January 5, 1894,] 



SCIENCE. 



11 



BALTIMOEE MEETING OP THE AMEEICAN 

 CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 



BY CHAELES PLATT. 



After a rather dark period in its history, the American 

 Chemical Society has now attained a firm footing, and has 

 become what it has ever aimed to be, a truly national re- 

 presentation of American chemists. The summer meeting 

 in Chicago and the recent Baltimore meeting have been 

 extraordinarily successful, not only in papers presented, 

 which are, after all, very secondary attractions, but more 

 particularly in the establishment of those feelings of good 

 fellowship and esteem which can only be born of personal 

 acquaintance. During the last meeting this sentiment 

 was expressed many times, and there was a universal feel- 

 ing of congratulation and good-will, which made the 

 meeting extremelj' satisfactory. The general verdict 

 seemed to be that the time allotted was too short, and 

 that a programme extending over three or four days, in- 

 stead of the two provided by custom, would have been 

 more suitable. The meeting convened Dec. 27, 1893, in 

 the lecture-room of the chemical department of Johns 

 Hoj)Mns University, with President H. AV. Wiley in the 

 chair. President D. C. Gilman welcomed the society to 

 the University, and Prof. Ira Remsen performed the same 

 office in behalf of the chemical department. In response. 

 President "Wiley returned thanks for the society for the 

 welcome so kindly extended, and, continuing, spoke of 

 the remarkable growth of the society during the past 

 year, its field in America, and the increasing need of such 

 a bond of union as is provided. Professor "Wiley then 

 opened the business of the meeting with his presidential 

 address on "The Relations of Agricultural Chemistry to 

 the Waste and Recovery of Plant Eood. " Other papers 

 on the programme, read in person or by title, were as 

 follows: "The Widesf)read Occurrence of Bariuni and 

 Strontium in Silicate Rocks," W. F. Hillebrand; "The 

 Estimate of Small Amounts of Bariiim and Strontium in 

 Silicate Analysis," W. F. Hillebrand; "A Plea for 

 Greater Completeness in Chemical Rock Analysis," W. F. 

 Hillebrand; "A Study of the Distribution of the Oleo- 

 resins in the 'Pinus Palustris,' " Omar Carr; "Salicylic 

 Acid in rood,"K. P. McElroy; "Utilization or Garbage," 

 Bruno Terne; "Report on the Determination of Atomic 

 Weights Published during 1893," F. W. Clarke; "The 

 Detection of Strychnine in an Exhumed Human Body," 

 W^. D. Noyes; "The Importance of the Study of Bio- 

 chemistr}'," E. A. de Schweinitz; "Upon Uniformity in 

 Samj)ling and Assaying Coj)per Bullion," G. W. Lehmann; 

 "The Preservation ^ud Arrangement of Chemical Ab- 

 stracts," Thomas M. Chatard; "Notes on the Electro- 

 Metallurgy of Zinc," Charles Piatt; "The Phenyl-hydra- 

 zen Test for Glucose in Urine," C. E. Pellew; "Expert 

 Testimony," W. P. Mason; "A Description of the Boric 

 Acid Springs in Tuscany," W. P. Mason; "Phosjjhorus in 

 Steel," C. B. Dudley; "Determination of Phosphorus by 

 the Molybdate Method in the Presence of Arsenic in 

 Iron, Steel and Ores," J. 0. Handy; "The Analysis of 

 Malt," J. A. Miller. 



Other paj)ers not on the programme were presented, 

 among them one by Dr. Thomas Taylor, of Washington, 

 and another by Prof. G. F. Baker, of Philadelphia, who 

 read a memorial to the late T. Sterry Hunt. 



In the afternoon the society accepted the invitation of 

 the Baltimore Coj^j^er Smelting and Rolling Company, 

 and several profitable hours were sj)ent examining the 

 details of refining at these representative works. A com- 

 plimentary banquet was enjoyed at the Eutaw House in 

 the evening. On the second day the reading of the 

 papers was continued and the annual business of the so- 



ciety transacted. The officers elected for the ensuing 

 year are: President, H. W. Wiley; General Secretary, 

 Albert C. Hale; Treasurer, C. F. McKenna (resigned); 

 Librarian, F. E. Dodge; Directors — C. F. Chandler, P. T. 

 Austen, C. A. Doremus, H. C. Bolton; Council — C.B.Dud- 

 ley, C. E. Munroe, Wm McMurtrie, J. H. Appleton. The 

 meeting was brought to a close with a delightful excur- 

 sion down the river to Sparrows Point, where the works of 

 the Maryland Steel Company were thoroughly inspected. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



^./"■^Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The 

 writer's name is in all cases required as a proof of good faith. 



On request in advance, one hundred copies of the number con- 

 taining his communication will be furnished free to any corres- 

 pondent. 



The editor will be glad to publish any queries consonant with 

 the character of the journal. 



Do Earth Worms Rain Down ? 



The old-time notion that earth worms, frogs, fish, etc., 

 "rain down" is now seldom mentioned by intelligent peo- 

 ple except in the way of ridicule. The sudden appear- 

 ance of these animals after a shower is, however, a matter 

 of common obseryation, and I am not aware that any ade- 

 quate explanation of the phenomenon has ever been 

 given. 



I have heretofore mentioned the finding of minnows 

 after a heavy rain in pools and ditches which were dry 

 not long before. , xis for earth worms, their nature and 

 habits seem to preclude their coming to the surface vol- 

 untarily. When dug up and left on top of the ground 

 they seem very uncomfortable and lose no time in bury- 

 ing themselves again, as soon as they can find a spot 

 where the earth is soft enough to penetrate. Of those 

 found after a rain, some are dead, others nearly so, and 

 those which are in motion seem plainly to be seeking a 

 place to burrow. While it would seem to be imj)ossible 

 that they should have come down from above, it is very 

 remarkable that they should come up from below, leav- 

 ing their dark, earthy home to be pelted by the rain, 

 which seems so disastrous to them. Besides, they are 

 often found in situations which they could not have 

 reached from the earth, as in tightly cemented cisterns, 

 closed with no opening except where the water pijse en- 

 ters from the roof. Have those found drowned in rain 

 barrels committed suicide by crawling up the side of the 

 barrel and thence into the water ? By the way, who can 

 vouch for their ability to climb a vertical surface in that 

 way ? 



This morning, after a shower, I found several earth 

 worms near the middle of a street paved with asphalt. 

 There was no crack or crevice in the pavement, and it 

 connected smoothly, on each side, with a curbstone six- 

 and-a-half inches high. It would seem entirely contrary 

 to nature for them to leave the soft earth, climb over the 

 curbstone and make the long journey to the middle of 

 the street. 



I have no theory or explanation to offer. My relation 

 to the subject is merely that of an interested observer. I 

 would be glad if others would contribute their observa- 

 tions, with a view to arriving at the true explanation. 



Charles B. Palmer. 



Columbus, Ohio. 



Late-Bloominq Trees. 

 Dr. Walter Menuelson inc|uires in Science for Dec. 

 15, 1893, as to "cause and effects of late-blooming of 

 fruit trees." The fruit buds of pears, peaches, apples 

 and cherries are formed during the late summer and 

 early autumn. If there should be warm, damp weather 

 in the autumn, premature blossoming- is frequently 

 caused, and the result is the fruit crop of the following 



