72 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1071 



cose, levulose, maltose and lactose. Galactose 

 (Merck's highest purity) is toxic at 2 per cent, 

 and even less. In both 2 per cent, solutions and 

 0.5 molecular solutions the order of assimilability 

 of the sugars is saccharose, glucose, levulose, mal- 

 tose and lactose. Sugars increase the growth, in- 

 crease respiration (evolution of COj). Experi- 

 ments with saccharose indicate also that the roots 

 secrete tlie enzyme invertase into the culture 

 medium or that reducing sugars are excreted by 

 the roots of plants grown therein. This latter 

 phase is now receiving particular attention. 



W. J. KoBBiNS : The Influence of Certain Inorganic 

 Substances on the Digestion of Starch by Peni- 

 cillium camemhertii. 



The growth of PenicilUum camembertii and the 

 digestion of starch by the same fungus was de- 

 termined in nutrient solutions which lacked one of 

 the elements usually considered essential for the 

 fungi. The growth of the same fungus and its 

 digestion of starch in the presence of M/1,000, 

 M/10,000 and M/100,000 concentrations of the 

 chlorides, sulphates, nitrates and dihydrogen phos- 

 phates of Na and K and the chlorides, sulphates 

 and nitrates of Ca and Mg was determined. It is 

 believed that the results indicate an intimate re- 

 lation of nitrogen to diastase formation and that 

 the neutral salts in concentrations as weak as 

 M/100,000 affect the secretion of diastase. 

 "William Mansheld Clark and Herbert A. 

 LuBS: The Differentiation of Bacteria of the 

 Colon-aerogenes Family by Means of Indicators. 

 By means of the hydrogen electrode the acid 

 production, in terms of hydrogen ion concentra- 

 tion, of bacteria of the colon-aerogenes family has 

 been followed. The two groups differentiated by 

 Eogers Clark and Davis by the gas ratio were 

 found to differ in their acid production in such a 

 way that under an established set of conditions 

 the final hydrogen ion concentrations could be 

 made to differ widely. The difference in the fiual 

 hydrogen ion concentration can be made so dis- 

 tinct that it can be easily detected by the proper 

 indicator, either p-nitro phenol or methyl red. The 

 test was shown to correlate perfectly with the gas 

 ratio, and proved to be so simple that it is adapted 

 for routine use. 



C. O. Johns and Arno Viehoever: The Saponins 

 of Chlorogalum pomeridianum and Agave lechi- 

 guila. 



The dried bulb of Chlorogalum pomeridianum 

 from California, known as California soap root, 

 gave on extraction and purification a powder. 



which by combustion indicated the formula, 

 CjiHsoOm, for this saponin, the molecular weight 

 of which is 1,146. Molecular weight determina- 

 tions with phenol as solvent gave 1,101 and 1,146. 

 The dried rootstock and underground yellow parts 

 of the leaves of Agave lechiguilla from Texas, 

 similarly treated, gave a saponin, the combustion 

 of which indicated the formula, C^sHl^Oi,, corre- 

 sponding to the molecular weight 566. The molec- 

 ular weight with phenol as solvent was 606 and 

 616. Both saponins gave the saponin reactions. 

 Aqueous solutions of 0.01 per cent, of saponins 

 were lethal in a short period of time for minnows. 

 C. O. Johns and Arno Viehoever: On the Alka- 

 loids of Amianthium muscetoxioum (Fly 

 Poison). 



Leaves and bulbs of Amianthium. Muscetoxicum 

 were extracted separately from plants gathered in 

 March and from plants gathered in May of last 

 year. More alkaloid was found in the leaves than 

 in the bulbs. More alkaloid was found in the 

 specimens gathered in March than in those gath- 

 ered in May. Thus far two crystalline alkaloids 

 have been isolated, one crystallizing in needles 

 and melting near 220° C. with effervescence, and 

 the second crystallizing in prisms and melting near 

 200° C. The physical properties and melting 

 points show that neither of these is zygadine, re- 

 cently isolated from Zygadenus intermedins by 

 Heyl and his collaborators. These alkaloids were 

 soluble in the common organic solvents, but only 

 slightly soluble in water. 



division of industrial chemists and chemical 

 engineers 

 Geo. p. Adamson, chairman 

 S. H. Salisbury, Jr., secretary 

 Alexander Silverman: The Chemists' Corpora- 

 tion: A Plan to MaJce Research Possible and 

 Enable the Chemist to Profit by the Besults. 

 The plan proposed is partly of the nature of a 

 cooperative society, partly a corporation. It is 

 the writer's feeling that chemists who have money 

 to invest shall purchase shares in the corporation; 

 that the funds of the corporation shall be con- 

 trolled by a committee of capable chemists and 

 business men selected by the various scientific so- 

 cieties; that any chemist submitting plans for re- 

 search to this committee may have funds advanced 

 to conduct the investigation, providing the com- 

 mittee deems the idea valuable. In case of suc- 

 cess the committee may either finance the manu- 

 facture or conduct negotiations for the manufac- 

 ture by a company on such a basis that the chem- 



