164 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 6. 



necessity for a division of labor has also 

 made itself apparent in the interest- of scien- 

 tific research. ' ' Butlerow gave as his opinion 

 that organic chemistry must be defined as 

 the chemistry of the carbon compounds. 

 After giving place to the definitions of the 

 earlier writers Schorlemmer defines ' organic 

 chemisti-y as the chemistrj^ of the hj-dro- 

 carbons and their derivatives.' He, how- 

 ever, recognized that it did not place a sharp 

 boundary line between the inorganic and 

 organic fields. 



In the remaining chapters the further 

 development of the organic field is traced 

 mth great care. The diiferent views in re- 

 gard to the constitution of benzene, the ar- 

 rangement of atoms in space, geometi-ical 

 isomerism, various striking syntheses in 

 both the parafiin and aromatic series are 

 clearly presented. In regard to the great 

 revolution produced in calico-printing and 

 in the manufacture of madder preparations 

 b}' the synthesis of alizarin by Graebe and 

 Liebermann, Schorlemmer writes "madder 

 finds to-day only a verj^ limited application 

 in dyeing of wool. Twenty years ago the 

 annual yield of madder was about 500,000 



tons when a friend of the author 



asked to see the madder plantations at 

 Avignon he was told ' it is no longer grown, 

 as it is now made by machinery.' " 



The book closes with a chapter upon the 

 unsolved problems. " If to-day we cannot 

 make morphine, quinine, and similar bodies 

 artificially, the time is near at hand .... If 

 we cannot make quinine we have already 

 found a partial substitute in antipjTine." 

 Yes, in the language of Schorlemmer " or- 

 ganic chemistry advances with giants' steps. 

 About fifty years ago only twelve hydrocar- 

 bons were known, and twelve years ago 

 this number had increased to about 200. 

 To-day we are acquainted with more than 

 400, and many of them, as well as their de- 

 rivatives, have been carefully studied." 



The little volume from which we have 



quoted is well constructed and replete with 

 information for the student of chemistry. 

 Its careful studj^ will be well repaid. The. 

 editor and publishers deserve much credit 

 for again presenting such a valuable work. 



Edgar F. Sshth. 

 Univebsity of Pennsylvaxia. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 

 MILK IN ITS RELATIONS TO DIPHTHERIA. 



Vladimikow, in the Second Part, Vol. 

 III., of the Archives des Sciences Biologiques 

 •publiees 2^<^'>' L'Institut Imperial de mededne 

 Experimentale, St. Petersburg, page 84, gives 

 the results of some researches made by him 

 in ISTencki's laboratory on the effects of the 

 diphtheria bacillus upon cows, and especially 

 as to the possibilitj' of producing in the cow, 

 by subcutaneous injections of this organism, 

 a disease which would result in the infection 

 of the milk by the same organism, so that 

 such milk might become a carrier of the 

 germs to those who used it. 



Dr. Klein, of London, has reported, as the 

 result of such hj'podermic injections, the 

 production of an eruption upon the udder 

 of the cow, in which eruption the diphtheria 

 bacillus was found to exist. 



These experiments were repeated by Dr. 

 Abbott, of Philadelphia ; but while he found 

 that the injection produces disease, and even 

 death, in the cow, there was no eruption in 

 the udders, and no diphtheria bacillus in 

 the milk. Vladimirow confirms the results 

 obtained by Dr. Abbott. He found that if 

 the diphtheria bacillus was introduced into 

 the milk ducts of the teats upon one side of 

 the udder of the cow, an inflammation was 

 produced upon that side of the udder, and 

 general fever occurred, which, in one case, 

 produced death. The milk secreted by the 

 injected half of the gland acquired a greenish 

 tint, coagulated, contained pus, had an alka- 

 line reaction, and contained less sugar and 

 more albuminoids than the milk coming 

 from the sound side of the gland. The di- 



