Decembee 4, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



815 



fluids and thence into the compartment. At the 

 same time the vacuum system at the opposite 

 side of the compartment tends continuously to 

 draw forward the two streams and to keep them 

 in a straight line. Two partitions of glass extend 

 from the side of the compartment through which 

 the two streams are admitted. They run parallel 

 to the air columns, meeting near the point at 

 which the latter converge. The animal is ad- 

 mitted into the compartment at the point where 

 the partitions meet. These partitions serve to 

 keep the odors from mixing. Food is kept always 

 with one of the two odors. The tubes and flasks 

 are so arranged that they may easily be inter- 

 changed with respect to the right and left posi- 

 tion. The animal has to go first to the right in 

 order to get food, and then after the odors are 

 interchanged, to the left. In the final control 

 tests a special electric food dropping device serves 

 to keep all food out of the compartment until the 

 animal has actually made the correct choice. 



The hope was expressed that, with the help of 

 such an apparatus, much needed knowledge con- 

 cerning the development and the manner of func- 

 tioning of the olfactory sense organ might be 

 obtained. It ought to be possible, e. g., to find 

 out whether the animal is sensitive to all the 

 range of stimuli to which the human organism 

 responds, and how far animals differ in this 

 respect: whether or not it is easier for the animal 

 to associate the nauseous, hircine and fecal odors 

 with the getting of their food, than the fruit, 

 flower and musk-like odors, etc. The quantitative 

 study (delicacy) of the functioning of this sense 

 offers great difficulties, but it is hoped that these 

 can be overcome, at least to such an extent as to 

 enable us to obtain records which may be com- 

 pared with similar records from man. Functional 

 problems similar to those which arise in the study 

 of the olfactory field arise in the study of every 

 other sensory field. Experimental psychology is 

 recognizing this and is rapidly coming to extend 

 its study of sensory processes to the animal world. 

 There is no reason to limit experiment along these 

 lines to man alone. 



Such functional questions when answered will 

 give us the much-needed complement to all the 

 painstaking and exact structural work which has 

 already been accomplished so abundantly. 



The recent work of Madame Curie was then 

 reviewed by Professor H. C. Jones, his subject 

 being " Lithium not Produced from Copper Salts 

 by the Action of the Radium Emanation." 



About a year ago Sir William Ramsay an- 



nounced that when the radium emanation is 

 allowed to act upon a copper salt, there are formed 

 sodium, potassium and a minute trace of lithium. 



Quite recently Madame Curie has repeated this 

 experiment and has failed to obtain the same 

 result. The chief difference in the experiment as 

 carried out by the two investigators is that Ram- 

 say used glass vessels, while Madame Curie used 

 vessels of platinum. In other respects the work 

 as carried out in Paris seems to have been prac- 

 tically identical with that done in London. The 

 amount of copper salt used, the amount of the 

 emanation employed and the precautions taken 

 by Madame Curie are strictly comparable with 

 the conditions under which Ramsay worked. 



In the Paris experiments small amounts of 

 sodium and potassium were obtained, but no trace 

 of lithium. Madame Curie thinks that the small 

 quantities of sodium and potassium salts obtained 

 by her were introduced along with the radium 

 emanation. 



The minimum quantity of lithium which could 

 be detected in the residue obtained was tested by 

 Madame Curie, and found to be much less than 

 that which was present in the residue examined 

 by Ramsay. She suspects that a part of the 

 sodium and potassium, and all of the lithium 

 found by Ramsay came from the glass vessels 

 which he employed. She is, however, far from 

 dogmatic, concluding her paper with the following 

 words: 



" In conclusion, we may say that we have been 

 unable to confirm the results of Ramsay and 

 Cameron. It is evidently impossible to affirm 

 that no trace of sodium or lithium was found in 

 the experiment; we believe, however, that the 

 formation of these elements can not be considered 

 an established fact." 



If it is impossible for Madame Curie " to af- 

 firm," it is certainly impossible for any one else 

 to do so at present. We must wait until further 

 communications have been received from Sir 

 William Ramsay; not forgetting that some of the 

 finest experimental work that has ever been done 

 in any branch of eeienee has come from Ramsay's 

 laboratory. 



Chables K. Swabtz, 



THE BOTANICAL SOCIETT OF WASHINGTON 



At the annual meeting of the Botanical Society 

 of Washington, held November 10, 1908, the fol- 

 lowing officers were elected for the year 1908-9: 



President — Professor C. V. Piper. 



