940 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 441. 



Academy. But effort is to be made to keep 

 it a working society, and not merely an asso- 

 ciation of men having some general interest 

 in physics. It is expected that new mem- 

 bers will in general be chosen only from the 

 active workers in physics — from such as have 

 either already contributed to the advancement 

 of the science or have shown especial promise 

 of becoming investigators later. That ex- 

 ceptions to this policy may occasionally be 

 made is of course probable, but it was felt 

 that such exceptions should be rare. 



Ernest Mereitt, 



Secretary. 



NORTH CAROLINA SECTION OF THE AMERICAN 

 CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 



The spring meeting of the section was held 

 in the chemical lecture room of the Univer- 

 sity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, on May 

 8, 1903, at 8:15 p.m., with Presiding Officer 

 Charles E. Brewer in the chair. After the 

 transaction of some miscellaneous ■ business, 

 the following papers were presented and dis- 

 cussed : 

 A Simple Hydrogen Sulphide Apparatus: 



Chas. E. Brewer. 



This apparatus is an adaptation of well- 

 known principles. Its peculiar interest lies 

 in the fact that it may be used on the labora- 

 tory desk. The parts are a bottle (250 c.c.) 

 with a two-hole rubber stopper to fit, a separa- 

 tory funnel (100 c.c.) passing through one of 

 these holes to the bottom of the bottle to serve 

 as a reservoir for the acid, an Erlenmeyer 

 flask (any size desired) with a one-hole rubber 

 stopper to fit, glass and rubber tubing to con- 

 nect bottle and flask, with as many wash 

 bottles between as may be desired. The bot- 

 tom of the bottle is covered with shot to a 

 depth of one inch, so as to keep the acid off 

 the sulphide while the gas is not needed. 

 The delivery tube passes through the stopper 

 to the bottom of the flask which contains the 

 solution to be treated. The stopper is in- 

 serted loosely until the air in the flask is 

 driven out, then tightly to prevent escape of 

 gas, which comes over as fast as it can be 

 absorbed. It hastens saturation to shake the 

 flask from time to time. 



The Assimilation of Nitrogen hy Bacteria: 



G. S. FRAPS. 



This refers to bacteria which assimilated 

 nitrogen without sjonbiosis. The effect of the 

 nature of the medium, the time, the tem- 

 perature and the soil used for inoculation of 

 the medium were studied. Addition of mag- 

 nesium sulphate to a medium containing glu- 

 cose, potassium phosphate, ferric chloride, 

 sodium chloride and calcium carbonate in- 

 creased the amount of nitrogen assimilated. 



Nitrification of Different Fertilizers: W. A. 



Withers and G. S. Feaps. 



The nitrification of different fertilizing ma- 

 terials was compared in four soils. There was 

 some variation. Placing the amount of nitro- 

 gen nitrified in cotton seed meal at 100, the 

 amount of ammonium sulphate nitrified varied 

 from 13 to 127; dried blood, 70 to 120; fish, 

 85 to 190; bones, 22 to 43, while less nitrifica- 

 tion took place when barnyard manure was 

 present than when it was absent. Very much 

 larger amounts of manure were used than are 

 used in farm practice, and with smaller 

 amounts different results would perhaps be ob- 

 tained. 



Nitrifying Powers of Typical North Carolina 



Soils: W. A. Withers and G. S. Fraps. 



The nitrifying powers of fifteen typical 

 soils, collected and classified by the Bureau 

 of Soils, and the North Carolina Department 

 of Agriculture, under the same conditions as 

 regards temperature, water content, number 

 and kind of germs, and time, varied from 11 

 to 106, compared with a standard soil placed 

 at 100. The soils with the lowest nitrifying 

 powers are sands, with low water capacity, 

 low humus, low absorptive power for ammonia 

 and low acidity, though a soil low in any or 

 all of these does not necessarily have a low 

 nitrifying power. Acidity of the soil did not 

 prevent nitrification. 

 Report — -Progress of the Dyeing Industry: 



G. S. Fraps. 



A discussion of the most important lines 

 of advancement, particularly as regards the 

 introduction of sulphur colors, the production 

 of mercerized cotton and artificial silk, and 

 the manufacture of synthetical indigo. 



