August 7, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



185 



of fiftieth normal caustic soda. The residue is 

 filtered off, dried, weighed, ignited and weighed 

 again. Cottonseed meals of high purity may 

 yield 10 per cent, residue; hulls give 75 per cent. 

 The freedom of the meals from hulls is judged 

 from the percentage of the residue. 



The Production of Active Nitrogen in the Soil: 



G. S. FBArs. 



This is a brief statement of results, which will 

 be published in full elsewhere. It is impossible 

 to condense the article more, but the author sees 

 promise of securing a method for determining the 

 needs of the soil for active nitrogen. 



The Estimation of Dry Substance hy Refractom- 



eter in Liquid Saccharine Food Products: A. 



Hugh Bryan. 



The paper records results of comparative de- 

 terminations of dry substance, by loss of weight 

 at 70° in vacuum oven and from refractive index 

 of the substance, using a table for transforming 

 to dry substance. Samples of maple syrup, cane 

 syrup, glucose, honey and cane and beet molasses 

 were used, and results tabulated. In all the above 

 substances except honey, the dry substance by 

 refraetometer agrees very closely with actual dry 

 substance. Individual cases may show as high as 

 two per cent, difference. With honeys the differ- 

 ences are larger, exceeding two per cent, in many 

 cases. It is not certain whether the method for 

 actual dry substance gives reliable results. For 

 most liquid saccharine products the refraetometer 

 can be used for this determination and the re- 

 sults will be more nearly the actual dry substance 

 than that derived from specific gravity. 

 The Determination of Sugar in Meats: A. LowEN- 



STEiN and W. P. Dunne. 



The purpose of the paper is to point out an 

 error in the method for the determination of 

 reducing sugar in meat, as outlined in the Official 

 Methods of Analysis of the A. 0. A. C. and in 

 various government bulletins, to show the cause 

 and magnitude of this error, and also the diffi- 

 culties encountered in the manipulation of the 

 method. A simple method is proposed which 

 avoids the error referred to; avoids the use of 

 lead acetate as a clarifying agent and permits of 

 the determination of reducing sugars, suecose and 

 nitrates (saltpeter) in one portion of the sample. 

 The method is rapid and accurate, its accuracy 

 being indicated in several tables in the article. 

 Spanish Paprika: A. Lowenstein and W. P. 



Dunne. 



This article furnishes data on, the composition 



of a number of samples of pure Spanish paprika, 

 of known origin and also on the ground commer- 

 cial article imported from Spain. It points out 

 the adulterants commonly employed and their 

 means of detection, and particularly the detection 

 of olive or other added oil. The presence of added 

 oil is revealed by the determination of the iodine 

 number and refraetometer reading of the non- 

 volatile ether extract, and also by the alcoholic 

 extract, all of which are materially lowered by 

 the addition of oil. It is convenient to make a 

 tintometer reading of the alcoholic extract and 

 thus record the color, the paprika usually being 

 graded according to its color. 



The Determination of Diastatio Power: A. W. 



Meyee and H. C. Sherman. 



This was a preliminary notice of a somewhat 

 extended investigation of the methods for the 

 quantitative determination of the activity of 

 amylases of different origin. The saecharification 

 of soluble starch by taka-diastase and pancreatin 

 has been studied. The work is still in progress 

 and will be reported in detail later. 



The Detection and Identification of Certain Re- 

 ducing Sugars hy Condensation icith p-Brom- 

 Benzyl-Hydrazide : E. C. KJENDAix and H. Cr 

 Sherman. 



Under the conditions which have been worked 

 out this reaction affords a fairly delicate method 

 for the detection and identification of glucose, 

 galactose, mannose or arabinose. 

 The Composition of Knoton Samples of Paprika; 

 R. E. DooLiTTLE and A. W. Ogden. 

 As indicated by the title, this paper is a state- 

 ment of the results obtained in the examination 

 of a large niimber of paprikas obtained in the 

 whole pods direct from producers. A method for 

 detection of added oil by means of determination 

 of iodine number of ether extract is given. 

 Gluten Feeds — Artificially Colored: Edward 

 Gudeman. 



The paper gives processes of the manufacture 

 of gluten feeds, by-products in the corn starch, 

 glucose and starch sugar industries. Methods for 

 examinations of gluten feeds for added colors 

 given. Examination of a large number of gluten 

 feeds, sold in the United States (62 samples from 

 agricultural experiment stations), showed over 

 75 per cent, to have been artificially colored vrith 

 coal-tar colors. The author considers the artifi- 

 cial coloring of feed stuffs as contrary to the 

 federal food act and many state food acts, unless 

 such products are specifically labeled as artifi- 



