PKESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



practice to speak of the fusion of chemistry with physiology 

 by the simple term Bio-chemistry, and the Physiological 

 Laboratory of the University of Sydney reports good work 

 clone in this subject. Dr. Ohapman has continued investi- 

 gations on the gravimetric relations of the antiserum and 

 homologous proteins interacting in precipitin reactions. It 

 has been shewn that the weights of precipitum are directly 

 proportional to the quantities of antiserum employed, that 

 a certain weight of protein gives a maximal weight of 

 precipitum from a definite quantity of antiserum, and that 

 further increase in the weight of protein fails to increase 

 the weight of precipitum from the same quantity of anti- 

 serum. Further experiments on the action of brucine and 

 strychnine on Hyla aurea Lave shewn that while Hyla is 

 strongly resistant to poisoning by strychnine it is equally 

 susceptible to poisoning by brucine. 



Mr. E. O. Grey is at present engaged in the study of the 

 lipoid bodies and their relationship to the fats. It is hoped 

 incidentally to improve the methods for estimation and 

 separation of these phosphatides, which at present are 

 merely qualitative, inasmuch as Bang has shewn that the 

 methods of Bergell, Diakonow and others are quite inade- 

 quate, moreover although Erlandsen has pointed out the 

 best way to obtain the greatest yield of phosphatides, he 

 cannot be said to have settled the question of the purifica- 

 tion of even the simplest, namely lecithin. At this moment 

 examination is being made of the fatty radicle of brain 

 lecithin, and the same method will be applied to phospha- 

 tides of other sources. With Dr. Petrie, Dr. Ohapman has 

 also isolated and estimated the hexone bases arginin, his- 

 titlin, arid lysin present in the protein of egg-white. This 

 is probably the first occasion that the hexone bases of a 

 protein have been estimated in a British or colonial 

 laboratory. Dr. Petrie, the Linnean Macleay Fellow in 



