550 
results a corresponding decrease in catalase. 
Stated more specifically, the present investi- 
gation was begun to determine if the ingestion 
of saccharin would produce an increase in 
catalase, and hence an increase in oxidation 
in the body just as sugar and the other food 
materials do. 
The animals used were dogs. The sugar 
used was dextrose, and the saccharin “ soluble 
saccharin,” prepared by the addition of a 
solution of sodium carbonate to saccharin. 
The amounts of these substances used were 4 
grams per kilogram of body weight of the 
animal. They were introduced into the stom- 
ach of the animal by means of a stomach tube. 
Determinations of the catalase of the blood 
from the jugular vein were made before as 
well as at thirty minute intervals after the 
introduction of the materials. The determina- 
tions of catalase were made by the addition of 
0.5 e.c. of blood to 50 e.c. of hydrogen peroxide 
in a bottle at approximately 32° C., and the 
amount of oxygen gas liberated in ten minutes 
was taken as a measure of the amount of 
catalase in the 0.5 e.c. of blood. 
The curve marked “sugar” in Fig. 1, was 
constructed from data obtained before, as well 
as at thirty minute intervals after, the intro- 
duction into the stomach of a dog of 4 grams 
of dextrose per kilogram of body weight of the 
animal. It may be seen that the sugar pro- 
duced 8 per cent. increase in catalase during 
the first 30-minute interval; 14 per cent. in- 
crease during the 60-minute interval; and 16, 
14 and 15 per cent. increase during the suc- 
ceeding intervals. Two days later, five grams 
of “soluble saccharin” per kilogram of body 
weight were introduced into the stomach of 
the same dog. The curve marked “ saccharin ” 
in Fig. 1, shows the results. It may be seen 
that the introduction of the “soluble sac- 
charin ” inereased the catalase of the blood 3 
per cent. during the first 30-minute interval; 
10 per cent. during the 60-minute interval; 30 
per cent. in 90 minutes; 54 per cent. in 120 
minutes, and:56 per cent. in 150 minutes. By 
comparing the effect of the sugar and of the 
saccharin on the production of catalase, it - 
may be seen that the saccharin produced a 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Vou. XLVIII. No. 1248 
much more extensive increase in catalase than 
did the sugar. 
The conclusion is drawn that in addition to 
being a sweetening agent, saccharin, although 
not oxidized itself, serves to facilitate the oxi- 
dation of the other food materials by stimula- 
ting the liver to an increased output of cata- 
lase, the enzyme in the body principally re- 
sponsible for oxidation. Hence, it would seem 
that saccharin should be positively helpful in 
the diet, instead of harmful, as some have 
claimed, particularly in a disease such as dia- 
betes where the principal trouble is defective 
oxidation. W. E. Burce 
PHYSIOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL 
SOCIETY 
THE twenty-second meeting of the society was 
held August 20 to 22, 1918, at the Harvard Ob- 
servatory. Before the gathering it had been ex- 
pected by many that war conditions would make 
the attendance so small that it would be scarcely 
worth while to hold the sessions. As might have 
been anticipated, however, the number of members 
of the society residing near Cambridge, together 
with the staff of the observatory, would make a 
respectably sized company at any time, and these 
with the few who were able to attend from a dis- 
tance made a number which was well up to the 
average of previous meetings of the society. Al- 
‘though many astronomers about the country are 
actively engaged in war work, the number of 
papers presented showed no tendency to decrease, 
in fact there were the greatest number of com- 
munications ever presented at a meeting of the 
society. This was due primarily to two astronom- 
ical oceurrences which were not affected by the 
war, the solar eclipse of June 8, and the appear- 
ance of the new star in Aquila. Hach of these 
events was the occasion of about a dozen papers. 
In welcoming the society in his double capacity 
as host and president, Professor Pickering referred 
to the last previous meetings at Harvard in 1910, 
when so many foreign astronomers were present, 
and he expressed the hope that it would not be 
too long before similar international meetings of 
men of science could be held again. 
In the intervals between sessions the members 
were afforded the opportunity to inspect the in- 
struments and work of the Harvard Observatory, 
