914 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 103. 



whicli the hands were washed showed a 

 strong test for nitrites. It was also shown 

 that the air was very thoroughly washed 

 from nitrites during a heavy shower. 



Mr. Defren's results seem conclusive as 

 to the presence of nitrites in the air ; that 

 nitrites have a powerful effect upon the 

 human organism is well known; whether • 

 the quantity in the air may become large 

 enough, from lack of ventilation, to cause 

 the well known symptoms of oppression, is 

 a point left for further investigation. At 

 all events Mr. Defren's work is a valuable 

 contribution to the problem. A single criti- 

 cism might be offered, that no account ap- 

 pears to be taken of the fact that nitrous 

 acid, when in solution, is rapidly oxidized 

 by hydrogen peroxid to nitric acid, and 

 similarly ammonia is oxidized to nitrous 

 acid. Wurster's work on this point seems 

 not to be noticed, though the article (Ber. 

 19 : 3206) is mentioned in a foot note. 

 This reaction might cause Mr. Defren's re- 

 sults to be too low for the amount of nitrous 

 acid in the air, and would probably account 

 for the apparent absence of nitrites in air 

 exhaled through water. 



Apropos of air analysis, Dr. T. L. Phip- 

 son communicates to the last Chemical News 

 a unique method of removing the oxygen 

 from the air. A graduated bell jar filled 

 with air is placed over water. Suspended 

 in the bell jar and not touching the water 

 is a mushroom, Agaricus atramentarius. Ex- 

 posed now to the sunlight, the mushroom 

 rapidly and quantitatively absorbs the oxygen 

 of the air, the carbon dioxid given off dis- 

 solving in the water, which rises in the 

 bell jar one-fifth of the height. The mush- 

 room itself dries up, becoming mummified 

 in nitrogen. If now a green plant, as 

 Lysimachia nummularia, be placed alongside 

 the mushroom, the latter will recommence 

 slowly to vegetate, living on the oxygen 

 furnished by the green plant. 



J. L. H. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 



The details of the approaching meeting of 

 the American Society of Naturalists can now 

 be announced. After the business meeting, on 

 the afternoon of Tuesday, December 29th, the 

 ' Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics ' will 

 be discussed by Prof. C. S. Minot, Prof. J. M. 

 Macfarlane, Prof. E. D. Cope and Prof. Wm. 

 James. In the evening, at the Fogg Museum 

 of Art, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mr. 

 Alexander Agassiz will give a lecture, the sub- 

 ject of which will be announced later, and will 

 afterwards hold a reception at his residence. 

 At noon on Wednesday there will be a lecture 

 by Prof. E. B. Wilson, on ' Recent Develop- 

 ments of the Cell Theory,' which will be fol- 

 lowed by a luncheon, given by the President 

 and Fellows of Harvard College. In the 

 afternoon Mr. Agassiz will meet the So- 

 ciety in the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 and describe the Museum. The annual dinner 

 of the Affiliated Societies will take place in the 

 evening at the hotel Brunswick, at which an 

 address will be given by the President, Prof. 

 W. B. Scott. 



As we have already stated, the ninth annual 

 meeting of the Geological Society of America 

 will be held at Washington on December 29th, 

 30th and 31st. The President, Prof. Joseph Le 

 Conte, has chosen as the subject of his address 

 ' The Different Kinds of Earth- crust Move- 

 ments and their Causes.' Papers have been 

 entered to be read by J. S. Diller, N. H. Dar- 

 ton, Frank Leverett, J. F. Kemp, C. Willard 

 Hayes, Marius R. Campbell, J. B. Woodworth, 

 C. H. Hitchcock, Robert Bell, J. W. Spencer, 

 Ralph S. Tarr, H. L. Fairchild, Angelo Heil- 

 prin, George H. Barton, F. B. Taylor, Harry 

 Fielding Reid, Bailey Willis, Warren Upham, 

 Charles R. Keyes, J. E. Wolff, A. H. Brooks, 

 Joseph F. James, Henry S. Williams, David 

 White, Henry B. Klimmel, William M. Clark, 

 T. W. Stanton, F. H. Knowlton, E. H. Bar- 

 bour, G. Perry Grimsley, George P. Merrill, 

 Alfred C. Lane, Arthur Keith and G. K. Gil- 

 bert. 



We regard it as somewhat unfortunate that 

 after meeting at the same place as the Natural- 

 ists last winter the Geologists should this year 



