AGBICULTUEAL CHEMISTRY — AGROTECHNY. 409 



take place especially in poor media, as soil extracts. A few experiments indi- 

 cate that iX)orly nourished bacteria are able to produce a larger amount of fer- 

 mentation products than well nourislied bacteria though they need a much 

 longer time to accomplish it." 



The employment of curves for indicating biocliemical processes, O. Rahn 

 (C'entbl. Bakt. [etc.], 2. Abt., 28 {1910), KIo. 4-5, pp. 111-126, dgms. i6).— Sub- 

 stantially a German translation of the article noted above. 



Occurrence of arsenic in soils, plants, fruits, and animals, W. P. Headden 

 (Proc. Colo. Sci. *S'oc., 9 {1910), pp. 3.'i5-360; ahs. in Jour. CJiom. Soc. [London], 

 98 {1910), No. 516, II, p. 890).— The author found arsenic in a form slightly 

 soluble in water to be widely distributed in the virgin soils of Colorado, especi- 

 ally in those of a marly character, the amount varying from 2.5 to 5 parts per 

 million. It was found in the marls underlying the soils in amounts varying 

 from 4 to 15 parts per million. Soils on which crops had been grown, which 

 had been sprayed with arseiiic preparations, were found to contain from 10 to 

 28 times as much arsenic as the virgin soils. Arsenic was found in alfalfa, 

 oats, potatoes, apples, and pears grown on such soils, as well as in the flesh and 

 kidneys of animals which had been fattened on the alfalfa. Arsenic was also 

 found in the urine of persons who had eaten freely of apples grown on trees 

 sprayed with arsenic compounds. 



About the estimation of phosphates, Schuyten {Ahs. in Chem. Ztg., S^ 

 (1910), No. 80, p. 717). — The investigations show good results with the Woy- 

 Maude method (E. S. R., 23, p. 613). 



The properties of Lintner's soluble starch, E. D. Clark {Jour. Biol. Chem., 

 7 (1910), No. 6, pp. Zv-^m).— " Litner's soluble starch carries associated with it 

 certain amounts of dextrius with reducing power, from which it can be only 

 partially freed by dialysis or alcohol precipitation. It is probable, also, that the 

 method by which commercial starch is prepared renders such starch less 

 capable of yielding Lintner's soluble starch of the least possible I'educing 

 power." 



The use of methylene blue as an indicator in iodometric titrations, F. S. 

 SxNNATT (Analyst, 35 (1910), No. J,12, pp. 309, 310).— It is shown that a solu- 

 tion containing 0.05 gm. of methylene blue per liter can be used in place of 

 starch for iodometric titrations. One cc. for each 50 cc. is a sufficient amount 

 to give a good depth of color. 



A new form of extraction apparatus, C. W. Greene (Jour. Biol. Chem., 7 

 (1910), No. 6, pp. 503-507, fig. 1). — A device is described in which the essential 

 features of the Soxhlet extraction apparatus are retained and the objectionable 

 ones such as the extraction with a cold or lukewarm menstrum avoided. A 

 Gooch crucible can be easily placed in this form of apparatus and the latter 

 used in connection with the usual Hopkins condenser. 



Sulphurous acid in chopped meat, B. Ktjhn and J. Rxjhle {Ztschr. Unter- 

 such. Nahr. u. Gemissmtl., 20 (1910), No. 1, pp. 10-19). — The authors investi- 

 gated as to whether sulphurous acid or sulphur compounds could be transformed 

 into sulphuric acid when distilling with iodin solution, but the results indicated 

 that this is not the case. They could not verify the findings of other investi- 

 gators (E. S. R., 17, p. 1177; 19, p. 706) with reference to the oxidation of 

 sulphur compounds to sulphuric acid when working with decomposed meat. 



The determination of the deterioration of maize, with incidental refer- 

 ence to pellagra, O. F. Black and C. L. Alsberg (U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant 

 Indus. Bui. 199, pp. 36). — The authors in the first part of this bulletin point out 

 the almost entire lack of methods, particularly in the English language, for 

 testing the fitness of corn for human consumption, and give a detailed descrip- 

 tion of a method for determining the acidity of corn as used in the Bureau of 



