August 6, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



187 



of the most important musical organization 

 of Sacramento, California. 



The condition had its origin in what the 

 patient described as an attack of " earache." 

 The first indication of abnormal hearing 

 showed itself in an apparent repetition of 

 sounds. This was specially noticeable when 

 the patient spoke, "the effect being that of 

 two people saying the same word, one slightly 

 in advance of the other." Investigation 

 showed that the left ear received the sound 

 slightly in advance of the right. In listening 

 to children the effect of the abnormality was 

 more emphasized than was the case when the 

 voices of adults were heard. A piano test 

 showed that the tone reaching the right ear 

 was half a tone higher in pitch than that of 

 the left. The difference in time and pitch 

 appeared definitely only above f, on the piano. 

 All tones below that seemed to reach the two 

 ears simultaneously, but the effect was as if 

 the tone and its sharp had been struck to- 

 gether, or as if one had struck a grace note 

 half a tone removed in pitch in each case. 

 It is a familiar enough fact that a short tem- 

 poral interval between low tones is less easily 

 distinguished than the same interval between 

 high tones, so that the difference in experience 

 with tones below f, and those of higher pitch 

 may be explained without supposing that the 

 ears reacted in a different way for high and 

 for low tones. This may account for the fact 

 that the abnormal effect was emphasized in 

 the case of children's voices. This difference 

 in pitch perception was further tested, by 

 placing a tuning fork first at the right ear 

 and then at the left, with the result that the 

 patient heard first the eighth and then the 

 seventh of the scale. 



The sensibility of the right ear for inten- 

 sity was much impaired when air conduction 

 was used, but it was about normal when bone 

 conduction was employed. 



Notes on the medical examination, for 

 which I am indebted to H. L. McGavren, 

 showed a rather acute state of inflammation 

 in the tympanic membrane of the right ear; 

 the left ear was slightly affected in the same 

 way. There was a marked pharyngitis and 

 a less developed laryngitis. Hearing in both 



ears was improved to some extent immediately 

 after inflation by the Politzer method. Mc- 

 Gavren adds: The entire line of symptoms 

 indicates a middle ear complication rather than 

 any primary affection of the organ of Corti. 

 The fact that with bone conduction the per- 

 ception of intensity was about normal whilst 

 in the case of air conduction it was much be- 

 low the normal, would seem to be conclusive 

 on this point. 



There are three points in this case which 

 may be of interest from a theoretical point of 

 view: (1) The temporal separation of the 

 sounds of the two ears, respectively, (2) the 

 difference in pitch of the tones froni the two 

 ears, (3) the fact that the perception of in- 

 tensity was about normal with bone conduc- 

 tion, and much below the normal with air 

 conduction. 



F. S. Wrinch 



Univebsitt of Califobnia 



THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 

 DETROIT MEETING 



The meeting of the American Chemical Society 

 held at Detroit, June 29 to July 2, was more 

 largely attended than any summer meeting in its 

 history and all the members returned to their 

 homes enthusiastic over the work accomplished 

 by the various divisions of the society. 



Meetings were held by the Division of Industrial 

 Chemists and Chemical Engineers, the Division 

 of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, the Division 

 of Organic Chemistry, the Division of Fertilizer 

 Chemistry and the Division of Agricultural and 

 Food Chemistry and by the Sections of Biological 

 Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the 

 Section of Chemical Education. In all 186 papers 

 were presented. 



Besides the reading of the various papers the 

 points of special interest were the largely attended 

 meetings of the Division of Industrial Chemists 

 and Chemical Engineers, which are continually 

 growing in enthusiasm and where representatives 

 were present from all parts of the country. Per- 

 haps the " experience meeting " before this divi- 

 sion on Friday morning was the most entertaining 

 feature of their program, for many ideas of value 

 were brought out and the discussion was general. 

 It seemed as if almost every member had some 

 interesting fact which bore upon the experience of 

 others and the hour for adjournment was delayed 



