March 13, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



427 



disease was to kill the cattle affected, and in 

 New England something like 2,500 head had 

 been killed and their owners reimbursed by 

 the government. The speaker described the 

 methods adopted to kill the cattle and disin- 

 fect the barns, and the great precaution taken 

 by the inspectors not to spread the plague. 



H. J. Webber discussed ' Egyptian Cotton 

 in the United States,' saying that as this 

 variety possessed many special advantages, we 

 imported annually $10,000,000 worth. Experi- 

 ments had been made with a view to raising 

 this cotton in the United States, but at first 

 sufficient care was not taken to ascertain the 

 best soil and climatic conditions. In some lo- 

 calities where the plant grew well, it grew too 

 rankly and furnished but little cotton. The 

 speaker then described the methods adopted 

 by the Bureau of Plant Industry to produce 

 plants adapted to conditions found here, and 

 said that the outlook was very promising. 

 Mr. Webber illustrated his remarks by many 

 samples of various grades of cotton and by 

 photographs. 



W. E. Safford gave an account of ' The 

 Eauna of the Island of Guam,' describing in 

 some detail the few mammals and the prin- 

 cipal birds, fishes and insects. 



F. A. Lucas. 



THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON'. 



At a special meeting of the Society on Feb- 

 ruary 5, Dr. M. Gomberg read a paper on 

 ' Tri-ethyl-methyl.' The speaker gave a his- 

 torical review of the work already published, 

 and also of some work which is soon to ap- 

 pear in print. The subjects taken up were: 

 (1) The preparation and constitution of tri- 

 phenylmethyl peroxide. (2) The prepara- 

 tion of the triphenylmethyl, and also of its 

 ether and ester derivations, the constitution 

 of which is explained on the assmnption of 

 tetravalent oxygen. (3) The preparation and 

 the reactions of tripheryliodomethane. (4) 

 The salt-like character of the triphenylhalogen 

 methanes from the chemical, and from the 

 physico-chemical standpoint. (5) The con- 

 densation of triphenyhnethyl to hexaphenyl- 

 ethane by means of different reagents. (6) 

 Experimental evidence that metals split off 



only halogen from triphenylchlormethane. 

 Apparatus and specimens of the various prep- 

 arations were exhibited. J. S. Bdrd, 



Secretary. 

 U. S. Department of Agkictjltuke, 

 Washington, D. C. 



the torrey botanical club. 



The club held its regular meeting on Jan- 

 uary 28, at the New York Botanical Garden. 

 In the absence of president and vice-presi- 

 dents Dr. Britton was called to the chair. 



The leading paper was by Mr. E. S. Wil- 

 liams, on ' Some Economic Plants of Bolivia.' 

 He mentioned the great diversity of climatic 

 conditions in Bolivia, and stated that at the 

 higher altitudes frosts occur during ten 

 months of the year. Pasture grasses abound 

 at these elevations. Among the chief crops 

 for the higher agricultural lands are barley, 

 wheat, potatoes and quinoa — the edible seed 

 of a species of the Chenopodiaceae. Many 

 varieties of corn are cultivated up to an alti- 

 tude of 5,000 to 6,000 feet, and beans of many 

 kinds are also grown. Eice is the principal 

 grain crop of the lower tropical regions. 

 Sugar-cane grows up to 4,000 feet, and there 

 are large fields of it everywhere. It is 

 crushed by passing the stalks back and forth 

 between rollers turned by oxen. The fruits 

 of the lower country are lemons, oranges, 

 bananas, papayas, cherrimoyas, granadillos 

 and a number of others. A species of sorrel, 

 Oxalis tuberosaj, is largely cultivated. The 

 tubers are eaten as a vegetable. Tomatoes 

 are raised, but they are poor and small. Pep- 

 pers are in great variety and are much used. 

 Coffee is grown up to 5,000 feet elevation. 

 A fine quality is produced, but distance from 

 the seaboard prevents its export. _ There are 

 no wild fruits or nuts of value in the regions 

 visited. 



The paper was discussed by Dr. Britton, 

 Professor Selby and others. 



Mr. F. S. Earle spoke briefly on 'The 

 Fungus Flora of Jamaica.' Jamaican fungi 

 have been mentioned by various writers, be- 

 ginning with Patrick Browne in 1755, but the 

 total number of species so far reported from 

 the island is less than one hundred. About 

 five hundred members of fungi were collected 



