METEOROLOGY — WATER. 815 



Lintner's volumetric method for soft resins (original and modified), and the 

 authors' methods for determining the resin constituents of hops. The authors' 

 methods, which they think will overcome some of the objections present in the 

 other methods, are as follows : 



"Ten gm. of hops is placed In a Soxhlet extractor and extracted with ether 

 for 8 to 10 hours. The ethereal extract thus obtained is filtered and the filtrate 

 made to 200 cc. volume. 



"Total resins. — One hundred cc. of the ether solution (equivalent to o gm. 

 of hops) is placed in a 250 cc. Erlenmeyer flask and nearly all of the ether re- 

 moved by distillation on a water bath at about 40° C. The last portion of the 

 ether is completely removed by drying in a vacuum desiccator «at room tem- 

 perature. The residue remaining is then taken up with alcohol to free the 

 wax, filtered, and the filtrate made to 100 cc. volume. A 20 cc. aliquot (equiva- 

 lent to 1 gm. of hops) is transferred to a tared beaker and the alcohol removed 

 bj^ evaporation in a vacuum oven at 50° to constant weight. The residue thus 

 obtained is the total resins in 1 gm. of hops. 



"Total soft resins. — The remaining 100 cc. of the original ether extract is 

 transferred to a 200 cc. Erlenmeyer flask and the ether nearly removed by dis- 

 tillation at low temperature, the last portion being removed by evaporation in 

 a vacuum desiccator at room temperature. The residue is tiiken u]) with about 

 100 cc. of petrolic ether (boiling point 40 to 45°). The residue is worked up in 

 the solvent with a glass rod and then let stand a short time to effect the complete 

 solution of the soft resins in the solvent. The hard resin is then removed by 

 filtration. The petrolic ether is removed from the filtrate in the same manner 

 as the ether in the first part of the determination. The residue is taken up 

 with alcohol to remove wax, filtered, and the filtrate made to 100 cc. volume. 

 Ail aliquot of 20 cc. (equivalent to 1 gm. of hops) is tran.sferred to a tared 

 beaker and evaporated and weighed as under the determination of total resins. 

 The hard resin is estimated by difference between the total resins and soft 

 fesins." 



The detection of methyl alcohol in commercial alcohol preparations, A. 

 Hellbiegel (Pharm. Ztg., 57 {1912), No. 1, p. 7; abs. in Chen. Ztg., 36 (1912), 

 No. 21, Rcpert., p. 102). — A portion of the sample is distilled and some of the 

 distillate obtained is mixed with one-half its bulk by weight of burnt lime and 

 boiled under a reflux condenser for 3 hours. The mixture is then distilled from 

 a dry flask, which contains a thermometer, the boiling point is noted, some 

 oxalic acid dried at 100° C. added, and the mixture kept boiling for 1 hour. 

 On cooling, crystals of the dimethyl ester of oxalic acid, a liquid which has a 

 boiling point of 54°, will be found deposited in the bottom of the flask. 



The activities of the agricultural experiment station at Hildesheim, 

 AuMANN {Ber. Landw. Ter.s. 8iat. Hildesheim. 1911, pp. 15). — This report in- 

 cludes the results during 1911 in examining fertilizers, feeding stuffs, seeds, 

 dairy products, stock feeds and condiments, and miscellaneous substances. 



METEOROLOGY— WATER. 



The structure of the atmosphere in clear weather, C. J. P. Cave {Cam- 

 bridge, England, 1912, pp. XII +1U, pis. 33, figs. ^7; rev. in Met. Ztschr., 29 

 {1912), No. 8, pp. 397, 398).— Data obtained from 200 pilot balloon ascensions 

 at Ditcham, England, are summarized and discussed, together with the methods 

 employed and their accuracy. "A general summary of the results obtained is 

 given ... in which certain types of structure in the atmosphere are 

 recognized, and the different types are considered in their relation to the wind 



