May 2, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



681 



The action of certain body ferments on each 

 other has been long discussed. As to the extent 

 of this mutual action there is still much confusion, 

 which is in a large measure due to a failure to 

 give proper ■weight to the behavior of the medium 

 in which the ferments act. 



It is not possible to explain the action of pepsin 

 on trypsin and amylopsin, for example, until the 

 influence of the acidity, the alkalinity or the salt 

 content of the medium is eliminated or fully de- 

 fined. The paper deals with determinations in 

 this direction, with special reference to the condi- 

 tion of amylopsin action. Glycerol extracts of 

 the pancreas, as well as a number of commercial 

 products were used in the investigations. 



Jacob Eosenbloom: The Cholesterol and Chole- 

 sterol-esters of the Blood in Xanthoma Tuberosa 

 Multiplex. 

 Jacob Eosenbloom : A Chemical Examination of 



the Brain of a Syphilitic Foetus. 

 W. D. Bancbopt: A Problem in Metabolism. 

 F. M. McClenahan: The Development of Fat 



in the Black Wahiut (Juglans nigra). II. 

 W. A. Withers and J. F. Beewstee: A Study of 

 the Senal Output of Babbits Dying from Cot- 

 tonseed-meal Poisoning. 

 E. A. GORTNER: Studies on the Chemistry of Em- 

 bryonic Growth. I. Certain Changes in the 

 Nitrogen Ratios of Developing Trout Eggs. 

 The distribution of certain fractions of the 

 nitrogen was determined in trout eggs at various 

 stages of embryonic development, beginning with 

 eggs less than 24 hours old and ending with the 

 young fish which were ready to take food. 



It was found that no nitrogen left the egg 

 before hatching, but that the monamino-acid nitro- 

 gen diminished and a gain of basic nitrogen took 

 place. No considerable amount of urea or uric 

 acid was formed. 



After hatching the nitrogen is rapidly lost, until 

 21 days after hatching 21.96 per cent, of the total 

 nitrogen has been eliminated. At this period the 

 total weight (dry at 100°) has diminished 25.35 

 per cent.; 37.26 per cent, of this loss being due 

 to non-nitrogenous compounds (fats, etc.) and 

 62.73 per cent, to proteins (N. X 6.25). 



A study of the form of the nitrogen which is 

 eliminated showed that nearly all of the basic 

 nitrogen is retained in the new organism, nearly 

 all of the nitrogen liberated being monamino-acid 

 nitrogen. 



The significance of these findings as regards our 



present knowledge of the chemistry of embryonic 

 growth, is discussed. 



The paper will be published in The Journal 

 of the American Chemical Society. 

 Philip Adolph Kober: The Nephelometric De- 

 termination of Proteins. I. Casein and Globulin 

 in Milk. 



Eesults in previous papers showed that proteins 

 can be rapidly and accurately estimated with a 

 nephelometer. After removing the fat from milk, 

 caseLni and other proteins may be estimated di- 

 rectly in this way. While the official method 

 takes two or more days to determine casein, 

 globulin and albumin in milk, it can be done 

 nephelometricaUy in less than 30 minutes. The 

 nephelometer described in a previous paper is 

 shown with several improvements. 

 G. 0. Higby: a Study of Well Water as a Cause 

 of Typhoid Fever. 



This investigation was begun in August, 1910, 

 at Delaware, Ohio, because of the prevalence of 

 typhoid fever in the city, there being 26 cases on 

 August 1 in a city of 10,000 inhabitants. The 

 hydrant water having b€en proved safe, suspicion 

 fell upon the well water, and samples from 65 

 wells were collected and examined chemically and 

 for the presence of the colon bacillus between 

 September 1, 1910, and June 1, 1912. 



Serious local pollution of the wells was discov- 

 ered and reported to the city health officer, result- 

 ing in the closing of some wells and the cleaning 

 and abandoning of many cesspools. The number 

 of typhoid cases in the city has been as follows: 

 1909, 18 cases; 1910, 34 cases; 1911, 7 eases; 

 1912, 10 cases (seven of these on the outskirts of 

 the city, where the water pipes have not been 

 laid) ; 1913, no cases up to March 22. 

 L. Knudson: Influence of Cane Sugar on the 



Production of Tannase by Aspergillus Niger. 

 M. X. Sullivan: Molds as a Factor in the For- 

 mation of Certain Nitrogenous Organic Soil 

 Constituents. 



Some thirty-five to forty different substances 

 have been found in the organic matter of the soil. 

 In some of the soils, mold growth was very evi- 

 dent. Molds were taken from soil and implanted 

 on Eaulin's solution. After several replantings 

 70 liters in bottles were inoculated with what has 

 been identified as a variety of Penicillium glau- 

 cum. After a period varying from three to five 

 weeks, the mold mycelium and the culture solution 

 were examined for various organic constituents. 

 On the air-dried molds have been found, a trace 



