136 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1389 



is increased by about 50 per cent. The yield of 

 acetic acid is not decreased by the sodium car- 

 bonate. 



The removal of free acid from nitrated cellulose, 

 wifh special reference to the use of saline leaches: 

 S. E. Sheppaed. 



Motor fuel from vegetation: T. A. Boyd. The 

 use of motor vehicles in the United States has 

 increased very much more rapidly than the produc- 

 tion of crude oil and considerably faster than the 

 production of gasoline, although the volatility 

 of gasoline has beeen decreasing from year to 

 year. This, coupled with the fact that reserves 

 of crude oil are being rapidly depleted, makes 

 it essential that other sources of motor fuel be 

 developed. Alcohol makes a desirable motor fuel, 

 and it appears to be the most promising ally to 

 petroleum oils for the purpose. The preparation 

 of sufficient alcohol for motor fuel from food- 

 stuffs does not appear to be feasible, and it seems 

 advisable to make a further and more intensive 

 investigation of cellulose as a source of this ma- 

 terial. 



Possibilities of the moist tropics as a source of 

 cellulose and carbohydrates: H. N. Whitpori). 

 The subject resolves itself into three headings, (a) 

 an inventory of present resources of the tropics, 

 (6) growth in moist tropical forests, (c) bamboo 

 and other plants as sources for cellulose and in- 

 dustrial alcohol, (a) From an economic stand- 

 point tropical forests are not so complex as usu- 

 ally believed. A rough estimate of the great 

 forested regions of South America and Asiatic 

 tropics shows more than twice as much standing 

 timber as in the United States. (6) Actual 

 knowledge of growth of certain forest crops shows 

 that practically the annual increment per unit area 

 as fully stocked stands is usually more than 

 twice that in the United States. (c) Heavy 

 yields of bamboo indicate that it may be the most 

 promising plant for the production of cellulose 

 and possibly alcohol. Nipa palm possesses possi- 

 bilities for alcohol. 



The possibilities of a future fuel supply from 

 our forests: B. C. Hawlet. 



The role of the chemist in relation to our future 

 fuel supply: Harold Hibbert. Up to the present 

 attention has been concentrated primarily on the 

 production of alcohol from cellulose products. In 

 view of the fact that in the fermentation of sugar 

 not more than 80 per cent, of the theoretical quan- 

 tity of alcohol is obtained while 50 per cent, by 



weight of the original material is lost in the form 

 of carbon dioxide, it seems desirable to subject 

 cellulose to intensive investigation with a view 

 to ascertaining how far it is possible to convert 

 it into other materials such as furfuraldehyde, 

 etc., in which a better yield could possibly be ob- 

 tained of a material suitable for use as a liquid 

 fuel. 



The effect of chemical reagents on the micro- 

 structure of wood: Allen Abrams. A method 

 has been devised for treating very thin sections of 

 wood with chemical reagents under different con- 

 ditions of temperature and pressure. This method 

 has been used in treating sections with a consider- 

 able variety of reagents, such as cellulose solvents, 

 acids, alkalies, oxidants and chemicals used in 

 paper-making. The effects on the microstructure 

 of wood have been studied both by microscopic 

 observation and by cell measurements. Some of 

 these effects may be siunmarized as follows: (1) 

 Cellulose solvents act strongly and proportionately 

 on both the middle lamella and the cell wall. (2) 

 Strong oxidants act on the cell wall but have 

 little effect on the middle lamella. (3) The or- 

 dinary paper-making reagents act strongly on the 

 middle lamella, with but relatively little visible 

 effect on the cell wall. Whereas caustic soda solu- 

 tions cause swelling of the cell wall, solutions of 

 sodium bisulphite and sodium sulfide cause little 

 or no swelling. 



Measwing soil tox^icity, acidity and basicity (co- 

 operative work with the U. S. Dept. of Cereal 

 Investigation) : E. H. Carr. There is a close 

 connection between an acid soil, the amount of 

 easily soluble iron and aluminum present, and the 

 soil's capacity to grow a good crop. A quanti- 

 tative method has been developed to measure the 

 presence of easily available iron and aluminum 

 by extracting the dry soil with an alcoholic solu- 

 tion of potassium thiocyanate. A red color will 

 develop if the soil is acid, due to the formation 

 of ferric thiocyanate. This solution is titrated 

 with a standard alcoholic base until the color 

 just disappears. If no color develops the soO is 

 neutral or basic and it may be titrated with a 

 standard alcoholic acid, and the limestone equiva- 

 lent determined. A special tube has been devised 

 for this work. 



Influence of mixed acid on tlie character of nitro- 

 cellulose: W. J. Waite. The vapor tension of 

 nitric acid in the nitrating bath controls the de- 

 gree of nitration of the nitrocellulose. The de- 

 hydrating value of sulphuric acid is a factor which 



