Mabch 11, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



389 



admissibility of evidence up to the constitu- 

 tionality of the act is vigorously and skilfully 

 contested on the defendant's behalf. The 

 stress of the contest and the progress of the 

 pure-food movement are such, moreover, that 

 nearly every session of the legislature wit- 

 nesses some change in the letter of the law 

 that anew requires judicial construction; 

 while decisions on established phraseology are 

 being handed down by the bench in every 

 commonwealth and by the federal courts. 

 Furthermore, where the laws have assumed 

 the civil form, the losses of cases arising from 

 the unskilful preparation of the original 

 records in the magistrates' courts and from 

 the imperfect transcription of these records, 

 have been sufficiently serious to warrant the 

 employment of skilled legal assistance in 

 even the first stages of the prosecution. 



There is need therefore not only for legal 

 aid of a high order, but also for the services 

 of lawyers who have given special attention to 

 food laws, the decisions relative thereto, and 

 the general nature of the evidence they must 

 elicit for the proper conduct of their cases. 

 The public analyst should never be made to 

 appear as the prosecutor, but should always 

 be protected from the appearance, as well as 

 the reality of such an attitude. His duty is 

 that of the impartial judge within his own 

 peculiar sphere, not that of the attorney. 



For the reasons just set forth for the em- 

 ployment of skilled counsel in the service of 

 food controls, it is likewise clear that the pub- 

 lic analyst requires, if he is to be fitted for 

 the highest usefulness in his sphere, special 

 preparation for his forensic duties. It is to 

 be hoped that on this side of his work, some 

 manual will soon be written that shall have in 

 that respect the same high degree of excellence 

 that Mr. Leach's book exhibits on the labora- 

 tory side. 



Wm. Feear 



State College, Pa., 

 February 8, 1910 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 The Journal of Pharmacology and Experi- 

 mental Therapeutics, Vol. 1, No. 3, issued Oc- 



tober, 1909, contains the following : " Experi- 

 mental Criticism of Recent Results in Test- 

 ing Adrenalin," by W. H. Schultz. The dila- 

 tion time is a better index of the relative 

 physiological activity of two adrenalin solu- 

 tions than is the degree of mydriasis. " On 

 the Relation between the Toxicity and Chem- 

 ical Constitiition of a Number of Derivatives 

 of Choline," by Reid Hunt and R. deM. 

 Taveau. Choline has been found widely dis- 

 tributed in plants and animals, but its func- 

 tion in the organism is yet unsolved. These 

 authors point out that 0.00000001 gram acetyl 

 choline will cause a fall in blood pressure and 

 is only slightly toxic, so that its possibility in 

 therapeutics, perhaps as a substitute for the 

 nitrites, is suggested. " The Action of Adre- 

 nalin on the Pulmonary Vessels," by C. J. 

 Wiggers. The difficulties in solving the prob- 

 lem are brought out. " A Clinical Study of 

 Crystalline Strophanthin," by H. C. Bailey. 

 Crystalline strophanthin is a valuable cardiac 

 stimulant in broken compensation due to 

 chronic interstitial nephritis or valvular heart 

 disease. It should not be repeated in twenty- 

 four hours. " The Life-saving Action of 

 Physostigmin in Poisoning by Magnesium 

 Salts," by Don R. Joseph and S. J. Meltzer. 

 Physostigmin is capable of efficiently antago- 

 nizing some of the toxic actions of magnesium 

 salts. This is mainly by its action on the 

 respiration. " Note on the Amanita-Toxin," 

 by W. W. Ford and I. H. Prouty. 



Number 4 of the same journal issued Jan- 

 uary, 1910, contains the following articles: 

 " Action of Urea and of Hypertonic Solutions 

 on the Heart and Circulation," by J. A. E. 

 Eyster and A. G. Wilde. In the mammal 

 there is no striking difference evident and the 

 effects of sodium chloride and glucose would 

 seem to be approximately equal to those pro- 

 duced by a solution of urea of equal concen- 

 tration. " The Inhibitory Action of Phenol 

 on Absorption," by T. Sollmann, P. J. Hanz- 

 lik and J. D. Pilcher. Phenol checks intest- 

 inal absorption. This is proportionate to the 

 amount of phenol absorbed. " On the Toxicity 

 of Dextro-, Laevo- and Inactive Camphor," by 

 W. E. Grove. The dextro- and laevo-rotatory 



