732 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 



preservation of food. Chemical disinfectants 

 are described under the heads of ' Metallic 

 Salts,' * Organic Substances ' and ' Compounds 

 Belated to the Alcohols.' 



Methods of disinfection are described as re- 

 lated to to-wns and municipalities and as per- 

 sonal and internal disinfection. The chapter 

 on the preservation of food is only a small 

 part of the work and is not nearly so valuable 

 as the part devoted to disinfection pure and 

 simple. A resume of legal statutes and regu- 

 lations is also given and a short and neces- 

 sarily brief account is given of the methods 

 of analysis. 



Of great interest is the discussion of those 

 substances used both as disinfectants and as 

 food preservatives. Many of these are de- 

 scribed as non-poisonous, in such a way as to 

 mislead the careless reader. 



A careful reading of the article on fluorides 

 would not warrant the apparent recommenda- 

 tion of it as a substance suitable for addition 

 to food products. 



Inasmuch as acetate of alumina has lately 

 been used to a very large extent in sausages 

 imported into this country, it is interesting to 

 read, on page 175, the statement referring to 

 this substance : ' It would doubtless be useful 

 for surgical dressings but is unnecessary and 

 unsafe as a disinfectant.' 



In general it may be assumed that sub- 

 stances which are valuable for surgical dress- 

 ings are not as a rule proper substances to be 

 added to foods. 



The salts of copper and zinc belong also to 

 this class of bodies, and while their use as 

 disinfectants is praiseworthy, their presence in 

 food products is at least suspicious. 



Other well-known substances belonging to 

 both classes are salicylic and benzoic acids and 

 their salts, sulphurous acid and its salts, and 

 formaldehyde. 



In regard to the preservation of food by 

 these reagents the general tendency of Eideal's 

 work is to discourage their use, and this tend- 

 ency must, it seems to me, be commended by 

 all thoughtful students of hygiene and nutri- 

 tion. In spite of this general tendency, how- 

 ever, the department committee of the Eng- 

 lish government, while prohibiting absolutely 



the use of formaldehyde or preparations 

 thereof in foods, recommends that salicylic 

 acid may be used in quantities not greater 

 than one grain per pound, except in milk, from 

 which all preservatives of every kind are ex- 

 cluded. Cream and butter, however, are 

 allowed to carry boric acid or borax; in the 

 case of the former, in quantities not to exceed 

 .25 per cent, of boric acid or its equivalent in 

 borax; in the case of the latter, not to exceed 

 .5 per cent, of boric acid or its equivalent in 

 borax. In the case of foods intended for in- 

 fants and invalids, however, all preservatives 

 are to be excluded. At the International Con- 

 gress of Hygiene at Brussels, 1903, resolutions 

 were passed in favor of the total abolition of 

 preservatives in all kinds of foods. This, how- 

 ever, as is seen, includes salt, sugar, wood 

 smoke, etc., which have been in use from time 

 immemorial and hence such a recommendation 

 is too drastic (page 423). 



The summary of facts respecting food pres- 

 ervation by chemicals is a very valuable part 

 of this excellent work. 



H. W. Wiley. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 

 The May number of The American Journal 

 of Science contains the following articles: 

 ' Recent Changes in the Elevation of Land 

 and Sea in the Vicinity of New York City,' 

 by G. W. Tuttle; 'Geology of Brome Moun- 

 tain, one of the Monteregian Hills,' by J. A. 

 Dresser, ' Crystallization of Molybdenite,' by 

 A. J. Moses ; ' Behavior of Typical Hydrous 

 Chlorides when Heated in Hydrogen Chloride,' 

 by E. A. Gooch and E. M. McClenahan; 

 ' Stegomus Longipes, a New Eeptile from the 

 Triassic Sandstones of the Connecticut Val- 

 ley,' by B. K. Emerson and F. B. Loomis; 

 ' Note on the Probable Footprints of Stego- 

 mus Longipes,' by E. S. Lull; 'Canyon City 

 Meteorite from Trinity County, California,' 

 by H. A. Ward ; ' Two Microscopic-Petro- 

 graphical Methods,' by E. E. Wright; 'De- 

 nucleating Effect of Rotation in Case of Air 

 Stored over Water,' by C. Barus and A. E. 

 Watson. 



