254 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1341 



Pavlov, Cannon, Bickel and Sasaki' and 

 others Lave shown that in animals fear and 

 rage may exert a most pronounced inhibiting 

 effect on gastric peristalsis and secretion. It 

 is also known that the clinical symptoms of 

 gastric ulcer may be aggravated by emotional 

 excitement due apparently to delayed evacu- 

 ation associated with the hypersecretion of 

 gastric juice commonly found in such cases. 

 Our experiment is a clear-cut demonstration 

 of a purely emotional dyspepsia and may 

 serve as an additional emphatic warning to 

 us all not unnecessarily to carry our troubles 

 with us to the dinner table. 



Eaymoito J. Miller, 

 Olaf Bergeim, 

 Philip B. Hawk 

 Jbfferson Medical College 



THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 

 VI 



Problems in specifications for reagent chemicals : 

 W. D. Collins. The following suggestions are 

 offered as a ibasis for discussion: (1) The Ameri- 

 oan Chemical Society should establish and publish 

 speoifieations for chemical reagents. (2) Strength 

 and purity should be prescribed as high as is con- 

 sistent with good manufacturing practise. (3) 

 The method of determining strength should be 

 fully described. (4) Only impurities likely to be 

 present should be considered. (5) For nearly all 

 impurities a test should be described which will 

 give no result with a satisfactory chemical. (6) 

 The specifications should contain no provisions for 

 penalties or premiums for variations from the 

 strength and purity prescribed. (7) The specifi- 

 cations should not in general demand the purity 

 required for work of the very highest refinement. 



(8) Specifications for containers are not necessary. 



(9) Names of manufacturers or brands should not 

 be used in the specifications. 



The standardization of laboratory apparatus and 

 instruments in respect to quality, shape, size and 

 packing :' TnoM AS B. Peeas. The manufacture of 



» Pavlov, ' ' The Work of the Digestive Glands, ' ' 

 London, 1902; Bickel and Sasaki, Deutsch. med. 

 Woohensohr., 1905, XXXI., 1289; Cannon, "Bod- 

 ily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Bage, " 

 New York, 1920. 



apparatus in this country is necessary in order to 

 produce enough qualified skilled workers and ex- 

 perts to aid in times of national emergency. The 

 cost of labor being high, the quantity basis of 

 manufacture is urged. The splitting of endeavor 

 is caused by the manufacture of too small quanti- 

 ties of any particular piece of apparatus. Qual- 

 ity, shapes and sizes of glassware, porcelain ware, 

 rubber goods, woodenware, and platinum need 

 standardizing. Possibly the number of shapes 

 and sizes, at least, could be reduced to suoh an 

 extent that the output per individual article would 

 be materially increased. Reasons for packing in 

 standard packages are also given and it is shown 

 that this will tend to reduce overhead, especially 

 in the dealer's business and allow a consequent 

 reduction to the consumer. It is proposed to have 

 a standardization office with a draftsman, the ex- 

 penses of this office to be met by a small fee upon 

 all the apparatus bearing the stamp of the com- 

 mittee of this society. If this small fee does not 

 seem feasible, then some scheme should be adopted 

 by which the Bureau of Standards would be able 

 to carry out the ideas of standardization. 



Recovery of the grease from the soapy wash 

 waters in laundering: I. N. Kdgelmass. On the 

 average a twenty-five gallon first suds waste 

 yielded about one half liter of fatty acids ex- 

 tracted by gravitational separation through 

 naphtha. 



A rapid soap dissolving -distributing system: I. 

 Newton Kugelmass. The soap-dissolving tank 

 contains a forty-five degree inclined perforated 

 support suspended near the top of the tank, auto- 

 matically fed with soap flakes and the whole im- 

 mersed in water. An electric stirring device 

 hastens solution. The clear soap solution is dis- 

 tributed to washers by pipe Hnes. At each washer 

 a gauge gives the volume of soap solution passing 

 through it into the washing machine. Advantages : 

 rapid solution, economy in soap, time, and labor, 

 correct soap concentration in washers. 



The recovery of iodine from Tcelp: Merle Ran- 

 dall. This paper is a summary of a study of the 

 leach Uquors at the tJ. S. Kelp-Potash Plant at 

 Summerland, Calif. Green kelp, such as is har- 

 vested on the Pacific coast, contains about 0.0016 

 per cent, of iodine. The kelp is dried in direct 

 heat driers, and chared either in incinerators or in 

 retorts. The char is leached with hot water, and 

 potassium chloride and sodium chloride removed 

 from the leach liquor in crystallizing evaporators. 

 Iodine should remain in the mother liquors. The 



