February 11, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



143 



nephropathic animals to a solution of sodium 

 bicarbonate is compared witb tbe response of 

 the normal animals, the following differences 

 are observed. The introduction of the solu- 

 tion into a naturally nephropathic animal ef- 

 fects a more marked disturbance of the acid- 

 base equilibrium of the blood, as is shown by 

 a greater increase in the alkali reserve, than 

 occurs in a normal animal. When such a 

 phange is induced in the blood of a normal 

 animal there occurs a rapid depletion of the 

 reserve alkali of the blood with a return of the 

 Jblood to its normal acid-base equilibrium. 

 When, however, a similar type of change has 

 been induced in the blood of a naturally 

 nephropathic animal, the animal appears un- 

 able to effect with the same rapidity and de- 

 gree of completeness a reduction in the reserve 

 plkali of the blood with the reestablishment of 

 a normal acid-base equilibrium. The reduc- 

 tion in the alkali reserve in such an animal 

 takes place more gradually, and at the end of 

 a two-hour period of observation the alkali 

 reserve remains at a higher point than was ob- 

 tained for the normal reading. 

 I The experiments indicate that the reserve 

 alkali of the blood in certain naturally nephro- 

 pathic animals may be maintained by the ani- 

 mal within the range of normality. Such an 

 observation is, however, no index of the ability 

 ,of such an animal to maintain a normal acid- 

 base equilibrium of the blood when the stabil- 

 ity of the mechanism which regulates this 

 equilibrium is subjected to the strain of hand- 

 ling either an acid or an alkali. When a 

 normal animal receives intravenously an acid 

 or an alkaline solution there occurs a disturb- 

 ance in the acid-base equilibrium of the blood 

 .which is temporary, and which is rapidly fol- 

 lowed by a reestablishment of the animal's 

 normal acid-base equilibrium. When a nat- 

 ;urally nephropathic animal is subjected to a 

 similar disturbance in the acid-base equilib- 

 ;rium of its blood, the lack of stability on the 

 part of the mechanism which maintains this 

 equilibrium is shown by the facts that the acid 

 or alkaline solution induces a greater degree 

 of variation from the animal's normal equi- 

 librium and that the animal is unable to 



reestablish within the time limit allowed the 

 pormal animal a return of the blood to a nor- 

 mal acid-base equilibrium. 



Wm. DeB. MacISTider 

 Univeksitt of North Carolina 



THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



division of physical and inorganic chemistry 



Wm. B. Harkins, chairman 



H. N. Holmes, secretary 



Preparation of zinc nitride: W. J. Bently and 

 Paul L. Stern. Afiter the trial of several meth- 

 ods of making zinc nitride the following was found 

 to be the best. Ammonia was passed over zinc dust 

 for 30 minutes at 650° C. and the produot cooled to 

 at least 200° C. before exposure to the air. The 

 ammonia was treated to remove oxygen and mois- 

 ture. The zine dust was washed with a solution of 

 ammonia and ammonium chloride, alcohol and 

 ether. It was then dried in vacuo. The chief diffi- 

 culty was in excluding oxygen from the system. 

 The highest yield was 36.8 per cent, nitride. Al- 

 loys of zinc-zinc nitride were prepared up to 3.9 

 per cent, nitride. It is thought a thorough investi- 

 gation will disclose many valuable properties. 



Sydrolysis of the calciwm phosphates: H. V. 

 Tarter. 



On the hydrolysis of the silicates of sodium: 

 Egbert Herman Bogue.i A series of seven sili- 

 eaites of sodium have been examined in which the 

 ratio of Na^O to SiO, in the molecule varied from 

 1:1 to 1:4. Solutions of each were made at five 

 different molecular concentrations, and examined 

 electrometrically for their hydroxyl-ion concentra- 

 tions. From these values the degrees of hydrolytic 

 dissociation have been calculated. Agreement with 

 earlier investigations was not attained, and hy- 

 potheses are presented to account for this dispar- 

 ity. The values obtained for hydrolytic dissocia- 

 tion are much lower than have been previously re- 

 ported. As the percenjtage of Na,0 in the mole- 

 cule increases, the resulting product becomes less 

 stable, and in dilute solutions ever increasingly 

 hydrolyzed. 



A revision of the atomic weight of antimony: H. 

 H. Willard and E. K. McAlpine. Final report 

 on the analysis of the tribromide. 



On the separation of crystalloids from one another 

 ly dialysis: Louis Kahlenbekq. Using pyridine 



1 Industrial Fellow Mellon Institute of Indus- 

 trial Eesearch, Pittsburgh, Penna. 



