November 11, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



471 



To one familiar alone with the easily stud- 

 ied and regular structure of a root-hair de- 

 veloped in a moist chamber, the root-hair as 

 it grows in the soil is not recognizable except 

 as it is traced to its point of attachment among 

 the other epidermal cells of the root. Paral- 

 lel to this statement it may be said that to 

 one familiar alone with mold hyphse as they 

 may develop with freedom in liquid or solid 

 culture media such as agar or gelatine, the 

 mold hyphfe growing under natural condi- 

 tions among sugar crystals or between soil 

 particles are totally unrecognizable, neglected 

 and passed over. No suitable bacteriological 

 methods of making dry smears or stained prep- 

 arations have yet been devised for demonstra- 

 ting molds in such situations. These mold 

 hyphee are enough larger than minute bacteria 

 to be plasmolyzed and for their structtire to 

 be dried out beyond recognition by this ex- 

 ceedingly harsh treatment. The best of objec- 

 tives with high magnifications are required to 

 demonstrate this close relation of mold hyphse 

 either to sugar crystals or to soil particles. 

 For this an oil immersion objective must have 

 a long working distance to permit a mount as 

 thick as a sugar crystal or soil particle to be 

 examined with the mold hyphae attached. This 

 has been possible with such a combination as 

 a Zeiss 3 mm. N". A. 1.30 apochromatic objec- 

 tive and a 12 X compens. ocular. Few other 

 available combinations will give the necessary 

 clarity of field, magnification and working dis- 

 tance to demonstrate the intimate relationship 

 existing between the mycelium of saprophytic 

 molds and certain substrata. 



This intimate relationship between mold 

 hyphas and the substratum explains why many 

 have overlooked active growths of molds in the 

 soil and others have denied it. It explains also 

 in part the spoilage of certain foodstuffs such 

 as sugar. Much damage can undoubtedly take 

 place without macroscopic evidence of mold. 

 Mold hyphas have just such an intimate rela- 

 tionship to sugar crystals or soil particles as 

 is well known to exist between root hairs of 

 higher plants and the soil particles of the 

 ground wherein they grow. 



Margaret B. Church, 

 Charles Thom 



THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



(Continued) 



DIVISION OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 



Roger Adams, ohairman. 

 H. T. Clarke, secretary. 

 Oximes: F. W. Atack. 



Organo tellurium bases: A. Lowrt and R. F. 

 DuNBROOK. Aromatic bases and TeBr, react in 

 ether or acetic acid solution to produce organo tel- 

 lurium bases. The following complexes have been 

 prepared and analyzed: 



(CeH5NH,),.TeBr, 



= Bi-aniline tellurium tetrabroniide, 

 [CeH5N(CH3),],.TeBr4 



= Bi-dimethylaniline tellurium tetrabroniide, 

 (/3-C,„H,NH.),.TeBrj 



= Bi-/3-naphthylamine tellurium tetrabro- 

 niide, 

 p-CoH,(NH,),.TeBr4 



= p-phenylenediamiue tellurium tetrabro- 

 mide, 

 m-CH„(NH,) = .TeBr, 



= m-toluylenediamine tellurium tetrabro- 

 niide, 

 (2)-BrC„HjNH„),.TeBr, 



= Bi-p-bromoaniline tellurium tetrabromide, 

 [(C„H5).NH],.TeBr4 



=^ Bi-diphenylamine tellurium tetrabromide, 

 H,NC3H^ . aSi . NH, . TeBr, 



= Benzidine tellurium tetrabromide, 

 [ ( CH3 ) :N . CeH, ] ,CH, . TeBr, 



= Tetramethyl - diamine - diphenyl - methane 

 tellurium tetrabromide. 

 Alkaloids also produce complexes with Tebrj. 



The role of aeetio acid and ammonia as catalysts 

 in the formation of acetamide from ammonia 

 acetate: W. A. Notes and Walther Goebel. Dr. 

 M. A. Rosanoff showed several years ago that aceta- 

 mide may be prepared at atmospheric pressure by 

 heating ammonium acetate with an excess of glacial 

 acetic acid. He considered that the acetic acid is 

 a catalytic agent but, as he worked under condi- 

 tions such that the water formed distiUed away, he 

 did not actually prove whether the aeetio acid acted 

 as a catalyst or whether it merely retained the 

 ammonia and made it possible to heat the mixture 

 to a higher temperature without the loss of much 

 ammonium acetate by dissociation. By heating 

 ammonium acetate in sealed tubes, alone, and again 

 with acetic acid and in other experiments with 

 ammonia, we have shown that either acetic acid or 

 ammonia acts as a catalyst and hastens the reac- 

 tion. The liberation of ammonia by the addition of 

 a little sodium hydroxide to the ammonium acetate, 

 however, retards the reaction, probably because the 

 acetate ions from the sodium acetate formed re- 

 press the ionization of the acetic acid formed by 

 the dissociation of the ammonium acetate. These 



