190 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 867 



the largest so far held, but again the Indianapolis 

 meeting of the society has exceeded its summer 

 record with 432 members and guests present. 



The meeting Tvas very successful, both in the 

 matter of papers presented and social enjoyment. 

 The hospitality of the local section knew no bounds 

 and the members were treated to automobile rides, 

 luncheons, smokers and concerts too numerous to 

 be detailed. Interesting mementoes were given to 

 each member that the Indianapolis meeting might 

 mot be forgotten. They consisted of watch fobs 

 carrying" the society insignia, steins carrying the 

 society emblem in cobalt blue and gold, and 

 bakelite cigar holders. 



The meeting opened on Wednesday morning 

 • with general addresses by Charles Baskerville, on 

 "The Chemistry of Anesthetics"; by W. Lash 

 Miller, on "The Chemical Philosophy of High 

 School Text-books," and by W. F. Hillebrand, on 

 "The Quality of Platinum Utensils for Labora- 

 tory Purposes. ' ' 



On Thursday evening a public lecture was given 

 by A. D. Little at the German House, on "The 

 Earning Power of Chemistry." 



The banquet on Friday evening was addressed 

 by Governor Marshall, of Indiana, and Ex-Viee- 

 President Fairbanks and was graced by the pres- 

 enee of many ladies, including Mrs. Marshall. 



The various manufacturing plants around In- 

 dianapolis threw open their doors to the chemists 

 and in many instances gave special entertainment 

 to them. 



The papers presented at the meeting follow 

 by title and by abstract so far as abstracts have 

 been procured. Charles L. Parsons, 



Secretary 



Chemistry of Anesthetics: Charles Baskerville, 

 Ph.D., P.C.S., professor of chemistry. College 

 City of New York. Printed above. 



DIVISION of agricultural AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 



H. E. Barnard, chairman 



B. E. Curry, secretary 



Composition of the Drainage Water of a Soil with 



and without Vegetation: T. Lyttleton Lyon 



and James A. Bizzell. 



Drainage water was collected from twelve large 

 tanks, a description of which has previously been 

 published. Each tank is slightly over four feet 

 square and four feet deep with a capacity for 

 about three and one half tons of soil. The drain- 

 age collected between May 23, 1910, and May 1, 



1911, is taken as the basis for a study of the 

 influence of vegetation on the removal of mineral 

 matter in the drainage water. 



Three tanks contained no plants, four were 

 planted to corn and two to oats. 



The nitrogen in the corn crop plus that in the 

 drainage water from tanks cropped to corn 

 amounted to 151 poimds per acre. That in the 

 oat crop and drainage from the oat tanks 

 amounted to 103 pounds per acre. There were, 

 therefore, 48 pounds per acre more available 

 nitrogen in the corn soil than in the oat soil. This 

 is in line with the results of previous work by the 

 writers, which indicated either that the corn plant 

 has a stimulating effect on the process of nitrifica- 

 tion, or that it utilizes to a large extent nitrogen 

 in forms other than nitrates, or that both of these 

 phenomena occur. 



The biearbonates were large in amount, but the 

 much greater loss of basic material from the 

 uncropped than from the cropped soil was re- 

 moved mainly in the form of nitrate and not as 

 bicarbonate. Any system of soil management 

 which results in a decreased removal of nitrates 

 in the drainage water will probably effect a con- 

 servation of bases in the soil. 



The Influence of the Reaction of Solution on the 

 Development of Wheat Seedlings: J. F. Bre- 

 azeale and J. A. LeClerc. 



Cold Storage and the Cryaiiotio Point: W. D. 



ElCHARDSON. 



It is proposed to call the temperature below 

 which the growth and reproduction of the lower 

 microorganisms is prevented by the solid condi- 

 tion of the medium the ' ' cryabiotic point, ' ' the 

 derivation being obvious. The growth and repro- 

 duction of microorganisms implies increase in size, 

 and such a growth is effectually resisted by such a 

 solid medium as ice. The cryabiotic point for 

 water would, therefore, be its freezing point 0° C. 

 For media containing common salt, in which media 

 bacteria thrive at temperatures much below 0° C, 

 the cryabiotic point would be the cryohydric point 

 of salt and water, or minus 22° C. For butter the 

 cryabiotic point would also be approximately the 

 cryohydric point of salt and water, or minus 22° C. 

 For meats the cryabiotic point would be the tem- 

 perature at which enough water had frozen out in 

 the pure state to leave a solution so concentrated 

 as to be a solid in the ordinary sense of the word. 



In the past and current discussions on cold 

 storage there has been much confusion owing to a 

 failure to distinguish between temperatures used 



