RECENT WORK IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



AGRICULT URAL CHEMISTRY— AGROTECHNY. 



The progress of chemistry during the last quarter of a century, W. McPher- 

 son (Proc. Ohio Acad. Sci., 6 {1916), No. 5, pp. 370-3S7).— This is a discussion 

 of a few of the branches of chemical science in which remarkable developments 

 have taken place during the past 25 years. Among the topics treated are the 

 constitution of matter — radioactivity, solutions, colloids, the synthesis of or- 

 ganic compounds, asymmetrical syntheses, and fermentation. A few examples 

 are given of the progress made in the application of chemistry to the industrial 

 development of the Nation. 



Annual report on the progress of chemistry for 1917, edited by J. C. Cain 

 and A. J. Geeenaway (Ann. Rpts. Prog. Cliem. [London'], 14 (1917), pp. IX + 

 264, fig. J).— This is the usual annual report (E. S. R., 37, p. 409). 



Compendium of physiological chemistry, M. Aethus (Precis de Chimie 

 Physiologique. Paris: Mas son & Co., 1918, 8. ed., rev., pp. XI +451, pis. 5, figs. 

 115). — This book is intended to fill a place intermediate between treatises on 

 chemical physiology and physiology. The chemical facts necessary for the study 

 of physiology are presented in a concise form. Colored plates are included on 

 the spectra of the hemoglobin of the blood under different conditions, on the 

 nutritive value of different food materials, and on various tests of physiological 

 chemistry. 



The application of electrolysis in chemical industry, A. J. Hale (London 

 and New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1918, pp. IX+148, pis. 2. figs. 57).— This 

 volume, in the series of monographs on industrial chemistry edited by E. Thorpe, 

 includes sections on the general principles of electrolysis and methods of gen- 

 erating currents, the electrolytic refining of metals, the electrolytic production of 

 hydrogen and oxygen, electrolysis of alkali chlorids, and the production of 

 inorganic and organic compounds. 



Contribution to the study of the replacement of platinum in electrolytic 

 apparatus, P. Nicolaedot and J. Boudet (Bui. Soc. Chim. France, 4- ser., 23-24 

 (1918), No. 9, pp. 387-391). — As a result of investigations as to a proper substi- 

 tute for platinum in electrolytic apparatus, the authors recommend a gold alloy 

 not attacked by nitric acid. It consists of 92 parts of gold, 5 parts of silver, 

 and 30 parts of copper. For the anode the surface of the alloy should be coated 

 with a very thin layer of platinum to protect against oxidation. This covering 

 is not necessary for the cathode. 



The proteins of the peanut, Arachis hypogaea. — III, The hydrolysis of 

 arachin, C. O. Johns and D. B. Jones (Jour. Biol. Chem., 36 (1918), No. 3, pp. 

 491-500).— In continuation of previous work (E. S. R., 37, p. 501), the authors 

 report from the Bureau of Chemistry of the U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 the following data on the hydrolysis of arachin, the principal protein of the 

 peanut: Glycin none, alanin 4.11 per cent, valin 1.13, leucin 3.88, prolin 1.37, 



109 



