May 3, 1901.] 
hydrochloric acid gas, Such a coat effectually 
hides all coloration of the specimen and re- 
flected light, and does not obliterate the finer 
details of the sculpture. The salt is perfectly 
harmless and may be readily removed by water, 
or by a soft brush. The paper was discussed 
by Professors Stevenson and Kemp, and Drs. 
Levison, Julien and White. 
THEODORE G. WHITE, 
Secretary. 
THE NEW YORK SECTION OF THE AMERICAN 
CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
THE regular meeting of the New York Section 
of the American Chemical Society was held on 
Friday evening, April 5th, at the Chemists’ 
Club, 108 West Fifty-fifth street, and over fifty 
members were present. 
The following papers were read : 
F. A. Sieker—‘ The Detection of Methyl Alcohol.’ 
A.H. Gotthelfi—‘The Synthesis of Alkyl Ketodi- 
hydroquinazolins from Anthranilic Acid.’ 
Durand Woodman—‘ Note on the Determination 
of Moisture in Coal.’ 
E. F. Kern—‘ Comparison of Methods for the Elec- 
trolytic Precipitation of Iron.’ 
E. F. Kern—‘The Electrolytic Precipitation of 
Nickel and Cobalt from a double Cyanide Solution.’ 
In the discussion of Mr. Sieker’s paper, Dr. 
Eecles suggested that for a method of detecting 
methyl alcohol depending on the production of 
a specific odor, he thought that which produced 
methyl salicylate was to be preferred as more 
characteristic than the one described producing 
formaldehyd. 
Dr. Woodman’s paper was an effort to ascer- 
tain more clearly the effect of oxidation in dry- 
ing samples of coal according to the accepted 
method for determination of moisture. It ap- 
peared that the apparent loss of moisture in a 
stream of dry carbonic acid gas was uniformly 
less than when the coal was heated in contact 
with the air. This indicates that by the ordi- 
nary method there is a loss by oxidation in the 
first stages of heating, before the well-known 
increase of weight begins by more prolonged 
heating. The paper evoked considerable dis- 
cussion as to whether the secondary increase of 
weight was due to oxidation, occlusion or to 
some change not yet explained. It was stated 
SCIENCE. 
ul 
that further work was in progress with a view 
to clearing up some of these points. 
Mr. Kern gave a very full and valuable ex- 
position of the electrolytic methods for precipi- 
tation of iron, nickel and cobalt. 
After the transaction of some miscellaneous 
business in connection with the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of the Society, the meeting was 
adjourned to May 10th. 
DuRAND WOODMAN, 
Secretary. 
BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
THE 338th meeting was held on Saturday 
evening, April 6th, and was devoted to an ad- 
dress by Erwin F. Smith, on the subject of 
‘Bacterial Diseases of Plants,’ the speaker 
considering in detail diseases of the cucurbits, 
the cabbage and the tomato, illustrating his re- 
marks by numerous slides. These showed the 
entire plants and their histological structure in 
health and under the effects of the diseases dis- 
cussed, showing in certain cases the water canals 
crowded with bacteria and in others the break- 
ing down of the cell walls and the invasion of 
the healthy tissue by bacteria. The speaker 
described the physiological differences between 
the species treated and said that the diseases 
considered were mostly conveyed from plant to 
plant by beetles whose bites inoculated the 
healthy plants with bacteria derived from the 
diseased plants on which they had previously 
fed. Hence the remedy for the disease was to 
wage war on the beetles. 
e F. A. LUCAS. 
THE LAS VEGAS SCIENCE CLUB. 
THE regular monthly meeting of the Club was 
held April 9th. Mr. T.D. A. Cockerell exhibi- 
ted specimens of Spherium magnum Sterki MS., 
found abundantly in the Pleistocene deposit of 
the Arroyo Pecos, Las Vegas. This species, 
although undescribed, was known to Dr. Sterki 
in the living state from Missouri, Kansas, etc.; 
but it had not been observed living in {New 
Mexico. Mr. Cockerell also‘exhibited Veront- 
cella agassizi n. sp., a Slug found, by Professor 
Alexander Agassiz in Tahiti. It was related 
to V. gilsoni of the Fiji Islands but apparently 
distinct. Mr. Emerson Atkins read a paper on 
