510 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1352 



."atomic -weight/g " would have to be a force 

 divided by a quantity of electricity, wbicb 

 quotient is called tbe intensity of an electric 

 field. The atomic weight would then have to 

 .be taken to represent something more than a 

 mere number or ratio. 



It was thought that perhaps the elimination 

 of all terrestrial factors like the atmospheric 

 ■pressure, temperature, attraction of gravita- 

 tion, etc., from the value of this electrochem- 

 ical constant thereby reducing it to absolute 

 terms which are independent of this earth, 

 might perhaps raise its value by this small 

 amount of 3/10 of 1 per cent., though the 

 writer has been informed by very reliable 

 ■authorities that it seems unlikely that such 

 corrections would equal this amount. Unless 

 this very slight discrepancy can be adjusted it 

 would seem that this curious relation is a mere 

 accidental coincidence of numbers. But when 

 we are a^ked to believe that masses change 

 ■with changes of velocities, that is, with ac- 

 celerations, and that the atoms of the chem- 

 ical elements are made up of electrons (elec- 

 tric charges) in very rapid orbital motions, 

 again involving accelerations, so-called, it does 

 not seem unreasonable to believe that new and 

 unexpected relations may be found to exist 

 between mechanical, chemical and electrical 

 constants. 



Carl Hering 



Philadelphia, 

 Octot)er 13, 1920 



THE INFLUENCE OF DRY VERSUS FRESH 



GREEN PLANT TISSUE ON CALCIUM 



METABOLISM 



In Science, 1920, LII., 318, Hart, Steenbock 

 and Hoppert explain negative calcium bal- 

 ances on dry feed in their experiments, as well 

 as those of Forbes and Meigs, on the destruc- 

 tion of a hypothetical antirachitic vitamine 

 by drying. Mellanby brings evidence to show 

 that the antirachitic vitamine is the same as 

 fat-soluble-A, which is not destroyed in plants 

 by drying. On the contrary, the antiscorbutic 

 vitamine seems to be greatly reduced by dry- 

 ing except in very acid foods (fruits). The 

 marrow tissue of the bones increases in pro- 



portion to the bone proper in scurvy and cal- 

 cium, is apparently lost from the bones in this 

 way. In order to make more exact studies of 

 calcium metabolism on guinea-pigs, I feed 

 them calcium-free diets during and for two 

 days before metabolism periods of three days 

 in length. One day periods were not long 

 enough for definite conclusions to be drawn, 

 but three-day periods on a large enough series 

 of animals seemed perfectly reliable. The ani- 

 mals were under starvation conditions as re- 

 gards calcium, but this lasted only five days, 

 and examination of their bones did not show 

 differences from animals fed liberal amounts 

 of calcium. Animals that had been on a diet 

 of dried plants fourteen days before the ex- 

 periment, eliminated twice as much calcium 

 as those that had been on a diet of fresh green 

 plants and which during the experiment re- 

 ceived calcium-free orange juice. In case of 

 animals that had been twenty-one days on a 

 dry diet, the difference from the controls was 

 more striking. Scurvy appeared in all the 

 animals on the dry diet. It seems possible, 

 therefore, that the loss of calcium in the ex- 

 periments of Hart, Steenbock and Hoppert 

 may have been due to scurvy and that it is un- 

 necessary to postulate rickets or an antirachitic 

 vitamine. 



E. F. EoBB 

 Univeesitt of Minnesota 



purchases in germany 



To THE Editor of Science : Some of the 

 problems connected with the purchase of 

 books, etc., from Germans at the present time 

 have been alluded to several times in Science, 

 and further information may not be out of 

 place. 



Somewhat less than a year ago I was offered 

 by a German firm, with whom I had dealt 

 for a score of years before the war, the file of 

 a journal I was desirous of purchasing, for 

 3,000 marks. Somewhat later I received an- 

 other offer from the same firm for $420. A 

 few weeks ago the same was again offered, 

 this time at 22,000 marks, and still more 

 recently at 25,000 marks. 



As far as I am concerned, the $420 is a 



