AGRICULTUKAL. CHEMISTRY AGROTECHNY. 305 



proteins of closely related species from the homologous protein by precipitin 

 interactions arranged with regard to the fact that in the conditions of the ex- 

 periment the weight of precipitate is proportional to the weight of antiserum 

 employed. By ' saturation experiments ' it is possible to indicate in an avian 

 egg-white antiserum the presence of a general avian antisubstance (precipitin) 

 together with the specific antisubstance." 



The consistency of these results, with the interpretation of the precipitin reac- 

 tion, lends further support to the working hypothesis which the authors have 

 advanced in previous papers." 



The absorption of acids by carbohydrates, F. Robinson {Proc. Cambridge 

 Phil. Soc, 15 {19 JO), No. 6, pp. .'T.'/8-5.5.S). — "Carbohydrates adsorb hydrogen 

 chlorid and hydrogen bromid with great readiness at the ordinary temperature, 

 but the quantity of acid adsorbed varies greatly with the carbohydrate consid- 

 ered. The relative order of adsorption seems to show no relationship to the 

 chemical constitution and properties of the various carbohydrates and hence 

 no method has been obtained for characterizing them. There appears to be no 

 definite connection between the adsorbing power for these acids and the produc- 

 tion of bromo or chloromethylfurfuraldehyde, since starch gives an extremely 

 minute yield of bromoniethlyfurfuraldehyde, yet it adsorbs most acid. The 

 liexaldoses always appear at the bottom of the table. ^laltose and lactose differ 

 widely in their powers of absorption, although they bear a great resemblance 

 in their chemical properties. The initial phenomenon agrees with that gen- 

 erally accepted for adsorption, and some constant values have been determined 

 by experiment. 



" The process probably consists of a rapid condensation of the acid on the 

 surface of the solid and afterwards it works its way into the interior; this is 

 evidenced by fructose and sucrose and hydrogen bromid, in which case the 

 sugar first becomes pink and eventually black ; this black color may be either 

 due to chemical action or to the formation of an ' adsorption compound ' as in 

 the case of the so-called ' iodid of starch.' " 



Micro-photographic records of artificial sucrose-raffluose crystals, H. E. 

 ZiTKOwsKi (Ajiici: Sugar Indus, and Beet Sugar Gaz., 12 {1910). No. 10. pp. 

 36f/-366, flgs. 10). — Tests and micro-photographs were made with mixtures of 

 sucrose and rafiinose for the purpose of determining the effect of temperature 

 and varying proportions of those substances on the shape and the rate of 

 crystallization. The rafiinose was prepared from cotton-seed meal. 



Viscosaccharase, an enzym which, produces slime from cane sugar, M. W. 

 Beijerinck {K. Akad. Wetensch. Amsterdam, Proe. Sect. Sci., 12 {1910), pt. 2, 

 pp. 635-6Ji9, pi. 1; abs. in Jour. Chem. Soc. [London], 98 {1910), No. 572, I, p. 

 Jf50).— Bacillus mesentericus vulgatus, B. megatherium, and like organ- 

 isms, when grown on a medium containing agar (2 per cent), saccharose (2 

 per cent), potassium nitrate (0.02 per cent), dipotassium hydrogen phosphate 

 (0.02 per cent), and tap-water produce an emulsion which is due to the presence 

 of viscosaccharase and which produces a colloidal substance and a reducing 

 sugar. Viscosaccharase apparently is also a synthesizing enzym, and a rela- 

 tion evidently exists between the colloidal substance produced and dextran. 



The normal weight of dextrose, C. A. Browne {Abs. in Science, n. scr., 32 

 (1910), No. 823, p. -P'5). — The pure dextrose value (dissolved to 100 true cc. at 



« Austral. Med. Gaz., 25 (1906), No. 1, pp. 7-13. Proc. Roy. Soc. [London], 

 Ser. B, 78 (1906), No. B 525, pp. 297-313; 79 (1907), No. B 534, pp. 465-473; 80 

 (1908). No. B 538, pp. 161-164; 82 (1910), No. B 557, pp. 398^06. Trans. 8. 

 Austral. Med. Cong., 2 (1908), pp. 269-273. Jour. Path, and Bact, 13 (1909), 

 No. 1, pp. 206-231. 



