1913] BRIEFER ARTICLES 251 
effect of centrifugal force it is well to fasten a cord around the bottles 
after the manner shown in the figure. The velocity at which the table 
rotates can be controlled by regulating the position and angle of the 
fan with respect to the vanes. If the bearings of the wheel are properly 
adjusted and the table with its load carefully balanced, a speed of less 
than four revolutions per minute can be maintained. The direct air 
current from the fan should not strike the cups. 
Such a revolving table as the one here described was run in the 
writer’s laboratory almost continuously for nearly three weeks at a speed 
ranging from 4 to 20 revolutions per minute and gave no trouble what- 
ever. In order to determine the accuracy of the data obtained, a test 
series of 20 cups was operated under various conditions for more than a 
week, readings being taken daily. It was found that with the table 
revolving at a rate of 8 revolutions or less per minute the coefficients 
derived from the readings of consecutive days varied very little; for 
several days none of the cups showed a variation amounting to as much 
as one per cent, while the difference in evaporation between two standard 
cups amounted to less than 0.2 per cent. With increased speed, how- 
ever, the coefficients are apt to fluctuate, due to various causes.—G. E. 
NIcHoLs, Vale University. 
POISONING BY GINKGO 
Several botanists after dissecting the fruits of Ginkgo have developed 
what appeared to be ivy poisoning. As the juice of the Ginkgo produced 
an immediate irritation of the skin, it was suspected that the rash which 
developed the following day was due to this. Later tests proved this 
to be the case. The poison is in the outer fleshy layer. It does not 
affect all people, since the gardeners at Smith College and at Mount 
Holyoke College have never been poisoned by handling the Ginkgo 
fruits, but a gardener in Elyria, Ohio, who cares for a fruiting tree in the 
yard of Mr. Wixtram G. Suarp, writes that he is poisoned every fall 
by handling the fruits. The irritation produced is greater than that of 
poison ivy, and the infection spreads more persistently and is communi- 
cated from one person to another. Pustules rarely form, however, as in 
ivy poisoning, but there is a heavy red rash, attended by the formation 
of welts in severe cases.—ANNA M. Starr, Mount Holyoke College, 
South Hadley, Mass. 
