364 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIX. No. 1001 



monium citrate of sp. gr. 1.09, and only sligMly 

 soluble in citric acid, but is readily soluble in 

 hydroeUorie acid of sp. gr. 1.115. 

 Two Partially Compensating Sources of Error in 



the Official Method of Determining Potash: T. 



E. Keitt. 



In the official method there are two sources of 

 error, one the diminished volume due to precipi- 

 tation of the iron, alumina and tri-caleium phos- 

 phate when ammonia and ammonium oxalate are 

 added to the solution after boiling; the second due 

 to occlusion of potash by the above precipitate. 



An Odd Result in the Chemical Analysis of a 

 Potable Water: F. P. Dunnington. 

 Analysis of the water from a newly bored well 

 showed astonishingly high amounts of nitrates, 

 nitrites and chlorides, even after the well had 

 been pumped dry twice. A full explanation lies 

 in the circumstance that the party boring the well 

 wound up by exploding a charge of dynamite "to 

 open up crevices for water ' ' and then to ensure a 

 good job, put some salt in the well. In cleaning 

 out wells some people complete the work by put- 

 ting salt or lime into the well — an ill-advised cus- 

 tom, frequently encountered in certain regions. 



In addition to the above papers there were two 

 informal talks: one by Dr. C. L. Parsons on the 

 radium situation and the capabilities of radium 

 in the cure of cancer, the second by Dr. E. K. 

 Duncan, who described the general organization 

 of the scheme of fellowships in industrial re- 

 search and recounted a number of the problems 

 upon which the men working under this scheme 

 are engaged; both of these talks were very in- 

 teresting, and impressed those who heard them. 

 John Johnston, 

 Secretary of Section C 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOB THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 

 SECTION F— ZOOLOGY 



Section F-r-Zoo!ogy — of the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science held its con- 

 vocation week meeting in the histological building 

 of the Atlanta Medical College, Atlanta, Ga., De- 

 cember 29 and 30, 1913. 



Professor Frank E. Lillie, of the University of 

 Chicago, was elected vice-president and chairman 

 of the section for the ensuing year. C. C. Nutting, 

 Iowa University, was chosen member of the Gen- 

 eral Committee of the association; Herbert Os- 



born, Ohio State University, was elected a mem- 

 ber of the sectional committee (for 5 years), and 

 E. W. Gudger, Normal College of North Carolina, 

 was made a member of the council of the associa- 

 tion. 



The following papers were presented at the meet- 

 ing, either in full or by title: 

 The Behavior of Leeches with Especial Reference 



to its Modifiahility : WttsoN Gee. 



The first section of the work reviewed in this 

 paper deals with the reactions of leeches to vari- 

 ous classes of stimuli, such as light, chemicals, con- 

 tact, currents, etc. The second section is an at- 

 tempt to present, so far as possible, a causal ex- 

 planation of the modified behavior described in 

 the nephelid leech, Dina microstoma Moore. The 

 different responses to the same stimulus were 

 shown in their essential features to be in accord 

 with our knowledge of reflex-arc structure and 

 what might be expected of its conductivity in the 

 various stages of excitement of the leech. Ac- 

 climatization to slight stimuli, such as shadows 

 and shocks, was explained on the basis of the 

 dulled sensibility of the receptors and slight 

 changes in the nerve centers involved. It wa3 

 shown that the phenomenon of fatigue in the leech 

 possesses the same fundamental characteristics as 

 fatigue in skeletal muscle. An important factor 

 in explaining the behavior of the leech at a given 

 moment was shown to be the consideration of the 

 concurrent stimuli operative at that moment. 

 Perhaps intermediate metabolic products are the 

 cause of much of the difference in responsiveness 

 between normal and well-fed leeches. The in- 

 creased irritability of starved leeches is probably 

 due to much the same cause. 



Additional Data on Some of Eisen's Species of 



Lumhricidce: Feank Smith. 



Eisen in 1874 published a list of Lumbricidcs 

 from Niagara and from Mt. Lebanon, New Eng- 

 land, in which he described four new species. One 

 of them is the widely distributed and well-known 

 Helodrilus parvus. The other three species have 

 not been reported since. Eisen gave only brief de- 

 scriptions of their external characters and their 

 real status has been uncertain. The United States 

 National Museum has specimens of each of these 

 three species which were given by Eisen many 

 years ago, and are accompanied by labels showing 

 that they were part of the original collections on 

 which the descriptions were based. They are in 

 the collections of Oligochmta which have been 

 turned over to the writer for study. Sections have 



