Am.  Jour.  P.'iarm. 
June,  1897. 
Strontium  in  Plants. 
297 
from  California,  failed  to  show  a  trace  of  strontium,  and  yielded 
only  about  one-half  the  amount  of  ash  that  was  obtained  from  the 
East  India  samples.  One  sample  of  Rhizophora,  from  a  number 
recently  received  from  Singapore,  also  indicated  the  presence  of 
strontium.  A  letter  from  Dr.  Ridleystates  that  little,  if  any,  stron- 
tium occurs  in  the  soil  of  Singapore. 
It  is  such  a  natural  conclusion  that  strontium  may  replace  calcium 
in  plants,  that  the. .foregoing  statement  concerning  its  existence  in 
plants  may  appear  almost  unnecessary.  It  was  found,  however,  that 
most  authors,  in  speaking  of  the  ash  constituents  of  plants,  were 
either  silent  on  the  subject  of  strontium,  or  else  referred  to  the  one 
case  where  it  has  been  found  in  seaweed.  Dr.  Emil  Wolff,  in  his 
Aschen-Analysen,  among  some  thousands  of  results,  does  not  appear 
to  mention  strontium,  not  even  among  the  seaweeds.  Roscoe  & 
Schorlemmer  {Treatise  of  Chemistry,  Vol.  II,  Part  I,  p.  213)  state: 
"  Strontium  has  also  been  found  in  sea  water  and  in  the  ashes  of 
Fucus  vesiculosis." 
Ebermayer  (Physiologische  Chemie  der  Pflanzen,  p.  715)  mentions 
strontium  with  some  other  metals  as  occurring  in  traces  in  a  few 
plants,  but  he  gives  no  definite  information.  Sachs  (Lectures  on  the 
Physiology  of  Plants,  p.  383)  merely  states  that  strontium  may 
replace  calcium  in  the  fungi.  Sorauer  (A  Popular  Treatise  on  the 
Physiology  of  Plants,^.  36)  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  strontium 
has  been  discovered  in  several  seaweeds.  Goodale  (Physiological 
Botany,  p.  256)  mentions  strontium  with  some  other  metals  as 
occurring  in  Fucus. 
Messrs.  Kebler  and  La  Wall,  in  the  May  number  of  this  Journal, 
p.  244,  pointed  out  the  presence  of  strontium  in  opium.  It  was 
looked  on  as  an  adulteration,  although  we  must  admit  the  possi- 
bility of  it  occurring  naturally  in  opium. 
It  may  be  that  the  writer  has  failed  to  discover  all  the  literature 
relating  to  this  subject,  and  he  is  free  to  admit  the  possibility  of  it, 
since  the  literature  concerning  the  ash  constituents  of  plants  is  very 
voluminous.  Any  information  bearing  directly  on  this  subject  will 
be  thankfully  received. 
David  Hooper,  who  has  held  the  post  of  Quinologist  to  the  Madras  Govern- 
ment, at  Ootacamuud,  India,  for  the  past  twelve  and  2  half  years,  has  been 
appointed  to  the  Curatorship  of  the  Economic  and  Art  Sections  of  the  Indian 
Museum,  Calcutta. 
