532 
Reviews. 
{Am,  Jour.  Pharm. 
t     October,  1898. 
chief  food  of  the  domestic  animals  of  our  great  country.  In  addition  to  this, 
large  quantities  of  starch  are  made  from  it,  and  also  glucose  and  grape  sugar. 
It  not  only  serves  as  our  food,  but  also  furnishes  a  part  of  our  drink,  in  the 
form  of  the  various  grades  of  Indian-corn  whiskey.  In  addition  to  this,  it  is  the 
source  of  an  immense  industry  in  the  manufacture  of  alcohols,  high  wine's  and 
Cologne  spirits.  The  stalks,  which  a  few  years  ago  were  considered  an  injur- 
ious residue,  have  been  found  to  possess  most  valuable  properties  as  cattle  food. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  outer  shells.  The  inner  portion  of  the  stalk — the 
pith — possesses  remarkable  properties  as  an  obturator  in  the  manufacture  of 
battle  ships.  It  possesses  a  high  degree  of  resilience  and  porosity,  and  when 
perforated  by  a  shot  or  shell  it  instantly  closes  the  aperture  made  by  the  pro- 
jectile, and  thus  prevents  the  entrance  of  water  into  the  vessel.  It  also  has 
peculiar  properties  rendering  it  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  pyroxylin  var- 
nishes, gun  cotton  and  high  explosives.  By  reason  of  the  nature  of  its  con- 
struction it  is  easily  nitrated.  .The  acids  are  completely  removed  by  washing, 
and  the  resulting  compound  is  more  stable,  and,  therefore,  more  valuable,  than 
that  which  is  derived  from  cotton  under  similar  treatment. 
It  has  been  deemed  wise  to  collect  the  above  results  of  recent  work  which 
has  been  done  in  the  Chemical  Division  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  on 
the  subject  of  Indian- corn,  especially  because  the  merits  of  this  plant  are  not 
well  appreciated  in  Kurope,  where  Indian-corn  is  not  regarded  as  a  fit  source 
of  human  food,  and  where  its  genuine  nutritive  properties  and  the  properties 
of  the  stalks  are  not  known.  It  is  believed  that  by  calling  the  attention  of  the 
scientific  men  of  Europe  to  Indian-corn,  good  will  result,  not  only  to  the  coun- 
try which  is  interested  in  the  growth  of  this  great  cereal,  but  to  Europe,  where 
cheap  and  nutritious  food  products  are  desired. 
Proceedings  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  Vol. 
XXXIII.    Reprints  on  the  following  topics  have  been  received: 
On  the  Cause  of  the  Retention  and  Release  of  Gases  Occluded  by 
The  Oxides  of  Metals.    By  Theodore  W.  Richards. 
The  evidence  of  this  paper  proves  that  in  reality  no  discrepancy  exists  be- 
tween the  results  of  Scott  {Jour.  Chem.  Soc.  Trans.,  LXXI,  559)  and  Morse 
and  Arbuckle  {Amer.  Chem.  Jour.,  XX,  195)  and  those  obtained  at  Harvard. 
The  apparent  disagreements  were  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  later  experi- 
menters investigated  parts  only  of  the  whole  field  outlined  in  1892  (Proc.  Amer. 
Acad.  Arts  and  Sci.,  XXVI,  281).  The  paper  also  shows  that  the  unequal 
escape  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen  imprisoned  in  the  oxides  of  metals  is  a  phe- 
nomenon of  great  interest,  capable  of  shedding  light  on  the  internal  kinetics 
of  solids. 
A  Contribution  to  the  Study  of  Individual  Variation  in  the  Wings 
of  LepidopTera.    By  William  L.  W.  Field. 
The  author  has  worked  upon  the  moth,  Thyreus  abbotii,  Swamsin,  one  of 
the  common  Sphingindse  of  Eastern  North  America.  He  offers  the  follow- 
ing hypothesis  to  explain  the  smaller  variability  of  the  sinuous  margin  in 
the  females.  The  fact  that  the  wing  broadens  so  greatly  toward  the  tip, 
and  is  provided  with  an  irregular  edge,  suggests  that  this  form  of  margin 
may  be  of  advantage  in  rendering  the  insect  less  distinctly  visible  when  its 
