176 



which Dr. Hayes seems to have overlooked. Mucilage of plants 

 contains, also, a portion of albuminous matter, which is also 

 soluble in water, and undergoes speedy putrefactive changes. 



Dr. Jackson was satisfied that the microscopic crustaceans have 

 nothing to do with the peculiar taste of Cochituate Lake water. 

 They were as abundant when the water had no bad taste as they 

 have ever been since, and when the water again becomes pure, 

 they will undoubtedly be found as abundant as ever. 



Dr. Jackson read, from the sixth volume of Berzelius's Chemis- 

 try, the following passages, to justify his quotation : — 



" Par I'alcool froid on retire I'oleine de la cire de myrica. 

 L'alcool bouillant la dissout en petite quantite, et la solution depose, 

 par le refroidissement, de la stearine. L'alcool froid n'en dissout 

 qu' une petite quantite ; mais il ne faut que 4 grains d' alcool 

 bouillant pour la dissoudre ; par le refroidissement il se depose 

 de la stearine en paillettes incolores, tandis que la solution d' oleine 

 reste coloree en vert par de la cire de myrica blanchie." Ber- 

 zelius, Traite de Chimie, tome VI. p. 505. 2d ed. Paris, 1850. 



Translation. By cold alcohol, we extract oleine from the 

 wax of myrica. Boiling alcohol dissolves it in small quantity, 

 and the solution on cooling deposits stearine. Cold alcohol only 

 dissolves it in small quantity ; but it only requires 4 grains 

 (parts?) of boiling alcohol to dissolve it ; on cooling, it deposits 

 stearine in colorless scales, while the solution of oleine remains 

 colored green by the whitened wax of myrica. 



Dr. Gould remarked that these investigations relative to Co- 

 chituate water, had a scientific interest quite independent of their 

 bearing on the cause of the offensive taste in the water. A gen- 

 eral inquiry into the geological structure of the Cochituate 

 Basin, and the vegetables, animals, and minerals found in it, in 

 connection with a systematic determination of the organic mat- 

 ters in the water, and its consequent modifications for economi- 

 cal purposes, would be an appropriate one for this Society, and 

 might result in conclusions important both to science and the 

 community. 



Prof. William B. Rogers thought this a good suggestion, and 

 that it would not have a tendency in the least to reflect upon the 



