234 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 580. 



clusively on the larvae of other species. So 

 far as known, all the species live free in water, 

 although it should be noted that one genus, 

 Twniorhynchus, has defied all attempts at 

 learning its life history by the ordinary 

 methods of dipping in puddles. 



Contains the genera Megarhinus, Psoro- 

 phora, Culex, Grahhamia, Theohaldia, Stego- 

 myia, Verrallina, Aedes, Eowardina,, TJrano- 

 tmnia, Deinocerites, etc. 



III. Sabethin^. Defined by the presence 

 of hairs on the metanotum ; the palpi are gen- 

 erally short in both sexes. The larvae never 

 have the median ventral brush or rudder on 

 the last segment, nor any peeten on the air 

 tube in the species known. The air tube is 

 long. The larvae live in small bodies of water 

 confined usually in parts of plants, such as the 

 leaves of the pitcher plant, leaves of Brome- 

 lias, flower sheaths of Oanna, coeoanut shells 

 and cacao husks, sometimes with surprisingly 

 little water. A majority of the species in- 

 habit the moist tropical regions. 



Contains the genera Sahethes, Sabethoides, 

 Wyeomyia, Dendromyia, Johlotia, Phoni- 

 omyia, etc. Harrison G. Dyar. 



THE QUESTION OF TAX-FREE ALCOHOL. 

 At various times during the last fifteen 

 years attempts have been made to secure legis- 

 lation providing for the sale of alcohol for 

 technical and other industrial uses free from 

 the revenue tax. These attempts have re- 

 sulted in failure and this country, in conse- 

 quence, is practically prevented from develop- 

 ing certain important industries. In Ger- 

 many and France, tax-free alcohol is used in, 

 enormous quantities for manufacturing pur- 

 poses and is even employed as a fuel. The 

 alcohol so employed must be ' denatured ' or 

 treated with some substance to render it unfit 

 for drinking. 



A few years ago the ' Committee of Manu- 

 facturers formed to assist in securing cheaper 

 Alcohol for Industrial Purposes ' was organ- 

 ized and has been very active in educating the 

 public as to the advantages of cheap alcohol, 

 and also in the direction of suggesting legisla- 

 tion at Washington. This committee is now 

 favoring the passage of the bill recently in- 



troduced in the House of Representatives by 

 Mr. Calderhead, which provides that no in- 

 ternal revenue tax shall be levied on ethyl 

 alcohol of domestic production which has been 

 rendered undrinkable or unfit for use as a 

 beverage, prior to withdrawal from distillery 

 bonded warehouse. 



As chemists are naturally and properly in- 

 terested in the alcohol question, a committee 

 was appointed nearly two years ago by the 

 American Chemical Society to cooperate in 

 every legitimate way with the Committee of 

 Manufacturers in securing the desired end. 

 This committee of the Chemical Society con- 

 sists of Ira Eemsen, H. W. Wiley and J. H. 

 Long. At the recent New Orleans meeting of 

 Section C of the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science and the Chemical 

 Society, in joint session, a brief report of prog- 

 ress was made by Mr. Long, chairman of the 

 committee. This report called out a very live- 

 ly discussion, following which Section C ap- 

 pointed the same committee to bring in cer- 

 tain resolutions at the next session. ' The 

 resolutions when read were adopted unani- 

 mously by the chemists present. They are 

 as follows : 



In' view of the fact that alcohol enters 

 largely into the production of many articles 

 of common use and that the development of 

 certain industries depends directly on the cost 

 of alcohol. 



And in view of the further fact that in the 

 United States there is no provision for the 

 sale of tax-free alcohol for manufacturing 

 purposes and that consequently many of our 

 manufacturers of chemical products work un- 

 der a serious disadvantage as compared with 

 the manufacturers of Germany, France and 

 England, where the laws permit the sale of 

 tax-free alcohol for use in the arts and in- 

 dustries. 



And in view of the further fact that the use 

 of cheap alcohol in this way would stimulate 

 enormously many industries in the United 

 States, and benefit the farmer, the chemical 

 manufacturer and the ordinary consumer, 



Be it resolved by this section of the Ameri- 

 can Ass6'6iatioh.' 'for the ' Afdvancement of 

 Science that we heartily endorse the effolrts 



