122 PHARMACOGNOSY [Bot. Absts. 



TEMPERATURE RELATIONS 



827. Taylor, N. Effects of the severe winter (1917-18) on the woody plants of the Garden. 

 Brooklyn Bot. Gard. Rec. 7: 83-87. 1918. 



828. Gray, G. P. Tests of chemical means for the control of weeds. Univ. California 

 Publ. (Agric. Sci.) 4: 67-97. Fig. 1-11. 1919.— See Bot. Absts. 3, Entry 470. 



TOXIC AGENTS 



829. McMaster, Philip D. The germicidal power of antiseptic oils and of substances 

 dissolved in oil. Jour. Infect. Diseases 24: 378-385. 1919. — A method is suggested for 

 determining quantitatively the germicidal power of antiseptic oils and substances dissolved 

 in oil. It consists in inoculating B. typhosus on agar slants, well drained of water of condensa- 

 tion, over an area not more than 1 centimeter and well above the middle of the tube; the 

 cultures are incubated 24 hours. The oily solutions are then poured over the slants so as to 

 entirely cover the agar, and the tubes allowed to stand 24 hours at 37.5°C. The oily solutions 

 are then poured off and the tubes twice washed out carefully with sterile salt solution; a 

 transfer is then made from the washed slant to a tube containing standard broth; after 24 to 

 48 hours incubation readings are taken. Phenol dissolved in mineral oil was found to approach, 

 in its germicidal value, that of its value in water and can serve as an arbitrary standard for 

 comparison when testing the activity of other oils and oil-soluble substances. — Selman A. 

 Waksman. 



830. Schamberg, Jay F., John A. Kolmer, George W. Raizibs, and Mary E. 

 Trist. Sodium oximercury-ortho-nitrophenolate (Mercurophen) with special references to its 

 practical value as a disinfectant. Jour. Infect. Diseases 24: 547-582. 1919. — Mercurophen 

 (sodium oxymercury-ortho-nitrophenolate) was found to be equal or superior to mercuric 

 chloride and other mercurial compounds containing more mercury; at the same time the 

 sodium salt is more rapid in germicidal activity. It also maintains a higher degree of germi- 

 cidal activity in blood serum than mercuric chloride; does not precipitate protein in as high 

 a, concentration as 1 : 100, and does not irritate the skin or tarnish the surgical instruments. 

 It is less toxic for animals and is somewhat more trypanocidal than mercuric chloride. [See 

 Bot. Absts. 3. Entry 2750.] — Selman A. Waksman. 



831. Singh, T. M. Toxicity of "alkali" salts. Soil Science 6: 463-^77. 1918.— See 

 Bot. Absts. 3, Entry 864. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



832. Erwin, A. T. Tip burn. Potato Mag. I 9 : 8, 34. 2 fig. 1919.— See Bot. Absts. 

 3, Entry 757. 



PHARMACEUTICAL BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY 



Henry Kraemer, Editor 



833. Anonymous. Cinchona research in Java. De Indische Mercuur (Jan. 24, 1919). 

 (Through Chem. and Druggist 91: 286. 1919.] — The Cinchona Experiment Station in Java 

 is most satisfactorily solving some of the problems in connection with cinchona culture in the 

 Indies. M. Sluiter, Botanist, has undertaken a research on the morphology of flower and 

 fruit formation in cinchona in connection with the production of hybrids. An investigation 

 into the effect of humidity on the causation of diseases in cinchona is under way. Much 

 complaint has been made regarding the poor quality of the cinchona seed supplied by the 

 government plantations, and Dr. J. J. Van Hall has demonstrated the presence of a mite in 

 the seed beds that causes large losses; efforts are being made to eradicate this pest. The 

 effect of the temperature of drying on the alkaloidal content of the bark is being studied and 

 an effort made to obtain concordant results in analyses made in Java and in Holland. — E. N. 

 Gathercoal. 



