No. 98.] 17 
tilled water, which is collected in two carboys suitably placed for its 
reception. Upon the east wall is fitted a table, supported by means of 
brackets, and thus furnishing a place for balances which is unaffected 
by tremor from the use of the floors, whether for walking, for pound- 
ing or for other purposes. 
The apparatus and fittings supplied include every convenience neces- 
sary for organic analysis, including a fine balance made by Verbeck & 
Peckholdt, of Dresden, Germany, and a Soleil-Ventzke saccharimeter, 
as modified by Scheibler, No. 1,625 of the manufacturers, Messrs. . 
Franz Schmidt & Haensch of Berlin. One combustion furnace of 
twenty-five burners, one lactobutyrometer of Marchand, and oné 
Soxhlet’s apparatus for estimating the fat of milk were also imported 
from Germany, as well as a large part of our glassware, this course 
being advisable not only on account of the superior quality of the 
goods thus obtained, but from motives of economy, as public institu- 
tions are not subjected to the tariff duties on importations of this 
character. 3 
Dr. 8. M. Babcock, our chemist, arrived at the station July 1, and 
for the first few months was busily occupied in attending to the fittings 
of the laboratory, the compounding of the standard solutions, the 
testing of the accuracy of apparatus, etc. He has also found time to 
attend to much analytical work, the larger part of which has been of 
the nature of a continuous series, the results of which cannot be given 
as completed until another year. 
Among the completed and partial analysis have been the following : 
Pi@-wEED.. Chenopodium album. 
Collected July 26, 1882. The plants, thirty-five in number, pulled 
in the garden from rather hard soil. The weight of green plants, | 
7.9686 lbs. avoir. ; of roots, .74995 lbs. avoir., or 9.41 per cent of the 
tops. 7 
The roots contained 73.44 per cent of water. The dry substance 
contained 8.35 per cent of ash, and 1.42 per cent of nitrogen. The 
ash contained 2.43 per cent of phosphoric acid, 39.87 per cent of pot- 
assium oxide, and 2.31 per cent of sodium oxide. 
The analysis of the pig-weed plant in bloom when gathered, gave to 
Storer the following figures : 
Green plant. Air dried plant. 
Mg le 0 ls os fx» eo i0 vance sa 0's 0 @ 80.80 
il a a HAC aS Acie acme 3.02 14.21 
PMMBOUGIGIOS hit as athe Sith tet ln. 0k 3.94 18.59 
DRMIVOPEMRERLOS CiGalals olka oicierd lates eos A 9.69 45.44 
TT ie cise a 6p cn 0 sco wd bie + 81.00.90, 9 2.55 11.95 
100.00 100.00 
Luyken found in the dry plant 10.36 per cent of ash, containing 8 
per cent of phosphoric acid and 50 per cent of potash. 
_[Assem. Doc. No. 98.] 3 
