254 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. No. 529. 



ists in techBical laboratories, but the claim 

 is made that the thoroughly grounded stu- 

 dent will be better able to secure satisfac- 

 tmy results, even under adverse conditions, 

 than tlie one who is taught only the quick 

 methods of the mill or smelter, without any 

 adequate knowledge of the pitfalls in his 

 path and of the proper means of avoiding 

 them. The one who is thoroughly ground- 

 ed in the minutiae of a few complex analyt- 

 ical procedures will be the better fitted to 

 use and apply short-cut methods with 

 judgment. An appeal is also made to 

 chemists to aid the committee of purity of 

 j-eagents of the American Chemical Society 

 in securing a better quality of reagents. 



Did in Tuberculosis: Harvey W. Wiley. 



The physician should select a menu 

 adapted to each patient. The oils, espe- 

 cially cod-liver and olive oil, are most bene- 

 ficial. Alcohol has a food value, and is, 

 besides, a stimulant. Whiskey, brandy 

 and other beverages have often been used 

 to great advantage. Easily digested foods, 

 such as milk, eggs, soups, rare meats, fruits 

 and vegetables furnish a variety of palat- 

 able dishes. The great value of a correct 

 diet is in helping the physician to carry the 

 patient over a crisis by giving strength to 

 overcome the predatory character of the 

 disease. 



Proper Diet for the Tropics: Harvey W. 



AViLKY. 



Less food is needed in the tropics than 

 in temperate climates because less animal 

 heat is required. Tropical fruits are per- 

 haps the best general diet. Any large 

 excess of protein is to be avoided. 



The Ripening of Peaches: W. D. Bigei.ow 

 and H. C. Gore. 



A study was made of the composition of 

 six varieties of peaches, including both 

 early and late and of varying texture and 

 flavor. Samples were taken at three pe- 

 riods, and, when po.ssible, at four periods of 



their growth. First, just after the June 

 drop ; second, at the time of hardening of 

 the stone ; third, at the time of market ripe- 

 ness; fourth, the time of full ripeness. 

 The results were expressed both as percent- 

 age composition of the peaches and as 

 grams per peach. The results obtained 

 were compared with those obtained by the 

 same writers in the study of the ripening 

 of the apple. Unlike the apple, the peach 

 has practically no starch and apparently 

 no reserve material, at least in appreciable 

 amount, which will increase sucrose after 

 the peach is separated from the tree. Un- 

 like the apple, therefore, there is no increase 

 of sucrose after picking. There seems to 

 be some inversion of the cane sugar with 

 the formation of invert sugar, but such 

 changes are not nearly so marked as in the 

 case of the apple. Between the time of 

 the June drop and the time of market ripe- 

 ness the flesh of the peach is increased on 

 the average about ten times, while the 

 weight of the stone increases about seventy 

 per cent., and the weight of the embryo 

 ninety-five per cent. The total solids in 

 the flesh increase about ten times in 

 weight, the mare increases about three 

 times in weight, although the percent- 

 age of marc in the ripe peaches was 

 much less than in the green peaches. In 

 the percentage composition of the peach 

 the reducing sugar decreases throughout 

 the life history, whereas the sucrose in- 

 creases. The acid also increases from the 

 time of the June drop until the peaches 

 become ripe. The nitrogenous bodies, both 

 in the form of albuminoids and in the form 

 of amido bodies, decrease in percentage and 

 increase in grams per peach. There ap- 

 peared to be no evidence of the change of 

 proteids into the simpler amides, or vice 

 versa. 



A fuller account of this work will be 

 given in a Bulletin of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry. 



