March 27, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



489 



under process of deposit, with intermediate and 

 subsequent periods during wMcli new supplies 

 appear from some source not yet clearly ex- 

 plained. 



Prof. Amos Peaslee Brown stated that it had 

 heen suggested by Russell that the red color of 

 certain formations may have originated from 

 the subaerial decay of iron-bearing rocks and 

 the subsequent deposit of this material as sedi- 

 ment forming the red rock. Such rocks as con- 

 tain iron, especially limestone and the meta- 

 morphic schists, would weather in the atmos- 

 phere to reddish clays, and during periods 

 when denudation of the surface was not active, 

 or when the land remained at constant level, 

 such weathered accumulations could form to 

 considerable depths. A rise of land level would 

 cause denudation of this accumulated red soil 

 and result in deposit elsewhere. The periods 

 preceding the formation of the Mauch Chunk 

 red shale and the New Red or Trias were 

 such periods of quiescence and they were 

 followed, in the first case locally and in the sec- 

 ond generally, by elevation of land causing de- 

 nudation to be set up and accumulation of red 

 •clays to be formed. 



So far as the ash of coal is concerned, it is 

 probable that the color is due to the way in 

 which pyrite is contained either in the coal 

 itself or in the slates adjoining. Coal contain- 

 ing separable pyrite would give white ash, 

 while if the pyrite is intimately mixed in the 

 «oal the ash will be red. 



The subject was further discussed by Messrs. 

 Heilprin, Willcox, Goldsmith and Lyman. 



Mr. Jos. Willcox and Prof. Angelo Heilprin 

 •commented on the evolutionary value of the 

 large collection of Fulgurs presented at the last 

 meeting, the former claiming that about twenty- 

 five species had been reduced, by the presence of 

 complete series of intermediate forms, to three 

 or four. Edw. J. Nolan, 



Secretary. 



:iSrBW YOEK SECTION OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 

 MAECH 6, 1896. 



The papers presented were: 



The CasselSinman Gold and Bromin Process: 

 P. C. McIlhiney. 



The Specific Gravity of Glue Solutions: E. R. 



Hewitt. 

 Investigations in the Chemistry of Nutrition : W. 

 O. Atwatee. 



Mr. McIlhiney enumerated the advantages of 

 bromin over chlorine in the gold extraction pro- 

 cess, as Ca) greater solubility in water of bromin, 

 3.2 per cent, against 0.76 per cent, of chlorine; 

 (b) lesser oxidizing power, whereby the iron 

 pyrites is less acted upon; (c) greater solvent 

 power of bromin for gold. 



The bromin is recovered by distillation with 

 live steam in stone tanks, after addition of sul- 

 phuric acid and an oxidizing agent, as perman- 

 ganate of potash. 



The process is especially adapted to the 

 treatment of low grade telluride ores which 

 have not hitherto been profitably worked. 



Mr. Hewitt in his work on specific gravity of 

 glue solutions had obtained his results from ex- 

 periments on twelve different grades of glue, 

 from the best photographic gelatine to the 

 darkest and poorest grades in the market. He 

 finds the expansion of glue solutions to be the 

 same as water alone; that the specific gravity 

 of glue containing moisture is less than of glue 

 in the dry state ; that the hydrometer could 

 not be used in solutions containing over 65 per 

 cent, glue, and that the specific gravity is in- 

 dependent of the quality of the glue. 



He concludes that there is a series of distinct 

 chemical combinations of glue with water. 



Dr. Atwater described the recent work under 

 his direction at Middletown, Conn., in deter- 

 mining the heats of combustion or fuel values 

 of foods. He said that ' we know the laws of 

 the conservation of energy hold good in the 

 living organism, but we do not yet know hoiv 

 they held good. "We must study these things 

 in the living organism, and for this purpose a 

 ' respiratory calorimeter ' has been constructed 

 of copper, large enough for a man to remain in 

 for some time, and by which the experimental 

 determination of heat of radiation, energy of 

 food consumed, etc. , is to be carried out. ' 



Experiments lasting four days had recently 

 been made, and it was expected to arrange to 

 keep a man in the apparatus by the week. 



Eight attendants were required to conduct 

 these experiments, four by day and four by 



