LIME AND MILK. 269 



5. It was shown that the retarding in coagulation of diluted 



milk which is commonly explained by dilution of the 



lime salts, may be explained by four circumstances which 



act towards an increase in the time of coagulation. 



Further, it has been pointed out that no great value 



may be attached to the experiments with dilution with 



whey as the influence of small changes in acidity was 



not taken into account. 



I found that milk diluted with oxalate serum showed a different 



coagulation time from milk diluted with ordinary serum, and 



this fact I could not explain. The cause of non-curdling of milk 



was therefore finally sought in a deficiency of lime, specially colloidal 



lime. In i6 milk samples of which 8 did not coagulate or only 



curdled with difficulty, it was found that the easily curdling milk 



contained considerably more lime. 



One cow was yielding milk which declined to coagulate, after 

 dosing the animal for three days with 50 grams of bi-phosphate 

 of lime per diem, the curdling of the milk was nearly normal. 

 It will be noticed that Mr. van Dam, though he explains various 

 phenomena in a novel way, yet comes to the same general con- 

 clusion as other investigators that the lime is absolutely indispens- 

 able for the process of cheese making. 



EXISTENCE OF PIDOUX'S COMET UNCON= 

 FIRMED. — In /\sfro)ioiiiiscIic N a citric lit en No. 4392 doubt is 

 now thrown on the existence of the comet reported from th=? 

 Geneva Observatory. The supposed comet was shown, as a 

 Y-shaped nebulosity, near Halley's comet, on a plate exposed 

 on February 20tli, and a new comet was said to have been 

 discovered at Cardiff in the same position. A plate exposed 

 on February i6tli showed a similar object, but no trace thereof 

 was discoverable on plates covering" the region where it should 

 have been, according to calculation, on February loth and 14th. 

 The existence of the comet therefore remains unconfirmed. 



SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.— Dr. K. C. Machiurni, Pre- 

 sident of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a recent 

 address, referred to the need of industry and science being kept in 

 the closest possible relatic^nship. "The awful example — the 

 standing' warning — in this respect," said he, " is the case of 

 England. There, a few^ years ago was celebrated the 50th anni- 

 versary of an English chemist's epoch making discoverv of mauve, 

 and yet the jubilee in honour of this man of science was the 

 occasion of the funeial oration of the colour industry in his own 

 country. This deplorable result was brought about entirely by 

 two things that are closely related : first, the failure to keep 

 industry in close touch with science, and. second, the impatience 

 of the manufacturer and his narrowness as a self-styled ' practical ' 

 man." 



