates

4-65. 1917.

This paper, with its wealth of illustrations, records the results of a

series of experiments testing the effects of various fluids and vapors

on plants, undertaken for the purpose of shedding light on the mechan-

ism of tumor growth in crown gall. As a result of these studies the

author has come to look upon excessive cell proliferation as it occurs

in plant neoplasms as due, not to the direct application of stimuli such

as endotoxins and other by-products of the growth of the parasite

within the host cells, but to their indirect action as the removers of

inhibitions. Growth is the normal function of cells but under normal

conditions is alwa3^s inhibited beyond a certain point. In the

case of neoplasms we have an "inhibition remover that acts locally, dis-

turbing tissue equilibriums within limited areas." The author believes,

furthermore, that this removal of growth inhibitions is not (or not

wholty) due to a chemical action but partly at least to a physical one — ■

viz., a locally increased osmotic pressure produced by the diffusion

from the cells of various substances produced within them by the

parasite as a result of its metabolism, together with the resultant coun-

ter movements of water and food supply, basing this belief upon the

researches of Jacques Loeb in artificial parthenogenesis and fertiliza-

tion, and on the results of his own experiments.

The substances produced by Bacterium tumefaciens in culture media

containing dextrose, Witte's peptone, calcium carbonate, and water

are ammonia, alcohol, acetic acid, formic acid, amines, aldehyde, and

acetone. With several of these compounds, the author produced

intumescences (both hypertrophic and hyperplasial) without the in-

tervention of the organism itself. In addition to obtaining small

tumors with crown-gall products (ammonia, dimenthylamine, and acetic

acid) the author obtained overgrowths with a great variety of other

substances; hence his conclusion that the response must be physi-

cal rather than chemical, i.e., due to removal of water from cells, which

then divide.

The plants used were the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis), to-

mato fruits, and cauliflower. The substances tested were injected

hypodermically (Ricinus and tomato), placed in tiny open tubes in-

serted in the pith cavity (Ricinus, the wound being sealed with col-

lodion or adhesive tape), or vaporized in a tight box containing 10.5

cubic feet air space in which the plants (cauliflower) were placed for a

188 abstracts: phytopathology

few minutes. The substances tested were ammonia water, the various

salts of ammonia, distilled water solutions of the acid component of

these salts, distilled water, 10 per cent tannic acid, 10 per cent ethyl

alcohol, 2 per cent sodium chlorid, 2 per cent sodium carbonate, 5 per

cent sodium bicarbonate, 1/20 normal sodium hydroxid, 5 per cent am-

monium bicarbonate, clear lime water, milk of lime (caustic), 1 to

10,000 mercuric chloride, 0.5 per cent carbolic acid, chloroform water,

1 to 1,000,000 copper sulphate water, 5 per cent grape sugar, 5 per

cent cane sugar, and feeble alkaline vapors arising from dilute solu-

tions of urea, ammonium carbonate, and the two ammonium phos-

phates, the mixed vapors of ethyl alcohol and acetic acid, and the vapor

of secondary methylamine.

With all these substances, even distilled water, proliferations were

obtained, but no killing of cells resulted except in the case of those

coming into direct contact with too strong a solution. In Ricinus when

ammonia was applied, the outgrowths were from the inner surface of

the pith cavity, and occurred not only in the internode containing the

chemical but in several to many others above and below.

Exclusive of the hyperplasia which appeared when vapor of acetic

alcohol was used, one of the most striking effects obtained was the

production of a stele within a stele in the pith of Ricinus by the in-

jection of monobasic ammonium phosphate, and evidences of simi-

lar tendencies when ammonia was used. These facts together with

the author's very successful production of teratoid tumors with Bac-

terium twnefaciens lead him to believe that fasciations and many

similar phenomena are due to feeble infections by micro-organisms.

From these experiments the author concludes "that any soluble

substance whatsoever, except a killing, a plasmolyzing, or an oxygen-

absorbing substance, if continually liberated in excess locally in tis-

sues not adapted to them would be able to induce tumor formation,

and is convinced that had it been possible to apply these stimuli re-

peatedly, or better still, slowly and continually from within the cell —

as does the parasite in crown gall — these striking proliferations would

have developed into large irregular tumors, rupturing to the surface,

i.e., into typical crowngalls. It is believed that this is the first time

that galls have been produced with the chemical products of a gall-

forming organism. The nature of the crown-gall products were de-

termined for Doctor Smith by the Bureau of Chemistry of the United

States Department of Agriculture from flask cultures set and con-

trolled by him. F. H.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED

SOCIETIES

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

The 784th meeting was held at the Cosmos Club, February 17, 1917,

President Buckingham in the chair; 69 persons present. The minutes

of the 783rd meeting were read in abstract and approved.

By invitation, Mr. H. Bateman presented an illustrated paper on

The nature of chemical forces. Sir Joseph J. Thomson's idea1 of regard-

ing chemical bonds as symbols for Faraday tubes may be developed

successfully by considering solutions of Maxwell's electromagnetic

equations in which the electric and magnetic forces become infinite

on moving singular curves.

We must first of all try to understand the nature of potential energy

and so we shall commence by studying the properties of a type of radiant

field with singular lines starting from the origin and running in both