436 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 



ia Shelby County," F. W. Gottlieb, of Morristown. 



" The Temperature Coefficient of the Surface 

 Tension of Water," Arthur L. Foley, of Blooming- 

 ton. 



" Gaseous Fermentation in Sweetened Condensed 

 Milk," 0. F. Hunziker, of West Lafayette. 



" Weed Problem in Indiana," Stanley Coulter, 

 of Lafayette. 



"The Water Balance of Desert Plants," D. T. 

 MacDougal, of Tucson, Arizona. 



" Indiana Fungi," J. M. Van Hook, of Bloom- 

 ington. 



"An Ecological Survey of the Lower White- 

 water Gorge," M. S. Markle, of Richmond, and 

 L. C. Petry. 



" Timothy Rusts," A. G. Johnson, of Lafayette. 



In the evening Dr. D. T. MacDougal, of the 

 Desert Laboratory, at Tucson, Arizona, gave a 

 very interesting and instructive illustrated lecture 

 on " Desert Days and Desert Ways." 



Professor Charles R. Dryer, of Terre Haute, 

 was elected president of the academy and A. J. 

 Bigney, of Moores Hill, secretary. 



A. J. BiGNET, 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



The 67th meeting of the Washington Academy 

 of Sciences was held, imder the direction of the 

 president. Dr. F. W. Clarke, at the Cosmos Club 

 on the evening of January 19, 1911. 



Dr. F. M. Jaeger, professor of inorganic and 

 physical chemistry in the University of Gron- 

 ingen, Holland, gave an address on " Anisotropic 

 Liquids and so-called Fluid Crystals." 



Numerous experimental researches have estab- 

 lished the fact that in certain liquids, and under 

 certain conditions, there are forces that act upon 

 the molecules differently in different directions. 

 Hence the conception of the liquid state as one 

 characterized by irregular molecular motion is 

 no longer tenable — a fact that fills the subject 

 with interest and has led to many an ardent 

 discussion. 



Dr. Jaeger pointed out the similarity of solid 

 crystals with easy gliding-planes, to liquid ones, 

 and the analogy of their changes to those of 

 polymorphic substances. He also described their 

 phase transitions and in particular showed the 

 properties of substances that melt successively to 

 three or more stable liquid states. 



By means of projections he showed such proper- 



ties of liquid crystals as their form, dichroism 

 and strong birefringence, and made clear his argu- 

 ment that the emulsion theories advanced by 

 some to explain the observed phenomena, are only 

 based upon the misunderstood turbidity due to 

 birefringent liquid phases. He also illustrated 

 the strange phenomena of " enforced " and " spon- 

 taneous " pseudo-isotropy, and showed the axial 

 images of clear, uniaxial liquids and their strong 

 rotating power. 



Proceeding to the real anisotropic liquids, 

 which he illustrated by the different properties 

 of p-azoxypenetol, he discussed the principal dif- 

 ferences between the spheres of such liquids and 

 real crystals, their heat motion and their diffrac- 

 tion phenomena when mixed with other sub- 

 stances, and concluded with an elucidation of 

 their magnetic induction. 



The formal presentation of the paper and its 

 discussion were followed, after adjournment, ly 

 experimental demonstrations lo many of the more 

 interested of the audience. 



The 68th meeting of the Washington Academy 

 of Sciences was held at the Cosmos Club on the 

 evening of February 1, 1911, with President F. 

 W. Clarke in the chair. 



Dr. W. D. Bancroft, professor of physical chem- 

 istry in Cornell University, gave his lecture en- 

 titled " A Universal Law." ^ 



The many chemists of the audience roundly 

 applauded the claim that all branches of human 

 knowledge are but portions of chemistry — ^mostly 

 subordinate. They seemed highly to approve the 

 idea of spelling " alchemy " with a double " 1," 

 and indeed the speaker's familiarity with things 

 not generally called chemical went far to justify 

 this notion. 



The illustrations of the univer,sal law were 

 drawn mainly from that branch of chemistry com- 

 monly called biology, and those who still persist 

 in calling themselves biologists instead of chem- 

 ists accepted in good grace many a humorous and 

 telling side remark. 



When the lecture was over and the time for 

 talking back came it seemed that most every one 

 had something to say; but whether biologist or 

 some other sort of chemist, each declared the 

 meeting a great success, and since then has done 

 much to make the " universal law " the universal 

 topic. 



W. J. HUMPHEBTS, 



Recording Secretary 

 "See Science, February 3, 1911. 



