FEBBtJABY 25, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



311 



region of greatest oxidative power, and appears 

 there first. The points of emergence of the second- 

 ary roots also show the color strongly. The re- 

 ducing power is more active in the young and 

 vigorous roots. Roots killed by being dipped in 

 boiling water have no reducing action. Roots 

 in non-neutralized sodium selenite have little, if 

 any, reducing action. In the main, with increased 

 oxidizing power of the wheat root upon aloin, 

 there is an increased reducing power upon neu- 

 tralized sodium selenite. Potassium iodide in 

 certain concentrations, however, retards oxidation 

 but does not affect the reducing power and may 

 indeed increase it. 

 The Cavse of Depression produced hy Molasses: 



J. B. LiNDSET. 



Experiments were outlined which had been car- 

 ried on during the past year which showed con- 

 clusively that molasses prevents digestion. 

 Many experiments with food molasses added to 

 different sorts of mixtures for cattle, sheep and 

 horses have been tried and it has been found a 

 marked depression was produced by it. Tlie 

 reason for this is not exactly clear although 

 many theories have been advanced to explain it. 



Cornin, the Bitter Principle of Cornus Florida: 



Emerson R. MrLLEK. 



The root bark gives best yield. Carpenter con- 

 sidered the bitter principle to be an organic base. 

 The compound separated by Geiger had a slight 

 acid reaction. In pure condition it is perfectly 

 white, has neither basic nor acid properties, is 

 extremely bitter and crystallizes in fine silky 

 needles or beautiful rectangular plates, according 

 to conditions. Melting point 181° C. 



Readily soluble in water, sparingly soluble in 

 cold alcohol or cold acetone, but is dissolved to a 

 considerable extent by these liquids at the boiling 

 temperature. Almost insoluble in ether, chloro- 

 form, benzole, petroleum ether and acetic ether. 

 Sparingly soluble in benzole or acetic ether at the 

 boiling temperature. 



Contrary to Geiger's statement its aqueous so- 

 lution does not form a precipitate with either 

 silver nitrate or lead subacetate. 



Tested for nitrogen with soda-lime or metallic 

 potassium it gave negative results. 



An aqueous solution after standing some time 

 assumes color and reduces Fehling's solution. 

 By heating with a little alkali or acid it reduces 

 Fehling's solution at once. It also reduces am- 

 moniacal solution of silver nitrate and bismuth 

 subnitrate in the presence of an alkali, and re- 



sponds to Pettenkofer's test for glucose. An 

 aqueous solution does not form a precipitate with 

 phenylhydrazine hydrochloride, but on heating 

 yields a yellowish red precipitate. 



The average of ten analyses gave G^ 52.49 per 

 cent.; H=:6.17 per cent. Computed for the 

 formula C„HmOi„, C = 52.57 per cent.; H = 6.18 

 per cent. A molecular weight determination by 

 the freezing point method gave 377. The above 

 formula requires 388. The average of two tests 

 for methoxyl gave 7.48 per cent. One OCH3 re- 

 quires 7.98 per cent. 



Cornin thus appears to be a glucoside whose 

 molecule contains the glucose nucleus and, so far 

 as determined, is represented by the formula 

 CicH,i(0CH3)0a. 



The Selective Antiseptic Action of Copper Salts: 



Alfred Seingeb. 



Last year I foimd a certain Cincinnati " certi- 

 fied milk " contaminated with traces of copper 

 salt, which in some eases, though containing only 

 one part in two millions, decidedly affected the 

 normal sequence of fermentative action and made 

 the milk a better medium for the growth of cer- 

 tain molds. In the course of my experimenta- 

 tion I found that the copper salts were highly 

 selective, being most efficient in inhibiting the 

 putrefactive germs, as evidenced by tests made 

 with egg albumin, blood albumin, meat and other 

 nitrogenous substances, with and without the 

 addition of copper salts. These results may be 

 caused either by the copper salts preserving the 

 substances in their original condition, or split- 

 ting them without the formation of odorous com- 

 pounds or dissociating the odorous compounds 

 themselves into non-odorous ones. 



It seemed to me that some light might be 

 thrown upon the action of these salts by experi- 

 menting with copper treated eggs and then plac- 

 ing them in an incubator. In the first series of 

 experiments I completely submerged many eggs 

 in a cupric sulphate solution and check ones in 

 distilled water. Those in the distilled water kept 

 about two months, the others after a year's time 

 have not become foul. When, however, eggs which 

 had been completely submerged several weeks in 

 a copper or distilled water solution, were placed 

 in an incubator no chickens hatched. The dis- 

 tilled water experiments showed that it is fatal 

 to prevent air from reaching the germinative part 

 of the egg. The preservative effects of the copper 

 salts might have been due to their rendering the 

 eggs to a condition similar to that of unfertilized 

 ones (which keep far better than the fertilized) 



