Notices of Memoirs — Minerals of Japan. 65 



the lakes for the greater part of the year without causuig a change 

 in the coloration of the water. 



But, if it is not Artemia salina, what is it that gives the red colour 

 to the water? In my investigations I treated the red water with 

 different chemicals, among them acetic acid. When the acid is 

 poured into the red water a powerful development of carbonic acid 

 takes place, and at the same time a red soft mass rises to the surface 

 of the liquid, while the latter loses more and more of its colour. 

 From a large quantity of water I collected the soft red mass swim- 

 ming on the surface, washed it with distilled water, and shook it in 

 a mixture of ether and absolute alcohol. The red colour left the soft 

 mass, being extracted by the ether. The solution of the colour in 

 ether did not keep the purple tint of the soft mass, but showed a fine 

 brownish coloration, the soft mass itself appearing now as a grey 

 yellowish substance, reminding one of blood fibrine. It could be 

 reduced to ashes, and is, therefore, of organic composition. When 

 the lake water was directly exposed to the mixture of ether and 

 alcohol without having passed through acetic acid no result was 

 obtained. Concerning the osmotic property of the red organic mass, 

 it is to be noted that it did not pass through a membrane of so-called 

 parchment paper, such as is used for covering jars. 



The experiments show that the water of the lakes contains an 

 astonishingly great quantity of organic red substance, and that it is 

 this which gives the red colour to the water. 



The question now arises what the origin of the red organic 

 substance is. My supposition is that the substance must be the 

 product of bacteria. Each drop of water taken from the lakes will 

 be found full of them. The bacteria in all the lakes are uncoloured, 

 but I found that the cocci exhibit a red colour. 



According to " Baedeker " (Egypt, French edition, 1898) there 

 existed another spot in Egypt, near Suez, where red salt water is 

 found. On p. 162 of the guidebook I read the following note : 

 " La couleur rouge des marais salants entre des collines des Bedouins 

 et le canal, provient d'une petite ecrevisse (de I'ordre des 

 phyllopodes) presque microscopique qui y fourmille a certains 

 moments. Le matin ils exhalent un parfum semblable a celui des 

 violettes." Unfortunately, when I was at Suez I did not visit the 

 ' marais salants,' and I therefore wish to call this note to the 

 attention of the biologists visiting that part of Egypt. It would be 

 very interesting to ascertain whether the water there contains 

 bacteria and the same red organic mass which I found in the lakes 

 of the Natroun Valley. 



11. — Notes on the Minerals of Japan. By Kotora Jimbo. 

 (Reprint from Journ. Sci. Coll. Imp. Univ., Tokyo, 1899, vol. xi, 

 pp. 213-281.) 



A DESCRIPTION is given of 128 mineral species found in 

 Japan, and represented in the collections of Mr. T. Wada, 

 of the Imperial University and the Imperial Museum at Tokyo. 

 The paper is written in English, and so renders information, which 



DBCADB IV. VOL. Til. WO. II. 5 



