Dbcembbe 19, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



987 



and Dryohates puhescens mediamis were 

 stated to intergrade along the western side of 

 tide water in the region named, and the 

 range of medianus was extended from South 

 Carolina to this section. 



Vernon Bailey spoke of ' Sleepy Grass and 

 its Effects on Horses,' stating that this grass 

 grew luxuriantly in some sections of the Cali- 

 fornia Sierras. Plorses eating this grass were 

 rendered .very drowsy for several days, and 

 it was reported that in some instances they 

 were temporarily too sleepy for use. The 

 effects gradually wore off, and it was said that 

 horses or cattle having eaten this grass would 

 not do so a second time. 



F. V. Coville described ' The Use of Sage- 

 brush among the Klamath Indians of Oregon ' 

 and illustrated by experiment the manner in 

 which it was employed to make fire by fric- 

 tion. The reason that sagebush was partic- 

 ularly adapted for this purpose was due to 

 the fact that the rings of growth were not of 

 uniform texture, some being soft, others hard. 

 Owing to this the end of a piece of this wood 

 did not wear smooth, but remained rough, 

 causing continued friction, and eventually pro- 

 ducing enough heat to light the vei"y dry bark 

 employed in place of tinder. 



O. F. Cook presented a paper on ' The Func- 

 tion of Latex in the Central American Rubber 

 Tree,' presenting incidentally much informa- 

 tion as to the habits of the tree and the pro- 

 duction of rubber. It was stated that, while 

 the tree throve in moist climates, this was not 

 favorable to the yield of rubber, which was 

 ' greatest after a dry season, and lack of ac- 

 quaintance with this fact led to the attempt 

 to cultivate rubber trees in unsuitable local- 

 ities. From observation of this and plants 

 with similar sap it was inferred that an im- 

 portant function of the latex was to check 

 evaporation. F. A. Lucas. 



THE RESEARCH CLUB OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

 MICHIGAN. 



The Club met on the evening of November 

 19 and listened to papers by Professors John 

 A. Fairlie and S. L. Bigelow. 



Dr. Fairlie discussed the Ohio situation in 

 the relation of legislative eiiactments for 



municipal government; and Dr. Bigelow spoke 

 on ' The Passage of a Direct Current through 

 an Electrolyte when the Electromotive Force 

 Applied is Small.' The speaker stated that 

 every attempt to determine Le Blanc's de- 

 composition points shows that small currents 

 pass before such a point is reached. Attempts 

 to account for these currents by means of 

 polarization phenomena, including the idea 

 of electric ' double layers,' by Nernst's 

 osmotic theory, and by ITelmholtz's .' convec- 

 tion currents,' were shown to be unsatisfactory. 

 A new theory was suggested: that a gas 

 (hydrogen or oxygen) on dissolving becomes 

 differentiated to a certain extent into mole- 

 cules with plus charges and molecules with 

 minus charges which then act as carriers of 

 electrical energy. Facts already known and 

 new experimental evidence were adduced in 

 favor of this view. It was further proposed to 

 apply Thompson's corpuscular theory to solu- 

 tions, a justification for this being found in 

 the close analogies known to exist between 

 substances in dilute solution and in the gase- 

 ous condition, and Thompson's theory was con- 

 sidered preferable to the theory of electrons 

 as stated by Nernst. It was pointed out that 

 this theory would account for the currents pass- 

 ing at low voltage, and possibly for conduction 

 in solutions whose boiling and freezing points 

 fail to indicate corresponding dissociation. It 

 was expressly stated that this new idea does 

 not conflict with the dissociation theory, but 

 rather serves to support it, offering a plaus- 

 ible explanation of some apparent exceptions. 

 The article will appear in the December 

 number of the Journal of Physical Chemistry. 

 Frederick C. Newcombe, 



jSecretary. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION. 



To THE Editor of Science: Munificent as 

 is the endowment of the Carnegie Institu- 

 tion, it is safe to assume that most of the 

 good things proposed for science in the official 

 plans will be enjoyed only by future genera- 

 tions; important results can be attained on 

 the probable income, but not results in many 

 directions. It may be, too, that some of the 



