760 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXII. No. 571. 



current misapprehension. For example, or- 

 dinary tartaric acid, generally considered as 

 a relative of ordinary glucose, is presented by 

 the new classification as a relative of the anti- 

 podal, levo-rotatory glucose. As a matter of 

 fact, ordinary glucose changes, gradually, to 

 arabinose, erythrose, threose, and, not ordi- 

 nary, dextro-rotatory, but the levo-rotatory 

 tartaric acid. 

 Chemical Examination of Mthusa Cynapium: 



Frederick B. Power and Frank Tutin. 



The JEtJuisa Cynapium Linn., or ' fool's 

 parsley,' known also as the ' lesser hemlock,' 

 is a well-known annual garden weed, which is 

 indigenous to Europe and northern Asia, and 

 is the only representative of the genus. 

 ISTumerous cases of poisoning have been at- 

 tributed to this plant, in most of which it 

 appears to have been mistaken for common 

 garden parsley. 



The author ,was led to take up his investiga- 

 tion because of the conflict of opinion as to 

 the poisonous properties of the plant. He re- 

 ports finding a small amount of an essential 

 oil of a rather unpleasant odor, corresponding 

 to 0.015 per cent, of the weight of the entire 

 fresh plant. An amount of resinous sub- 

 stances corresponding to 0.8 per cent. A small 

 amount of cZ-mannitol from which a hexa- 

 acetyl derivative was prepared. A consider- 

 able amount of inactive glucose and amorph- 

 ous coloring matter, and an exceedingly small 

 amount of volatile alkaloid, having the pe- 

 culiar characteristic odor of coniine, and 

 which like the latter yielded butyric acid on 

 oxidation. F. H. Pough, 



Secretary. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



During September and October, 1906, the 

 society held six meetings with programs as 

 follows : 



Pkofessoe William Duane: 'Recent Discov- 

 eries in E,adioactivity.' 



Pbofessob R. D. George: 'The Coeur d'Alene 

 Mining District.' 



Dr. Luman M. Gtffin: 'A Quarter-Century 

 Evohition of Medical Education.' 



Professor John A. Hunter : ' Tungsten Steel.' 



Professor T. D. A. Cockerell: 'Characters of 

 Roclvy Mountain Flora.' 



Dr. J..E. Waxham: 'Medical Ethics.' 

 Dean F. B. R. Hellems : ' A Bronze Tablet and 

 its Relation to Roman Constitutional History.' 



The average attendance at the meetings was 

 forty. Membership is not restricted to those 

 connected with the university but is open to 

 citizens of Boulder. A number of business 

 and professional men have joined the society. 

 Francis Eamaley, 



Secretary. 

 Boulder, Colo., 

 November 5, 1905. 



THE CLEMSON COLLEGE SCIENCE CLUB. 



The 58th regular meeting of the Clemson 

 College Science Club was held on Friday 

 evening, October 25. Dr. Metcalf, Professor 

 Chambliss and Professor Howard gave infor- 

 mal talks on their summer's work. Dr. Met- 

 calf and Professor Chambliss spent several 

 months in the rice fields of South Carolina, 

 the former studying diseases of rice and the 

 latter the insects injurious to the plant. A 

 full report of rice diseases will shortly appear 

 in a government publication. Professor 

 Chambliss found the number of insects in- 

 jurious to the rice plant to be twenty-one in- 

 stead of eight, as formerly reported. One of 

 the species found is undoubtedly new. 



The principal paper of the evening was by 

 Professor J. N. Harper, on ' The Breeding of 

 Wheat.' It was based on experiments which 

 he has carried on for the past three years and 

 the conclusion reached was that the amount 

 of protein in the wheat grain can be increased 

 by physical selection and that the increased 

 •amount can be recognized by physical tests. 

 Fred H. H. Calhoun, 



Secretary. 



THE ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



The 162d meeting of the society was held 

 on November 14, when the following program 

 was presented: 



Mr. J. E. Latta: 'A Note on Electrocution.' 

 Mr. N. C. Curtis : ' Pillet's Method of Finding 

 the Shortest Distance between two Lines.' 



Mr. R. 0. E. Davis : ' The Theory of Electrons.* 

 A. S. Wheeler, 

 Recording Secretary. 



