108 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1439 



At Stanford University, Dr. Lewis M. Ter- 

 man has been appointed head of the depart- 

 ment of psychology to succeed Professor Frank 

 Angell, who retired at the end of the academic 

 year 1921-1922. Other additions to the depart- 

 ment include Dr. W. R. Miles, professor of 

 psychology, and Dr. Calvin P. Stone, assistant 

 professor. 



Professor J. J. Thornber, director of the 

 Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, has 

 in addition received appointment as dean of 

 the College of Agriculture of the University 

 of Arizona, succeeding Dean D. W. Working. 



Mr. Charles W. T. Penland, A.M., Har- 

 vard, has been appointed instructor in biology 

 in Colorado College for the ensuing year. Mr. 

 H. R. Remmers, A.M., Iowa, has been ap- 

 pointed instructor in psychology. 



Me. R. a. Brink, who has for the past two 

 years been at the Bussey Institution of Har- 

 vard University, has been appointed assistant 

 professor of genetics at the University of Wis- 

 consin. He succeeds in this position Dr. E. W. 

 Lindstrom, who goes about September 1 to the 

 Iowa State College at Ames as professor of 

 genetics, where he will organize a new depart- 

 ment. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPOND- 

 ENCE 

 FILTERED AIR 



In Science of June 2, 1922, in mentioning 

 the work of the Committee for the Investiga- 

 tion of Atmospheric Pollution, reference was 

 made to the work of Dr. Owens on the amount 

 of dust found in expired air. It has been taken 

 for granted, I think, by many medical men 

 that in passing through the nasal and buccal 

 passages efficient filtering of the air took place ; 

 and that aU dust particles were deposited on 

 moist membranes and automatically removed by 

 secretion flow. Dr. Owens' experiments seem 

 to prove that in ordinary breathing the ex- 

 pired air still contained as much as 70 per cent, 

 of the suspended impurities which entered 

 during inspii-ation. So that only about 30 per 

 cent, of the impurities in air are removed 

 in transit through respiratory passages. 



Dr. Chase S. Osborn, formerly governor of 

 Michigan and one who had much to do with 

 mines, referring to the above mentioned insuf- 

 ficient filtering, suggests that there may be 

 something in the fact that the influx of air has 

 not the velocity and current strength of the 

 efflux, and states that the finding of Dr. Owens 

 that air is not purified in its passage through 

 the body appears to be proved without doubt 

 by sillicosis in the Transvaal mines. He says : 



It takes very little time comparatively for a 

 miner's lungs to fill up. He is then subject to 

 all sorts of pulmonary diseases. Dr. Gorgas was 

 summoned to see if he could offer anything to 

 prevent or cure. Even when the men wear masks 

 these do not entirely avail, as often the men are 

 in close places and will not wear the masks. 



Good water, sterilized milk and insect screens 

 have aided materially in reducing disease. May 

 we hope to add to the list iiltered air? There 

 seems to be no doubt but that the use of a 

 mouth mask was helpful in combatting the 

 spread of influenza. 



Alexander McAdie 



THE "PROCESSING" OF STRAW 



In a recent number of Science, Professor 

 Harold Hibbert calls attention to the work 

 done in Germany in converting straw into a 

 feed of greater value by boiling it with soda 

 and suggests that American farmers may con- 

 vert a waste product into "a profitable and 

 palatable cattle food of high nutritive value" 

 by following the German example. Professor 

 Hibbert has apparently overlooked the fact that 

 this feed is extremely low in proteins. This 

 fact was mentioned by Lorenz Hiltner in his 

 pamphlet in 1917-18 and is recognized as being 

 a point against "processed" straw as a feed. 

 Various methods have been tried by the Ger- 

 mans to increase the protein content, some of 

 which are mentioned by Hiltner. 



The Office of Forage Crops has been inter- 

 ested in the development of this German work 

 but has not been convinced of the value of the 

 process for the American farmer. While it is 

 not possible to make accurate estimates of the 

 expense involved it is quite evident that the 

 labor item would be considerable. The farmer 

 would have to set up a plant however simple 



