March 12, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



275 



5 per cent, of dried meat does not delay the 

 onset of scurvy but does greatly prolong the 

 life of the animals, while 10 per cent, of this 

 meat delays the onset of the disease and greatly 

 prolongs the life of the animals. He also 

 thinks that calcium and chloride cause delay in 

 the development of scurvy. 



Dutdher'' and his associates claim that raw 

 lean beef does not possess antiscorbutic prop- 

 erties. They think the favorable influence 

 from dried meat claimed by Pitz is in reality 

 due to the fact that the animals in those ex- 

 periments were consuming milk ad lib. 



The dried meat used in our experiments was 

 lean beef freed of fat and dehydrated in vacuo 

 at a temperature never higher than 65° C. for 

 a period of twelve hours.^ The meat was then 

 air dried for several days, during which time 

 it gave up a little more moisture. This dried 

 product was ground to a powder and ofEered 

 as isuch to the animals. The guinea-pigs did 

 not care for the food in this form and the only 

 satisfactory consumption obtained was through 

 intimately blending the meat with the soy cake 

 food by grinding the two together. By this 

 manipulation an average consumption of fifty 

 per cent, or better of the 3 gm. of meat of- 

 fered daily, was obtained from all animals. 

 The actual daily amount of dried meat eaten 

 was about 1.5 gm. per guinea-pig; represent- 

 ing approximately 15 per cent, of the total 

 solids ingested. 



The dried meat was fed uncooked and cooked 

 for fifteen minutes at 100° C. In neither case 

 was there any protection against the onset of 

 scurvy nor was death therefrom delayed. A 

 graphic presentation of the above results is 

 given in the chart by a curve of growth of a 

 typical animal from each group. 



The findings in these animal experiments are 

 in accord with those of Chick, Hume and 

 Skelton and of Dutcher and associates on the 

 value of raw meat juice and raw meat and a 



T Dutcher, E. A., Pierson, E. M., and Biester, A., 

 Sci., N. S., 1918, 50, 184. 



8 Our thanks are due Dr. K. Geo. Falk, of the 

 Harriman Laboratories, Eoosevelt Hospital, New 

 Tork City, for kindly supplying us with the meat 

 used in these experiments. 



watery extract of raw meat. The results sup- 

 port Stefansson's contention, in so fas as meat 

 is concerned, that foodstuffs preserved by 

 desiccation are deficient in their antiscorbutic 

 property. 



The meat used by Pitz in his experiments 

 was dried over steam coils. Our results are in 

 direct opposition to his. The explanation of 

 this is undoubtedly due, as Dutcher believes, 

 to the amount of milk consumed by the guinea- 

 pigs in Pitz's experiments. His results in all 

 likelihood would have been the same as ours 

 had the intake of milk been controlled quanti- 

 tatively. Maurice H. Givens, 

 Harry B. McClugage 



Univeksitt of Rochester 



THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL 

 SOCIETY 



The American Meteorological Society was or- 

 ganized in St. Louis, on December 29, 1919 (of. 

 preliminary annoimcemenits. Science, August 22, 

 1919, pp. 180-181, and December 12, 1919, pp. 

 546-547). Following the organization, the Council 

 of the American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science granted afiiliation. The officers elected 

 for 1920 are: E. DeC. Ward, president; W. J. 

 Humphreys, vice-president; Eobert E^ Hoxton, 

 treasurer, and Charles P. Brooks, secretary. Fif- 

 teen councilors representing the various phases of 

 theoretical and applied meteorology were also 

 elected. They are : Lieutenant Colonel W. E. Blair, 

 Meteorological Service, Signal Corps, Washington; 

 E. H. Bowie, Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. ; 

 Professor H. J. Cox, Weather Bureau, Chicago, 

 111.; A. W. Douglas, Simmons Hardware Co., St. 

 Louis, Mo.; Professor Ellsworth Huntington, Tale 

 University, New Haven, Conn.; Lieutenant C. N. 

 Keyser, Aerology Division, TJ. S. Navy, Washing- 

 ton, D. C; Professor C. P. Marvin, Weather Bu- 

 reau, Washington, D. C. ; Major General C. T. 

 Menoher, Air Service, Washington, D. C; J. C. 

 MUlas, Meteorological Service, Habana, Cuba; 

 James H. Scarr, Weather Bureau, New York, N. 

 Y.; Professor J. Warren Smith, Weather Bureau, 

 Washington, D. C. ; Sir E. Stupart, Meteorological 

 Office, Toronto, Canada; Professor C. P. Talman, 

 Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. ; Dr. P. L. 

 West, Utah Agricultural College, Logan, Utah; 

 Professor W. M. Wilson, Cornell University, and 

 Weather Bureau, Ithaca, N. Y. Eleven committees 



