440 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



characteristic proteid of maize discovered by Donard and Labbe ( E. S. R., 14, p. 738). 

 The technique of the method proposed is described. 



The determination of boric acid in cider, fruits, etc., A. il. Allen and A. R. 

 Tankard {Analyst, ."■> {1904), No. 343, pp. 301-304).— To learn something of the 

 natural occurrence of borax, examinations of a number of samples of apples and other 

 fruits, cider, and apple juice were made. The amounts of boric acid in the fruits 

 examined ranged from 0.004 per cent in grapes to 0.016 per cent in quince and one 

 of the pears examined. In cider and apple juice the range was from 0.004 gin. to 

 0.017 gm. per 100 cc. The analytical methods followed are described. 



Further contributions to the Gottlieb and Adams methods of fat deter- 

 mination, L. F. Rosengren, (Nord. Mejeri Tidn., 10 (1004), No. .'.'. pp. 201, 202).— 

 The author corroborates Barthel's findings as to the comparative results obtained by 

 the two methods of determinations of fat in skim milk, and shows that the insoluble 

 substance obtained in the Gottlieb method is not identical with Storch's membrane 

 slime, but is essentially lecithin. The higher results obtained in the analysis of milk 

 by the Gottlieb method are not, therefore, explained on the hypothesis that a 

 p( irtion of the membrane slime is dissolved by the ether-benzine mixture and renders 

 the fat obtained in the Gottlieb method impure, as suggested by Storch. — p. w. woll. 



On the determination of fat in cheese, M. Siegfeld (Milch Ztg., 33 (1904), No. 

 10, pp. 289-202). — Five different methods of determining the percentage of fat in 

 full-cream and skim-milk cheese were compared — extraction with anhydrous ether, 

 the Schmidt-Bondzynski, substitution of sulphuric for hydrochloric acid in the 

 Schmidt-Bondzynski method, the Gottlieb, and Gerber methods. Several of the 

 methods were modified to some extent by the author in making the analyses. 



The results of the comparative analyses indicate that duplicate determinations by 

 any one of the methods, as well as the average results obtained by different methods, 

 in general, agree quite well. In the case of skim -mi Ik cheese the extraction method 

 gave too low results, and difficulty was sometimes experienced with both the Gerber 

 and the Gottlieb methods. The Schmidt-Bondzynski HC1 method modified by 

 Ratzlaff « is preferred by the author. — p. w. woll. 



Micro-chemical detection of sugars by means of phenylhydrazin acetate, 

 E. Senft (Monatsh. Chern., 25 (1904), pp. 307-421; abs. in Jour. C'hem. Soc. [London], 

 86 (1004), No. 502, II, p. 595). — According to the author, sugars are best detected 

 under the microscope in the form of their osazones, prepared according to the method 

 described by the adding to phenylhydrazin acetate in glyceron, the sugar it is desired 

 to test. 



The hydrolytic products of sugar-cane fiber, C. A. Browne, Jr. (Jour. Amer. 

 Chem. Soc, 26 (1904), No. 10, pp. 1221-1235, pi. 1).— The fact that sugar-cane bagasse 

 is being utilized for paper making lias led to renewed interest in the chemical com- 

 position of the sugar-cane fiber. The author notes that the tissues of the sugar cane 

 resemble very closely those of maize, sorghum, and many other monocotyledonous 

 plants. The different layers of the cane were separated, analyzed, and extended 

 studies made of the carbohydrates of sugar-cane fiber. 



The author concludes that when pure this fiber (excluding protein, fat, ash, etc.) 

 consists approximately of cellulose, including oxycellulose 55 per cent, xylan 20 per 

 cent, araban 4 per cent, lignin 15 per cent, and acetic acid 6 per cent. The fiber of 

 sugar cane, it is pointed out, resembles very closely in composition the pithy stalks 

 of maize, both being allied to the cereal straws. The formation of pentosans physio- 

 logically from modifications of cellulose, and related topics are spoken of. 



"The various substances into which woody fiber may be resolved by hydrolysis 

 have led many to believe that we are dealing with more or less of a mechanical mix- 

 ture — a substratum of cellulose overlaid with 'incrusting substances.' This view, 



"Milch Ztg., 32 (1903), No. 5, p. 65. 



