94 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL VI. No. 1178 



KANSAS CITY MEETING OF THE AMER- 

 ICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



The fifty-fourth meeting of the American Chem- 

 ical Society was held at Hotel Muehleback, Kan- 

 sas City, Kansas, from April 10 to April 14, 1917. 

 The general program was carried out under the 

 able leadership of Professor Julius Stieglitz, presi- 

 dent of the society, and Dr. Charles L. Parsons, 

 secretary, while the various divisions were pre- 

 sided over by Charles L. Alsberg, E. H. S. Bailey, 

 J. E. Breckinridge, J. E. Bailey, H. E. Howe, H. P. 

 Talbot, L. F. Kebler and T. J. Bryan. 



During the session the usual order of business 

 was carried out, consisting of meetings of the 

 council, inspection of plants, with general and pub- 

 lie sessions. A complimentary smoker and sub- 

 scription banquet added to the diversion of the 

 week. 



On Wednesday morning, April 11, addresses of 

 welcome were given by Hon. George H. Edwards, 

 mayor of Kansas City, and by Dr. Frank Strong, 

 chancellor of the University of Kansas. Eesponse 

 to these addresses was made by President Julius 

 Stieglitz. Mr. Arthur J. Boynton gave a very in- 

 teresting paper on the Economic resources of the 

 Kansas City zone. 



Wednesday afternoon was given over to a pub- 

 lic session, of which the program was as follows: 



PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS 



H. P. Cady, Chairman 



The geology of the mid-continent oil and gas fields : 

 Raymond C. Moose. 



Variations in the composition of gases of the mid- 

 continent field: H. C. Allen and E. E. Ltder. 



Helium and associated elements in Kansas natural 

 gases: C. W. Seibel. 



Some experiences in the use of oxy-acteylene weld- 

 ing in long distance natural gas transportaition : 

 E. P. Fisher. 



27se craching of petroleum in the liquid phase: 

 EoY Cross. 



One hillion gallons of synthetic gasolene in 1918: 

 Walter F. Eittman. 



The chemical work of the petroleum division of the 

 Bureau of Mines : Harry H. Hill. 

 Thursday morning was given over to a sym- 

 posium on the chemistry and metallurgy of zinc, 



Professor John Johnson presiding. The remainder 



of the day and Friday were occupied with the 



meetings of the divisions. 



The following abstracts of papers presented 



have been prepared by the authors for publication 



in Science: 



DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTET 



C. L. Alsberg, Chairman 

 I. K. Phelps, Secretary 



The toxicity of galactose and mannose for 

 green plants and the antagonistic action of other 

 sugars toward these: Lewis Knudson. The 

 toxicity of galactose to the growth of Pisum 

 arvense L. and to Triticum sativum L. was in- 

 hibited by glucose or saccharose, the former be- 

 ing slightly more effective than the latter. But 

 levulose, arabinose, maltose and raffinose do not 

 inhibit the toxicity of galactose, although in pres- 

 ence of levulose the primary root may continue its 

 growth to a limited extent It was found that 

 0.0125 mol. galactose was as toxic as 0.025 mol, the 

 other sugars being used at a concentration of 0.025. 

 Mannose had a toxic effect similar to galactose. 

 Glucose or saccharose inhibited the toxicity of 

 mannose. 



The effect of three annual applications of boron 

 on wheat: F. C. CoOK and J. B. Wilson. Borax 

 and eolemanite were applied to horse manure in 

 amounts suflScient to act as a fly larvicide. The 

 manure was applied to the same plats at the rate 

 of 20 tons per acre for three consecutive years and 

 wheat was grown on the plats each year at Arling- 

 ton, Va. A borax, a eolemanite, a manured control 

 and an unmanured control plat were used. It is 

 calculated that the upper 6 inches of soil of the 

 borax plat received .0088 per cent. H3BO3 the first 

 year and .0022 per cent, the second and third 

 years. The eolemanite plat likewise received .0029 

 per cent. H3BO3. Borax reduced the yield of 

 grain 10 per cent, in 1914 and 1915, eolemanite had 

 little effect. In 1916 the yields from all four plats 

 were low, but the borax plat gave the largest yield. 

 The only apparent injury to the wheat was the 

 first season on the plat receiving the large amount 

 of borax. There were no evidences of any cumu- 

 lative action of boron in the soil. 



The after-ripening of fruits: F. W. MUNCIE and 

 W. P. James, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, Department of Horticulture. Attempts to 

 preserve peaches by encasing with hard paraffin 

 were vmsuccessful, since considerable decomposi- 

 tion resulted after two months, with a marked pro- 

 duction of alcohol and an intensely bitter taste. 

 The color, however, remained normal, and the 

 skeleton of the fruit was not broken down. This 

 last condition is similar to that described for other 

 fruits kept in an atmosphere of COj by other work- 

 ers and is apparently due to an accumulation of 

 carbon dioxide within and about the fruit. 



