EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXII. Abstract Number. No. 8. 



RECENT WORK IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY— AGROTECHNY. 



The crystallography of hemoglobins, E. T. Reichert and A. P. Brown (Car- 

 negie Inst., Washington Pub. 116, pp. XIX+338, pis. 100, figs, ///i).— The elab- 

 orate and extended investigations here reported were undertaken in a study 

 of the differentiation and specificity of correspond! nir proteins and other vital 

 substances in relation to biological classification and organic evolution. 



The several chapters have to do with the distribution of hemoglobin and allied 

 substances in the animal kingdom : specificity of the blood of vertebrates in rela- 

 tion to zoological distinction; the general chemical and physical characters of 

 hemoglobin, and its specificities; the preparation and crystallography of hemo- 

 globins ; the methods employed in the present research for preparing, examin- 

 ing, and measuring crystals of hemoglobins ; and the results of studies of the 

 crystallography of the hemoglobins from the different types of the animal 

 kingdom. 



The present research was begun " upon the hypothesis that if it should 

 he found that corresponding vital substances are not identical, the altera- 

 tions in one would doubtless be associated with related changes in others, and 

 that if definite relationships could be shown to exist between these differences 

 and peculiarities of the living organism, a fundamental principle of the utmost 

 importance would be established in the explanation of heredity, mutations, 

 the influences of food and environment, the differentiation of sex, and other 

 great problems of biology, normal and pathological. 



" To what extent this hypothesis is well founded may be judged from this 

 partial repoi-t of the results of our investigations: It has been conclusively 

 shown not only that corresponding hemoglobins are not identical, but also that 

 their peculiarities are of positive generic specificity, and even much more sensi- 

 tive in their differentiations than the ' zooprecipitin test.' Moreo\er, it has 

 been found that one can with some certainty predict by these peculiarities, 

 without previous knowledge of the species from which the hemoglobins were 

 derived, whether or not interbreeding is probable or possible, and also certain 

 characteristics of habit, etc., as will be seen by the context. The question of 

 interbreeding has, for instance, seemed perfectly clear in the case of Canidaj 

 and Muridse, and no difficulty was experienced in forecasting similarities and 

 dissimilarities of habit in Sciuridte, Muridfe, Felidse, etc., not because hemoglobin 

 is per se the determining factor, but because, accordng to this hypothesis, it 



701 



