112 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 838 



association of liquids and its working in the 

 case of salt solutions, together with the hydrol- 

 ysis idea as set forth by Reychler, fully 

 suffice to explain the chemical peculiarities of 

 salt solutions. "... The two parts into which 

 a salt dissolved in water ought necessarily to 

 separate in order to produce a double decompo- 

 sition, are not hypothetical electrical ions, but 

 a real base and acid coming from the chemical 

 action of water upon the salt in solution " 

 (p. 133). 



It would be of little use to undertake here to 

 defend the dissociation theory. Besides, one 

 would mostly have to repeat what was written 

 on various occasions, during the storm and 

 stress period of the theory, by Ostwald's 

 powerful pen. Thus, referring to Reychler's 

 hydrolysis idea, Ostwald pointed out in 1893: 

 " Unfortunately, the author has omitted to 

 state how his hypothesis works in the case of 

 salts of insoluble acids or bases; how, for 

 instance, 50 to 80 per cent, of zinc hydroxide 

 can remain dissolved, without precipitating 

 out, in a solution of zinc sulphate or zinc 

 chloride." ' It might also be asked, why a 

 strong solution of common salt, if it contains 

 a great deal of free hydrochloric acid, does 

 not invert ordinary cane sugar, and so forth, 

 and so forth. But we will not insist. 



The best friends of the dissociation theory 

 have come to feel that it is insufficient, that 

 it needs modification, or rather, perhaps, some 

 addition. But its quantitative triumphs have 

 been remarkable. It will not go unless some 

 new theory is hrought forward thai will do all 

 that the dissociation theory has done, and 

 more, and that on a quantitative hasis, in the 

 way of correlating apparently disconnected 

 phenomena. 



Chesneau's book contains no such new the- 

 ory, and its blow at the dissociation idea 

 will scarcely be felt. Nevertheless, its con- 

 tents will be of interest to research students of 

 the theory of solutions. It certainly is well 

 written, well translated by Professors Lincoln 

 and Carnahan, and beautifully published by 

 the Macmillan Company. 



M. A. EOSANOFP 

 'See Zeit. physik. Chemie, XII., p. 800, 1893. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 



The recent numbers of the Journal of Phar- 

 macology and Experimental Therapeutics 

 contain the following articles : 

 Vol. I., No. 5. 



" Anastomosis between the Portal Vein and the 

 Inferior Vena Cava (Eek's Fistula,)" by B. M. 

 Bernheim, John Homans and Carl Voegtlin. 



" The Pharmacologic Action of Certain Protein 

 Cleavage Products upon the Heart," by R. B. 

 Gibson and W. H. Schultz. 



" The Influence of Alcohol on the Composition 

 of the Urine," by W. Salant and~T. C. Hinkel. 



" A Poisonous Principle in Certain Cotton-seed 

 Meals," by Albert C. Crawford. 



"Physiological Studies in Anaphylaxis: I., The 

 Reaction of Smooth Muscle of the Guinea-pig 

 Sensitized with Horse Serum," by W. H. Schulz. 



Proceedings of the American Society of Phar- 

 macology and Experimental Therapeutics. 

 Vol. I., No. 6. 



" An Experimental Study of the Functional 

 Activity of the Kidneys by Means of Phenolsul- 

 phonephthalein," by L. G. Rowntree and J. T. 

 Geraghty. 



" A Practical Method for the Preparation of 

 Phenolsulphonephthalein," by Edgar A. Slagle. 

 Vol. II., No. 1. 



" The Action of Drugs on the Salivary Secre- 

 tion," by V. E. Henderson. 



" Thyreotropic Iodine Compounds," by Reid 

 Hunt and Atherton Seidell. 



" On Insuiflation of the Lungs with Hydrogen; 

 with Carbon Dioxide, and with Air," by C. C. 

 Guthrie, F. V. Guthrie and A. H. Ryan. 



" The Influence of Intravenous Injections of 

 Sparteine and Adrenalin on the Heart of the 

 Dog," by A. Strickler and Moyer S. Fleisher. 



" In regard to the Detoxification of Benzoic 

 Acid by Optical Isomers of Leucin," by A. H. 

 Koelker and Samuel Amberg. 



" On the Toxicology of the Tutu Plant," by W. 

 W. Ford. 

 Vol. II., No. 2. 



" On the Action of Magnesium Sulphate," by 

 S. A. Matthews and Clyde Brooks. 



" On the Efficacy of Antimony-thioglycollio 

 Acid Compounds in the Treatment of Experi- 

 mental Trypanosomiasis," by John J. Abel and 

 L. G. Rowntree. V^^ 



" Further Observations on the Immunization of * 

 Animals to the Poisons of Fungi," by W. W. 

 Ford. 



