232 



NATURE 



[May 23, 191 8 



is usual with enzymes ; but hydrocyanic acid, which is 

 fatal to nearly all enzymes, completely prevented 

 coagulation. Even the "acid" process of coagula- 

 tion is considered to be enzymic, the added acid 

 functioning as an enzyme activator. 



At the present time there is only one calcium 

 carbide factory in Great Britain; it is situated in 

 Manchester, and is just now being enlarged to meet 

 war requirements. There are also two small fac- 

 tories in Ireland, the electric current for which is 

 supplied by water-power ; but the supply of water is 

 small and erratic, and the output of calcium carbide 

 is only about i per cent, of our normal consumption. 

 Mr. C. Bingham (Journal of the Society of Chemical 

 Industry, March 15) gives reasons for the conclusion 

 that in peace times we shall be quite unable to com- 

 pete with water-power countries like Norway in the 

 production of calcium carbide, unless very much more 

 economical methods than the present ones can be 

 found for producing electricity. From an experi- 

 mental study of the question he believes this can be 

 done by utilising waste gases from blast-furnaces and 

 coke-ovens as the source of power for generating the 

 current required. 



In the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry 

 for January 31 Dr. T. Rettie gives an account of work 

 done on antiseptics for the Medical Research Com- 

 mittee at the Pathological Department, Edinburgh 

 University. An urgent requirement of the medical 

 service at the war front was a trustworthy antiseptic 

 for the treatment of heavily infected wounds, with 

 special reference to spore-bearing organisms. The 

 object, therefore, was to find an antiseptic agent 

 thoroughly efficient as a killer of bacteria and spores, 

 and at the same time harmless in its effect on the 

 wound-tissues. Of the various substances tested the 

 hypochlorites were found to be the most efficient 

 germicides. Pure solution of bleaching powder, how- 

 ever, and also sodium hypochlorite solution, are drastic 

 remedies, and on account of their strong alkalinity 

 and high chlorine content they are unsuitable for 

 continued application to wounds. On the other hand, 

 aqueous solutions of hypochlorous acid itself are also 

 unsuited for wound treatment, by reason of the fact 

 that free chloric and hydrochloric acids develop in 

 them through spontaneous reaction. These defects 

 were largely overcome by using a mixture of equal 

 weights of boric acid and bleaching powder (" Eupad " 

 — a name derived from the initial letters of Edinburgh 

 University Pathological Department). An aqueous 

 solution of this (" Eusol ") is prepared, of strength 

 25 grm. per litre; it contains about 026 per cent, of 

 hypochlorous acid, together with calcium biborate. 

 In this way the alkalinity of the bleaching powder is 

 reduced, the full effect of fhe hypochlorous acid 

 secured, and the solution cannot become unduly acid, 

 as the dissociation constant for boric acid has a very 

 low value. Hence the solution can be applied freely 

 to the body tissues, and a large quantity can even be 

 injected into the circulatory system without harmful 

 effect. This solution has been used successfully both 

 for the treatment of wounds and, by intravenous in- 

 jection, in certain types of gas-gangrene toxaemia. 



The announcements of Messrs. Longmans and Co. 

 include " Elements of the Electromagnetic Theory of 

 Light," by Dr. L. Silberstein, and (in the series of 

 Text-books of Physical Chemistry) a ne^v edition of 

 Prof. S. Young's " Stoichiometry," containing re- 

 written chapters dealing with the more recent deter- 

 minations of the atomic weights of silver, nitrogen, 

 chlorine, and lead. Messrs. G. Routledge and Sons, 

 Ltd., are to publish "Wealth from Waste:" Elimina- 



NO. 2534, VOL. lOl] 



tion of Waste a World Problem," by Prof. H. J. 

 Spooner, with a foreword by Lord Leverhulme. 

 Messrs. Routledge also announce " Incidents in the 

 Life of a Mining Engineer," by E. T. McCarthy, 

 Messrs. Constable and Co., Ltd., will shortly publish 

 "The Future Citizen and his Mother," by Dr. C. 

 Porter, with a foreword by Sir J. Crichton Browne. 

 Messrs. Henry Frowde and Hodder and Sioughton 

 have in the press " Vaccines and Sera," by Capt. A. G. 

 Shera, and "The Hearts of Man," by R. McNair 

 Wilson. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Minor Planets. — The following ephemerides of 

 Pallas and Ceres are from the Rechen-lnstitut's 

 List :— 



Pallas: Magnitude 8-8. 



Log r 



May 26 17 94 25 19 



June 3 17 2-6 25 46 



II 16 55-7 25 53 



19 16 49-2 25 39 



27 16 434 25 6 



July 5 16 386 24 17 



0500 



Ceres : Magnitude 76. 



D-ite 



Log r 



0-457 



Log A 



0-368 

 0-372 



0-379 

 0-388 



Log A 



June II 18 23-9 25 57 



19 18 164 26 29 0-269 



27 18 8-6 26 58 0-270 



July 5 18 09 27 23 0'274 



13 17 S4-0 27 44 0-283 



21 17 482 28 I 0-461 



Planet 31 Euphrosyne was observed on April 13 and 14; 

 the ephemeris needs the large corrections — i2-4m.+ 

 3° 12'. The interesting planet DB, discovered by Wolf 

 on January 3, has been named Alinda. 



Currents in the Upper Air. — The behaviour of the 

 streaks or trains left by large meteors supplies abun- 

 dant evidence as to the rapid motion of the atmo- 

 sphere at its outer limits. The diversity of direction, 

 as well as the rate of velocity, of these upper winds is 

 remarkable ; in fact, hurricane speed would appear 

 to be quite a common feature amongst them. It is • 

 true that the data -are not of sufficiently accurate 

 character to allow very exact deductions to be drawn, 

 but there is no doubt as to the general correctness of 

 the results. In some instances the observations have 

 been as complete as they have been precise, and 

 these corroborate in a very satisfactory manner the 

 average values obtained from more uncertain or in- 

 complete records. 



The long-enduring streaks of swift fireballs, like 

 the Perseids and Leonids, are usually about fifty-five 

 or sixty miles in height, but they may extend from 

 heights of fifty to seventy miles. The mean velocity 

 of their drift is 121 miles per hour, and the pre- 

 dominating direction to the eastward, but there is no 

 quarter to which these lofty cosmic clouds may not 

 be carried. Of seventy-eight enduring meteoric 

 streaks motion was found to be directed to points at 

 or between north-east and south-east in thirty-seven 

 cases, while to the points north-west to south-west 

 there were only twenty-four. The individual velocities 

 varied from nil to 360 miles per second. In some 

 cases a moderate speed of twenty-seven or thirty miles 

 per hour was' indicated. Certain streaks gave evi- 

 dence of a series of differing currents underlying each 

 other, the upper sections drifting in different direc- 

 tions to the lower. 



