466 EXPEKIMENT STATION RECOKD. 



The origin of muscular energy: Thermodynamic or chemodynamicP A. B. 

 Macallum (Proc. Amer. Sac. Biol. Chetn., 2 {1913), No. 3, pp. 07-111). — Accord- 

 ing to the author's summary, the cell is at least one degree removed from a 

 thermodynamic machine and may be classed as a chemical engine. In that 

 respect the sarcous disc is also a chemical engine. 



" If, consequently, surface tension is the dominant factor in the production of 

 muscular contraction muscle is not a heat engine but a chemodynamic one. The 

 advantage of this point of view over that of the thermodynamic one lies in the 

 fact that the theory concerned seems, in the langague of the pragmatist, ' to 

 work ' and it enables us to avoid labored explanations of the origin of muscular 

 energy involving the cult of the ion and the semipermeable membrane, or attrib- 

 uting thaumaturgic and inscrutable properties to colloids." 



Chem.ical changes in the nerve fiber during passage of nerve impulse, S. 

 Tashieo (Amer. Jour. Physiol., 31 {1913), No. 5, Proc. Amer. Physiol. Soc, 25 

 {1912), pp. XXII, XXIII). — The author has constructed an apparatus with 

 which he states that he is able to detect and estimate carbon dioxid in amounts 

 as small as 1/1,000,000 gm. 



This gas is given off by resting nerve and the amount is increased when the 

 nerve is stimulated. 



ANIMAL PEODTJCTION. 



Detailed reports on scientific work, C. B. Davenpoet {Carnegie Inst. Wash- 

 ington Year Boole, 11 {1912). pp. 83-90). — This is a report of studies under 

 way on the causes of pigmentation in animals, the origin and heredity of sex, 

 the sex nature of poultry, and the inheritance of plumage characters in fowls. 



Heredity and inbreeding, E. Feige {Fuhling's Landw. Ztg., 62 {1913), No. 9, 

 pp. 322-3 Ji2). — This is an extended treatise in which the author outlines the 

 earlier theories of Darwin and Weismann, and the later theories of Hertwlg, 

 Strasburger, and others with regard to the ontogenic causes for heredity and 

 the general effects of inbreeding. The accomplishments of Colling, Booth, and 

 Bates in shaping the types of Shorthorn cattle are discussed. 



Unsound Meudelian developm.ents, especially as regards the presence and 

 absence theory, J. Wilson {Sci. Proc. Roy. Duhlin Soc, n. scr., 13 {1912), 

 No. 27, pp. 399--'i21). — In this treatise the author presents arguments and data 

 tending to show that "(1) the presence and absence theory is unsound; (2) it 

 leads to erroneous conclusions; and (3) phenomena to which it has been ap- 

 plied can be analyzed by ordinary Meudelian formulas." 



Interalternative as opposed to coupled Mendelian factors: A solution of 

 the agouti-black color in rabbits, J. Wilson {Sci. Proc. Roy. Dublin Soc., n. ser.. 

 13 {1913), No. 37, pp. 589-599).— In this paper the author resumes the dis- 

 cussion of the " presence and absence " theory and presents the theory of inter- 

 alternatives as a solution of the agouti-black color in rabbits. 



A study of the bacterial flora of the large intestine of the horse, J. 

 Choxjkevitch {Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 25 {1911), Nos. 3, pp. 2^7-276; J,, pp. 3^5- 

 367, figs. 30). — A study is reported of the bacterial flora of the cecum and colon 

 of the horse. The method used in separating the aerobic and the facultative 

 anaerobic from the strict anaerobic bacteria is described in detail, and the 

 different groups and species of bacteria, many of them being new, are illlus- 

 trated and described. A bibliography of 72 titles is included. 



Researches on the microbial flora of the large intestine of cattle and sheep, 

 J. CiiouKfiviTCH {Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 27 {1913), Nos. 3, pp. 2-^6-263; 4, pp. 

 307-321, flgs. 8). — Work with cattle and sheep similar to the above is reported. 



New feeds and their value for agriculture, F. IIoncamp {Mitt. Deut. Landio. 

 GeseU., 27 {1912), pp. 635-638; ahs.in Internat. Inst. Agr. [Rome], Mo. Bui. Agr. 



