538 



SCIENCE 



[K.S. Vol. XXV. No.( 



and Dr. C. A. Doremus presented an obituary 

 notice. 



Professor S. C. Prescott, of the biological 

 department of the Massachusetts Institute of 

 Technology, spoke ' On the Utilization of 

 Micro-organisms in Industrial Processes.' 



This wide subject could only be considered 

 very briefly during the short time available 

 and the lecture was devoted to an outline of 

 the advances made in the fermentation, milk 

 and canning industries through the technical 

 application of the science of biology. 



A historical sketch was given of Pasteur's 

 studies of the diseases of wine and beer and 

 how these finally led to the use of pure yeast 

 cultures, in the brewing industry. The ad- 

 vantages of the further use of pure cultures in 

 wine making were pointed out and their appli- 

 cation in the manufacture of other fermenta- 

 tion products such as spirits, vinegar, lactic 

 and butyric acid was suggested. 



Plates were shown which indicated in a 

 striking manner the vastly increased purity 

 of milk brought about by the use of proper 

 sanitary precautions in the barns of the small 

 farmer where much can be accomplished by 

 intelligent inspection. 



In the food-preserving industries, great ad- 

 vances have been made by isolating the germs 

 producing decay and finding experimentally 

 what treatment will destroy them. For ex- 

 ample, the use of superheated steam in steriliz- 

 ing cans of corn before sealing will accom- 

 plish the result in ten minutes instead of the 

 four hours required when boiling water was 

 used, whereas the latter readily sterilizes 

 preparations of fruits. The use of such 

 knowledge as this has brought about a con- 

 siderable improvement in the quality of the 

 finished products. 



The inoculation of soils with nitrogen- 

 fixing bacteria was discussed, and some very 

 favorable results obtained in experiment sta- 

 tions were described. The bad showing made 

 with the use of cultures sent out by the De- 

 partment of Agriculture was attributed to 

 their becoming partly, and at times com- 

 pletely, sterile during the drying process pre- 

 paratory to shipping. 



Professor Prescott showed numerous slides 



to illustrate the different subjects discussed 

 and his lecture was much appreciated by a 

 large attendance. 



C. M. Joyce, 

 Secretary 



SECTION OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY, NEW 

 YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



At the monthly meeting of the academy on 

 January Y, Dr. E. O. Hovey presented notes 

 on a recent visit to the volcanoes of Toluca, 

 Colima and Popocatepetl in Mexico, illus- 

 trated by a series of lantern slides. The sec- 

 tion then proceeded to an examination, in ad- 

 joining rooms, of the exhibits of geology, 

 paleontology and mineralogy in the New York 

 Academy of Science's exhibition, under the 

 guidance of conrmitteemen in charge of the 

 exhibits. 



At the monthly meeting, February 11, Dr. 

 John M. Clarke, state geologist of New York, 

 gave an informal description of the geography 

 of the Atlantic Devonian, with lantern illus- 

 trations. Professor James F. Kemp also 

 offered notes on mineral localities visited dur- 

 ing the summer of 1906 in Canada and 

 Mexico, and exhibited a collection of speci- 

 mens of minerals and ores. 



At the monthly meeting, March 4, the 

 session was devoted to a description of Letch- 

 worth Park (Glen Iris), the new State Reser- 

 vation on the Genesee Eiver, New York, 

 recently presented to the state of New York 

 by Mr. William Pryor Letchworth. 



Professor A. W. Grabau first described the 

 geology and scenery of the Upper Genesee falls 

 and gorges. 



In the first part of the paper the speaker 

 discussed studies made by him for some years 

 on the drainage systems of central New York 

 in preglacial time. It was pointed out that 

 all the characteristics of the ancient valleys 

 indicate a southward drainage in late Tertiary 

 time. In all cases where the valleys are trace- 

 able they unite southward into trunk streams, 

 a condition wholly inexplicable on the sup- 

 position that these valleys were formed by 

 northward-flowing streams. This is readily 

 seen by an inspection of the topographic sheets 

 as well as of the magnificent geologic sheets 



