December 22, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



889 



been excreted by the oviduct into, or with, 

 the albumen. In the other case it was shown 

 that urotropin can penetrate the follicular 

 membrane and enter directly into the egg- 

 yolk, since an egg which was laid five days 

 after the last feeding with urotropin gave the 

 test for formaldehyde. Two other eggs were 

 laid by the same hen — two and four days 

 previously — so that the above-mentioned egg 

 could not have obtained its formalin from 

 albumen stored in the oviduct. In this egg, 

 therefore, only the yolk had been exposed to 

 urotropin, and it only could have been the 

 source of the formalin. Two other eggs of 

 very similar history also gave positive tests 

 for the presence of formalin in the yolk. 



The eggs dosed with salicylate,' and less 

 markedly those dosed with benzoate, besides 

 appearing — somewhat inconstantly — to be 

 better preserved, as judged by taste and smell, 

 often showed certain other physical contrasts 

 with the control eggs. For example, the yollis 

 of the control eggs more often showed " ad- 

 hesions " to the shell than did the dosed eggs. 

 Of fifteen control eggs opened on October 12 

 and November 10, nine showed adhesions 

 either to shell or to the membrane of the air 

 cavity; whereas on the same dates ten eggs 

 dosed with salicylate and eight dosed with 

 benzoate furnished altogether only three ad- 

 hesions. Too, the control eggs usually con-, 

 tained the more liquid albumen; a difference 

 readily observed. Finally, it was often noted 

 that there was present in the dosed eggs more 

 of the dense whitish albumen of the chalazae 

 than in the control. 



Obviously all these physical differences 

 strengthen the not very conclusive evidence of 

 taste and smell, that the eggs dosed with 

 salicylate and benzoate had not undergone 

 digestion and putrefaction to as great an ex- 

 tent as the normal untreated eggs. 



Larger doses of these substances would prob- 

 ably yield more striking results. Doses of 

 0.2 G. of sodium benzoate were, however, oc- 

 casionally seen to be regurgitated by pigeons. 



■ I am indebted to Mr. Valentine Petzold, an 

 obliging poultryman of Chicago, for the privilige 

 of dosing five of his birds with sodium salicylate. 



I do not believe that any part of either of 

 these drugs was so disposed of by the fowls. 

 Actively laying hens — as these were — ^might 

 withstand considerably larger amounts. Too, 

 still other substances can doubtless be found 

 which will yield as good or better results when 

 applied by this method. But these questions 

 and others are left to the labor of those who 

 may be interested in the practical or economic 

 possibilities of the matter. 



Oscar Riddle 

 Laboratory of 



Experimental Therapeutics, 

 University op Chicago 



TUE CONVOCATION WEEK MEETINGS OF 

 SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science and the national scientific 

 societies named below will meet at Washing- 

 ton, D. C, during convocation week, begin- 

 ning on December 27, 1911. 



American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science. — President, Professor Charles E. Bessey, 

 University of Nebraska; retiring president, Pro- 

 fessor A. A. Michelson, University of Chicago; 

 permanent secretary. Dr. L. O. Howard, Smith- 

 sonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 



Section A — Mathematics and Astronomy. — Vice- 

 president, Professor Edwin B. Frost, Yerkes Ob- 

 servatory; secretary. Professor George A. Miller, 

 University of Illinois, Urbana, 111. 



Section B — Physics. — Vice-president, Professor 

 Robert A. Millikan, University of Chicago; secre- 

 tary, Professor A. D. Cole, Ohio State University, 

 Columbus, Ohio. 



Section C — Chemistry. — Vice-president, Frank 

 K. Cameron, U. S. Department of Agriculture; 

 secretary. Professor C. H. Herty, University of 

 North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C. 



Section D — Mechanical Science and Engineering. 

 — Vice-president, President Chas. S. Howe, Case 

 School of Applied Science; secretary, G. W. Bis- 

 sell, Michigan Agricultural College, East Lansing, 

 Mich. 



Section E — Geology and Geography. — Vice-presi- 

 dent, Professor Bohumil Shimek, State University 

 of Iowa; secretary. Dr. F. P. Gulliver, Norwich, 

 Conn. 



Section F — Zoology. — Vice-president, Professor 

 Henry F. Naohtrieb, University of Michigan; sec- 



