90 ABSTRACTS OF UHEMIOAL PAPERF. Chemistry of Vegetable Physiology and Agriculture. A Bacterium which Ferments Starch and Produces Amy1 Alcohol. By L. PERDHIX (Clzem Centr., 1891, ii, 252-253 ; from Aun. Ir8st. Pasteur, 1891, No. 5).-The author has separated from Paris water a bacillns, B. arnylozylnzicus, which ferments starch, with production of amyl alcohol. It is separated by cultivation on pota- toes, and finally on gelatin. The bacillus is 2-3 p long, and 0.5 p thick; the rods are joined i n pairs and chains, and in the absence of oxygen are motile, like Vibrio bufyricus, Pusteur. The rods are readily stained ; the spores are set free through the dissolution of the walls of the mother cell. The bacillus flourishes only in the absence of oxygen, readily, however, either in a vacuum or in hgdro- gen, nitrogen, or carbonic anbydride.The optimum temperature is 3.5" ; i t grows quite well at 20-25" ; at 16-17", fermenthtion com- mences a t the end of four days. Its "maximum" temperature is 42-43'. It will grow in all the usual cultivating media, ferments the sugars and starch, but does not attack cellulcse o r calcium lactate, differing in t h i s respect from Vibrio butpicus, Pasteur, Acids are produced during the fermentations which it, causes, and the presence of acidity, equivalent to 0.055 gram sulphuriu anhydride, or of'VEOETBBLE PHYSIOLOGY ASD AGRICULTURE. 91 nlkali equivalent to 0.08-0.11 gram in 100 c.c., is suficient to arrest the process ; the addition of ca.lcium carbonate to the liquid enables the fermentation to become perfect.Glucose ferments to hjdrogen, carbonic anhydride, acetic and butyric acids during the first three dpys ; from the third t o the ninth day, no acetic acid is forined. From saccharose and lactose, acetic acid is formed during the first five days. The greater the amount of oxygen present, the more acetic acid is produced; it was also observed that a t the time of t.he butyric acid formation, all the cells coiitained spores. From the fei5mentation of starch a distillate was obtained, of which one-third was amyl alcohol, and from 100 grams of potatoes, 2-3-2.5 C.C. of alcohols were sepa- rated. The sugar obtained from starch is vr1.y siiiiilar to glucose, but has a less imotatory action, and its phenylglucosazone mvlts 10" lower tlian that from glucose ; 94 per cent.of the starch is coiiverted into sugar, carbonic anh;pdride, ethyl and amyl alcohols, acetic and butJyric acids, arid 6 per. cent. is coiiverted into dextriii. The sngzr formed by the bacillus from starch may be fermented perfectly wlth beer-yeast, either after sterilisation, or in the presence of the bacillus. If either the sugar obtained by fermentation of starch with this bacillus, or a stei.ilised mash, be fermented with a pum cultivation of yeast, no f'usel oil is formed, and the autlior concludes that the fuse1 oil found in commercially prepared alcohol, is tormed by the action of bacteria. The 8. urripZozyrriictis remains uninjured f u r 10 days a t 30-5.5". J. W. Ti. Action of the Bacillus of Malgnant CEdema on Carbo- hydrates, and on Lactic Acid.By 8. KERRY and S. FKAENKEL (Momtsh., 12, 350-355 ; compare Abstr., 18W, 1454).-When lactic acid, in the form of its calcium salt, is dissolved in bouillon containing peptone and Kernmerich's meat extract, and the solution, placed in an atmosphere of hydrogen, is inoculated wit8h the bacillus of malig- nant cedenia, fermentation occurs. After remaiiiing 8-10 days, the solution contains props1 alcohol and formic: and butyric acids, but no ethyl alcohol. Milk sugar, cane sugar, and starch, in presence of substances con- taining the materials necessary for building up the organism, are i l l 1 fermentable by the bacillus, and yield variable quantities of butjric, formic, and inactive lactic acids, and ethyl alcohol. The formation of the last-named pyociuct on long-contiuiied anaiirohic fermentatioii of the carbohydrates is most probably to be ascribed to a further change induced in the propjl alcohol derived from the lactic acid. The authors have succeeded in fermenting the wood pulp obtained from fir, and have recognised the presence of volatile alcohols and fixed acids in the product; all attempts to induce decomposition iii pure cellulose have, however, led to negative results.Influence of Carbohydrates on the Accumulation of Aspara. gine in Plants. By MOSTBFERDE (Ann. Agrm., 17, 376-377j.- Branches of lilac, plunged in distilled water, mid i n 4 per cent. solution of glycerol, and kept, in the dark, contained abundance of aspartigine a t the end of 15 days, but neither starch nor mannitol. Branches of G.T. M.92 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS. the same plant kept iu solutions of glucose, cane sugar, or mannitol formed no asparagine in a month, but contained much starch and mannitol. Peas, vetches. and monkshood, which do not stand the dark well, were kept in the light in an atmosphere deprived of carb- onic anhydride ; when plunged in solutions of' glucose or cane sugar, they were completely deprived of asparagine in 10 days. J. M. 13. 11. Diastase. By G. KRABRE ( A m . Agroiz., 17, 381j.-T11e author believes that diastase attacks the starch of mslt, not by gradual per- colation through the entire maw, but by local action. Diastase is not dialysable, and the anthor consitlers its pal-ticles to consist of groups of m~lecules, and chaiiis of group.j too large to pass from one cell to another; it will not even traverse biscuit ware.By P. LESAGE (Cotnpt. rend., 113, 3i3--3iS).--The radish contains little or no starch, even when exiimined in different degrees of development. If watered with solutions of sodium chloride containing 1 to 20 grams per litre, starch appears in the endoderm, and also in some cases i r i the corticdl parenchyma. The results were a s follows :--No starch with pure water. or water containing 1, 2, or 20 grams of salt per lit1 e ; very little starch with 3 and 5 grams per litre ; a little starch with 10 grams per litre ; a considerable quantity with 4 grams pzr l i t r e ; 20 grams of salt per litre kills the plant. I n other cases the maximum amount of starch was fonnd with proportions of salt tiniounting to 5 grams and 10 grams per litre.Oil of Lime Seed. By C. MCELLER (Awn. dgron., 17, 431- 432) -The seeds of Tilin phirtyphylla, or grandifolia ; II'. ulmi;folia, or p~rrvifolia; and !Z'. intewiedia, contain little starch, and about 58 per cent. of oil. It is a yellow, bland oil, resembling the best olive oil, not bitter or aromatic, and non-drying. I t does not become rancid, or resinify on exposure to air. Mixed with sulphuric acid, the liquid becomes de2p brown-red, and the rise in temperatiire is considerable. The oil solidifies under the action of nitric acid and mercury. I t s soda soap crystxllises from alcohol in long, yellow needles. The oil does not solidify a t -21.5". J. M. H. 31. Quantity of Starch in the Tuberzles of the Radish. C. H. B.J. 11. H. M. Earth-nut Meal. Rg A. EMMGRLING (Bied. Centr., 20, 606-607). -The author has :Llrcudy called attention to the adulteration of food with the husks of earth-nuts. Attempts are now being made to introduce the latter. in the form of meal, as a food. The com- mercial product, is a dirty-jellow powder with a slightly bitter taste, and contains sand. It is prepared from the onter covering of the earth-nut,, but contains portions of the skin of the seeds. The ana- Ijsis of six samples gxve the following results :- Cnide Crude Carbo- Crude Minimum., 7.26 3.83 7 64 48.87 1-5-88 3.46 Average . . 7.9.5 10.15 8-23 53.66 16%3 4.11 Maximum . 8.58 14-31 8.97 58.9tj 16 85 5-65 UTatcr. Ash. prote'in. fibre. hydrates. fat. ,VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY AND AGRlCULTURE.93 The digestibility of the prote'ids was determined in two samples :- Total Coeficient of prot ei'ds, Digestibility, digestibilif y, per cent. per cent. per cent. 7.87 4.20 53.3 8-66 4.01 46.3 The name given to the meal is misleading, as it denotes the skin of the seed. whereas it, i s prepared maiIlly from the outer covering, the nutritive value and digestibility of which is less than that, of the skin. N. H. M. Behaviour of Strontium Tartrate with Plastered Wines. By M. SYICA (Guzzetta, 21, ii, 12--19).-When a wine is plastered or treated with plaster of Paris iri order t o preserve it, a certain amount of potassium sulphate goes into solution and may be deleterious to the lrealth of the consumer. nreyfus (&iron. v h i d l e , 1890, 66) has described a method for the i-emoval of the potassium sulphnte, which coiisists in treating th? -v\rine with strontium tartrate.The author gives complete analyses of three samples of wines both before and after treatment witli strontium tartrpte, which dhow that the quantity of potassium sulphate is not sufficiently reduced, as from a third 'to a hrtlf of the salt originally present remains in the wine. The quantiby of hydrogen potassium tartrate in solution is incpeasrd 'from less than 1 gram to betaecll 2 and 3 grams per litre. The.amount of ffree'tartaric acid is COR- siderably'dirniiiished, but the total acidity notably increases and the weight of ash is diminished to abont one-half, whilst a quantity of strontiuni hydrogen tni'trate vaq'ing from half a gram to more ttlall 1 gram per litre goes into solution and may be injurious to health.Tile wine is also rendered somewhdt insipid by the treatment. Presen'ce of Boric Acid in Products of the Soil. W. J. P. By A. GASSEND (Ann. A g r m . , 17, 352-354).-Having bad his attention directed toiaertain samples of wine by the Custom House authorities,' the author hasexamined a great number of sainples of French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, .Algerian, and Corsican wines, and finds boric acid to be a nornial constituent of them all, in the proportion of 5-1r) miliigrains per litre. I n this proportion the ash of 10 C.C. of wine will not give the green flame with alcohol and sulphuric acid, but the boric acid is easily recognised by the turmeric paper test and by the spectroscope. Wheii the spectroscope is employed, the ash should be moistened with l0idrops of pure hydrofluosilicic acid.The author finds similar traces of boric acid in grapes, apples, potatoes, radishes, lettuce, and in some pears, not in all. He does not find it in tea, saffron, or cow's milk. Hotter also has found boric acid in some plailts. J. M. H. &I. Action of Lime as a Manure, With Special regard to Paddy By 0. KELLNEB, H. SAKANO, D. SATO, and S. SHIXJO Fields.94 BUSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PIPERS. Univ. ColZ. Agric. Tokyo B d Z , 9,1891,1-23).-The excefisive amount of lime (11360 kilos. per hectare) npplied to rice in the paddy fields in manly districts of Japan causes injury to the soil and crops. The mineral constituents uf the soil are liable to become cemented together, either a t the surface or a few feet helow, rendering the treatment and cultivation of the soil difficult, for this reason, as well as owing to the consequent staglintion of water on it.Potash and ammonia are, moreover, liberated from the soil and are liahle to he washed away hy the irrigating water ; in fact, complete infertility from over-liming has occurred in several parts. Besides the injurious effect on the soil, both physicially and horn loss of valuable constituents, the crop itself suffers, the stems becoming tnore fragile and the grain acquiring an inferior taste and lustre, and becoming lighter. An examination of several samples of hulled rice (all exceedingly brittle) from different soils showed no great difference in corn position from ordinary hulled rice, grown withoiit l i m e ; but i t pi-oved to be somewhat poor in crude protei'ds.This result was unexpected, as i t was thought that something in the compoGition of the seed, as in the amount, of carbo- hydrates, would throw some light on the action of lime. Lower per- centage of protejids has already been thought to be the reason of the glassy condition of barley and wheat, but this has never been known t o arise from over-liming. Experiments made to ascertain the relation of the hardness of the grain to the percentage of crude protein in tLe dry matter showed tbat the proportion of nitrogenous compounds plays an important part in the resistibility of rice grains to pressure or impact. The brittleness caused by over-limiug, is due to the destruction of nitrogenous matter in the soil by the lime.The mealy condition of the rice may be diminished by early cutting.' The liming of over-limed fields should be stopped and large amounts o f nitrogenous manure applied for the first, year to compensate for the loss of nitrogen ; and tlie manui es should be thoroughly fermented, before being mixed with the soil. Paddy rice prefers ammonia as nitrogenous food, and does not thrive well, as long as it is irrigated, if supplied with nitrates alone. In order to investigate the actinn of lime on soils, experiments were made in which several kilograms of dry and paddy earth, after being dried and mixed, were treated with slaked lime and kept in closed bottles. The dry land soil (containing 200 grams of dry matter) was previously mixed with air-dry soy bcans (containing 10 grams of dry matter) and 50 C.C.of water. The paddy soil w~ similarly treated, but had 300 C.C. of water. The amount of lime added corresponded with 10 grams of CaO. The results, which are given in tables, show that lime accelerates the decomposition of 01'- ganic matter in both dry-land and irrigated soils, and that the action IS much greater in dry land than in irrigated land. Thus, whilst the drj-land soil lost, iii six weekfi, 13.58 per cent. of its organic matter, tlie paddy soil lost only 5-85 per ceiit. ; the same soils, but without the addition of lime, lost respectively 3-24 and 2.21 per cent. of their organic matter. Experiments are next described which were made on the formation of nitricacid and ammonia from nitrogenous manures in dry-land and-VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE.9 5 paddy soils. was as follows :- The percentage cmiposition of the partly dried soils Hypo- Hamiis and scopic combined Total Nitric Organic water. water. nitrogen. acid. Ammonia. nitrogen. Drycland soil.. 41.12 14-06 0.231 0.098 0.009 0.198 Paddy soil . . . . 42.12 21-61 0.4S5 0,048 0.024 0.418 Glass jars were filled with the soils (1400-1600 grams), which were only so far dried as not to destroy the micro-organisms contained in them. The soils were manured with ammonium sulphate, fish inttnure, and in some cases with calcium carbonate, and the jars then taken to the respective fields, where they were let into the ground ; the paddy soil was watered with distilled water, the level of which was kept about 2 cm.above the surface of the soil. It was found that in dry-land soil the nitrogenous manures were quickly converted into nitric acid, whilst nitrification did not take place in the irripited paddy soil, in which ammonia seemq to be amonq the principal pro- d u d s of the decompoqi tion of the nitrogenous organic manure. The applicat,ion of lime distinctly favours, on the one liand, nitrification i n the dry land, and, on the other hand, the formation of ammonia in the paddy soil. The fact that nitrification does not take place in paddy soils was observed by Kellner and Sawano in 1832 (Abstr., 1884, 674 ; vompare Bmrnann, Abstr., 1887, 82, and Muntn, Abstr., 1890, 1183). Many organic and inorganic constituents of soils have the power of retaining ammonia, rind protect it very well from being washed away, Init lime (as oxide or hydroxide) will disperse the ammonia, and may thus give rise to considerable loss of nitrogen.The action o f lime on the phosphates in the two soils was next in- vestigated. The first soil wris taken from the surface of the paddy field ; the other was from the subsoil of a dry-land field. Bottles were filled with the soils (10 grams each) Containing 0.0, 0 25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 per cent. of quicklime. Each bottle received 20 C.C. o€ water, and two weeks later a solution of potassium dihrdrogen phoqphate (containing 0.0.5 gram of phosphoric acid) was added t o each bottle. The first set of soils examined one mont'h after the application of. the phosphate showed. that in the paddy soil only 12.7 per cent.of tho phosphoric acid remained in the soluble form, and that the addition of lime was decidedly henr?.fic:iaI, the maximum effect bein? obtained with an application of 1 to 2.5 per cent., the amount of soluble phos- phate beicg in both these cases 22.6 per cent. of the total phosphate added. After two months, there was still more soluble phosphate (27.2 per cent.) in t8he soil which had 2.5 per cent. of lime. This. slight after-effect is attributed to the action of calcium hydrogen carbonate on ferric phosphate, converting a part of it into free ferric hydroxide and calcium phosphate. This view is verified by direct experiments with ferric phosphate and lime-water saturated with carbonic anhydride. The beneficial egect of lime was not obseryed i n the case of the dry-field subsoil, and inasmuch as the two soils have the same geological origin there is nG doubt that the humus of the paddy soil9 l; ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.played an important part in bringing about the action of lime on superphosphates. With regud to the frequent application of large amoniits of lime it is shown that the exhaustive action of lime is not confined to nitrogen and potash but also favours the consumption of the phos- phatic ingredients of the soil by the crops. The Value of Animal DBbris as Nitrogenous Dressing. By A. M ~ N T Z and A. C. GIRARD (Compf. Tend., 112, 1458-1460).- Nitrogenous materials require that their nitrogen be transformed into the state of nitrate before plants can avail themselves of them as aliment).Hence the aptitude of organic manures to undergo nitrifica- tion under the influence of organisms present in the soil may be taken as a measure of their activity as dressings. KO practical value can be assigned to the ordinary laboratory methods of comparing the relative values of animal mnnnres. A numher of substances hnve been compared 5.y the authors by ascertaining the proportion of nitrate formed i n ft given time by in- trodncing quantities of the substances containing an equivalent amount of nitrogen into a, nitrifying soil and maintaining the same conditions in each case. Commercial manures may be divided into three classes: the first, undergoing nitritication rapidly, comprises dried blood, dried flesh, horn refuse, and guano : these substances are nearly as active, and have nearly the same effect on the crop, a s t h e mineral manures, sodium nitrate and ammonium ~ulphate ; the second comprises burnt leather, woollen waste, and dried night, soil, of which the nitrification is slower; these consequently do not give their whole effect in one season.but have some influence on the followinq crop ; the third includes unburnt leather waste, the nitrification of which is so slow that the yield of the crop is not sensibly augmented. This classification has been confirmed by careful practical agri- cultural experiments. With manures ot’ the first class, 60 per cent. of the nitrogen has been utilised in two years; with those of t h e second class, 40 per cent. ; and with that in the third class, 20 per cent.only. The unburnt leather refuse should only be used in compost heaps, as its nitrification proceeds too slowly for it to be directly available €or the crops. The unit of weight of nitrogen often costs more when purchased as organic manure than when obtained as saline manures ; i t would be more logical to pay the higher price for it in the latter case, as it could then be immediately 11 tilised, and its applicaf ion regnlated according to the needs of the crops. N. €3. M. W. T.90 ABSTRACTS OF UHEMIOAL PAPERF.Chemistry of Vegetable Physiology and Agriculture.A Bacterium which Ferments Starch and Produces Amy1Alcohol. By L. PERDHIX (Clzem Centr., 1891, ii, 252-253 ; fromAun. Ir8st. Pasteur, 1891, No. 5).-The author has separated fromParis water a bacillns, B.arnylozylnzicus, which ferments starch, withproduction of amyl alcohol. It is separated by cultivation on pota-toes, and finally on gelatin. The bacillus is 2-3 p long, and 0.5 pthick; the rods are joined i n pairs and chains, and in the absenceof oxygen are motile, like Vibrio bufyricus, Pusteur. The rodsare readily stained ; the spores are set free through the dissolution ofthe walls of the mother cell. The bacillus flourishes only in theabsence of oxygen, readily, however, either in a vacuum or in hgdro-gen, nitrogen, or carbonic anbydride. The optimum temperature is3.5" ; i t grows quite well at 20-25" ; at 16-17", fermenthtion com-mences a t the end of four days. Its "maximum" temperature is42-43'. It will grow in all the usual cultivating media, fermentsthe sugars and starch, but does not attack cellulcse o r calciumlactate, differing in t h i s respect from Vibrio butpicus, Pasteur, Acidsare produced during the fermentations which it, causes, and the presenceof acidity, equivalent to 0.055 gram sulphuriu anhydride, or ofVEOETBBLE PHYSIOLOGY ASD AGRICULTURE.91nlkali equivalent to 0.08-0.11 gram in 100 c.c., is suficient to arrestthe process ; the addition of ca.lcium carbonate to the liquid enablesthe fermentation to become perfect. Glucose ferments to hjdrogen,carbonic anhydride, acetic and butyric acids during the first threedpys ; from the third t o the ninth day, no acetic acid is forined. Fromsaccharose and lactose, acetic acid is formed during the first five days.The greater the amount of oxygen present, the more acetic acid isproduced; it was also observed that a t the time of t.he butyric acidformation, all the cells coiitained spores.From the fei5mentation ofstarch a distillate was obtained, of which one-third was amyl alcohol,and from 100 grams of potatoes, 2-3-2.5 C.C. of alcohols were sepa-rated. The sugar obtained from starch is vr1.y siiiiilar to glucose,but has a less imotatory action, and its phenylglucosazone mvlts 10"lower tlian that from glucose ; 94 per cent. of the starch is coiivertedinto sugar, carbonic anh;pdride, ethyl and amyl alcohols, acetic andbutJyric acids, arid 6 per. cent. is coiiverted into dextriii. The sngzrformed by the bacillus from starch may be fermented perfectly wlthbeer-yeast, either after sterilisation, or in the presence of the bacillus.If either the sugar obtained by fermentation of starch with thisbacillus, or a stei.ilised mash, be fermented with a pum cultivation ofyeast, no f'usel oil is formed, and the autlior concludes that the fuse1 oilfound in commercially prepared alcohol, is tormed by the action ofbacteria.The 8. urripZozyrriictis remains uninjured f u r 10 days a t30-5.5". J. W. Ti.Action of the Bacillus of Malgnant CEdema on Carbo-hydrates, and on Lactic Acid. By 8. KERRY and S. FKAENKEL(Momtsh., 12, 350-355 ; compare Abstr., 18W, 1454).-When lacticacid, in the form of its calcium salt, is dissolved in bouillon containingpeptone and Kernmerich's meat extract, and the solution, placed inan atmosphere of hydrogen, is inoculated wit8h the bacillus of malig-nant cedenia, fermentation occurs.After remaiiiing 8-10 days, thesolution contains props1 alcohol and formic: and butyric acids, but noethyl alcohol.Milk sugar, cane sugar, and starch, in presence of substances con-taining the materials necessary for building up the organism, are i l l 1fermentable by the bacillus, and yield variable quantities of butjric,formic, and inactive lactic acids, and ethyl alcohol. The formation ofthe last-named pyociuct on long-contiuiied anaiirohic fermentatioiiof the carbohydrates is most probably to be ascribed to a furtherchange induced in the propjl alcohol derived from the lactic acid.The authors have succeeded in fermenting the wood pulp obtainedfrom fir, and have recognised the presence of volatile alcohols andfixed acids in the product; all attempts to induce decomposition iiipure cellulose have, however, led to negative results.Influence of Carbohydrates on the Accumulation of Aspara.gine in Plants.By MOSTBFERDE (Ann. Agrm., 17, 376-377j.-Branches of lilac, plunged in distilled water, mid i n 4 per cent. solutionof glycerol, and kept, in the dark, contained abundance of aspartiginea t the end of 15 days, but neither starch nor mannitol. Branches ofG. T. M92 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.the same plant kept iu solutions of glucose, cane sugar, or mannitolformed no asparagine in a month, but contained much starch andmannitol. Peas, vetches.and monkshood, which do not stand thedark well, were kept in the light in an atmosphere deprived of carb-onic anhydride ; when plunged in solutions of' glucose or cane sugar,they were completely deprived of asparagine in 10 days.J. M. 13. 11.Diastase. By G. KRABRE ( A m . Agroiz., 17, 381j.-T11e authorbelieves that diastase attacks the starch of mslt, not by gradual per-colation through the entire maw, but by local action. Diastase is notdialysable, and the anthor consitlers its pal-ticles to consist of groupsof m~lecules, and chaiiis of group.j too large to pass from one cell toanother; it will not even traverse biscuit ware.By P.LESAGE (Cotnpt. rend., 113, 3i3--3iS).--The radish contains little orno starch, even when exiimined in different degrees of development.If watered with solutions of sodium chloride containing 1 to 20 gramsper litre, starch appears in the endoderm, and also in some cases i r ithe corticdl parenchyma.The results were a s follows :--No starchwith pure water. or water containing 1, 2, or 20 grams of saltper lit1 e ; very little starch with 3 and 5 grams per litre ; a little starchwith 10 grams per litre ; a considerable quantity with 4 grams pzrl i t r e ; 20 grams of salt per litre kills the plant. I n other cases themaximum amount of starch was fonnd with proportions of salttiniounting to 5 grams and 10 grams per litre.Oil of Lime Seed. By C. MCELLER (Awn. dgron., 17, 431-432) -The seeds of Tilin phirtyphylla, or grandifolia ; II'. ulmi;folia, orp~rrvifolia; and !Z'.intewiedia, contain little starch, and about 58 percent. of oil. It is a yellow, bland oil, resembling the best olive oil,not bitter or aromatic, and non-drying. I t does not become rancid,or resinify on exposure to air. Mixed with sulphuric acid, the liquidbecomes de2p brown-red, and the rise in temperatiire is considerable.The oil solidifies under the action of nitric acid and mercury. I t ssoda soap crystxllises from alcohol in long, yellow needles. The oildoes not solidify a t -21.5".J. M. H. 31.Quantity of Starch in the Tuberzles of the Radish.C. H. B.J. 11. H. M.Earth-nut Meal. Rg A. EMMGRLING (Bied. Centr., 20, 606-607).-The author has :Llrcudy called attention to the adulteration offood with the husks of earth-nuts.Attempts are now being madeto introduce the latter. in the form of meal, as a food. The com-mercial product, is a dirty-jellow powder with a slightly bitter taste,and contains sand. It is prepared from the onter covering of theearth-nut,, but contains portions of the skin of the seeds. The ana-Ijsis of six samples gxve the following results :-Cnide Crude Carbo- CrudeMinimum., 7.26 3.83 7 64 48.87 1-5-88 3.46Average . . 7.9.5 10.15 8-23 53.66 16%3 4.11Maximum . 8.58 14-31 8.97 58.9tj 16 85 5-65UTatcr. Ash. prote'in. fibre. hydrates. fat. VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY AND AGRlCULTURE. 93The digestibility of the prote'ids was determined in two samples :-Total Coeficient ofprot ei'ds, Digestibility, digestibilif y,per cent. per cent.per cent.7.87 4.20 53.38-66 4.01 46.3The name given to the meal is misleading, as it denotes the skinof the seed. whereas it, i s prepared maiIlly from the outer covering,the nutritive value and digestibility of which is less than that, of theskin. N. H. M.Behaviour of Strontium Tartrate with Plastered Wines.By M. SYICA (Guzzetta, 21, ii, 12--19).-When a wine is plastered ortreated with plaster of Paris iri order t o preserve it, a certain amountof potassium sulphate goes into solution and may be deleterious to thelrealth of the consumer.nreyfus (&iron. v h i d l e , 1890, 66) has described a method for thei-emoval of the potassium sulphnte, which coiisists in treating th?-v\rine with strontium tartrate. The author gives complete analyses ofthree samples of wines both before and after treatment witli strontiumtartrpte, which dhow that the quantity of potassium sulphate is notsufficiently reduced, as from a third 'to a hrtlf of the salt originallypresent remains in the wine.The quantiby of hydrogen potassiumtartrate in solution is incpeasrd 'from less than 1 gram to betaecll2 and 3 grams per litre. The.amount of ffree'tartaric acid is COR-siderably'dirniiiished, but the total acidity notably increases and theweight of ash is diminished to abont one-half, whilst a quantity ofstrontiuni hydrogen tni'trate vaq'ing from half a gram to more ttlall1 gram per litre goes into solution and may be injurious to health.Tile wine is also rendered somewhdt insipid by the treatment.Presen'ce of Boric Acid in Products of the Soil.W.J. P.By A.GASSEND (Ann. A g r m . , 17, 352-354).-Having bad his attentiondirected toiaertain samples of wine by the Custom House authorities,'the author hasexamined a great number of sainples of French, Greek,Italian, Spanish, .Algerian, and Corsican wines, and finds boric acidto be a nornial constituent of them all, in the proportion of 5-1r)miliigrains per litre. I n this proportion the ash of 10 C.C. of wine willnot give the green flame with alcohol and sulphuric acid, but theboric acid is easily recognised by the turmeric paper test and by thespectroscope. Wheii the spectroscope is employed, the ash should bemoistened with l0idrops of pure hydrofluosilicic acid. The authorfinds similar traces of boric acid in grapes, apples, potatoes, radishes,lettuce, and in some pears, not in all.He does not find it in tea,saffron, or cow's milk. Hotter also has found boric acid in someplailts. J. M. H. &I.Action of Lime as a Manure, With Special regard to PaddyBy 0. KELLNEB, H. SAKANO, D. SATO, and S. SHIXJO Fields94 BUSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PIPERS.Univ. ColZ. Agric. Tokyo B d Z , 9,1891,1-23).-The excefisive amountof lime (11360 kilos. per hectare) npplied to rice in the paddy fieldsin manly districts of Japan causes injury to the soil and crops. Themineral constituents uf the soil are liable to become cemented together,either a t the surface or a few feet helow, rendering the treatment andcultivation of the soil difficult, for this reason, as well as owing to theconsequent staglintion of water on it.Potash and ammonia are,moreover, liberated from the soil and are liahle to he washed awayhy the irrigating water ; in fact, complete infertility from over-liminghas occurred in several parts. Besides the injurious effect on the soil,both physicially and horn loss of valuable constituents, the crop itselfsuffers, the stems becoming tnore fragile and the grain acquiring aninferior taste and lustre, and becoming lighter. An examination ofseveral samples of hulled rice (all exceedingly brittle) from differentsoils showed no great difference in corn position from ordinary hulledrice, grown withoiit l i m e ; but i t pi-oved to be somewhat poor incrude protei'ds. This result was unexpected, as i t was thought thatsomething in the compoGition of the seed, as in the amount, of carbo-hydrates, would throw some light on the action of lime.Lower per-centage of protejids has already been thought to be the reason of theglassy condition of barley and wheat, but this has never been knownt o arise from over-liming. Experiments made to ascertain the relationof the hardness of the grain to the percentage of crude protein in tLedry matter showed tbat the proportion of nitrogenous compoundsplays an important part in the resistibility of rice grains to pressureor impact. The brittleness caused by over-limiug, is due to thedestruction of nitrogenous matter in the soil by the lime. Themealy condition of the rice may be diminished by early cutting.'The liming of over-limed fields should be stopped and large amountso f nitrogenous manure applied for the first, year to compensate for theloss of nitrogen ; and tlie manui es should be thoroughly fermented,before being mixed with the soil.Paddy rice prefers ammonia asnitrogenous food, and does not thrive well, as long as it is irrigated,if supplied with nitrates alone.In order to investigate the actinn of lime on soils, experiments weremade in which several kilograms of dry and paddy earth, afterbeing dried and mixed, were treated with slaked lime and kept inclosed bottles. The dry land soil (containing 200 grams of drymatter) was previously mixed with air-dry soy bcans (containing10 grams of dry matter) and 50 C.C.of water. The paddy soil w~similarly treated, but had 300 C.C. of water. The amount of limeadded corresponded with 10 grams of CaO. The results, which aregiven in tables, show that lime accelerates the decomposition of 01'-ganic matter in both dry-land and irrigated soils, and that the actionIS much greater in dry land than in irrigated land. Thus, whilst thedrj-land soil lost, iii six weekfi, 13.58 per cent. of its organic matter,tlie paddy soil lost only 5-85 per ceiit. ; the same soils, but withoutthe addition of lime, lost respectively 3-24 and 2.21 per cent. of theirorganic matter.Experiments are next described which were made on the formationof nitricacid and ammonia from nitrogenous manures in dry-land andVEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE.9 5paddy soils.was as follows :-The percentage cmiposition of the partly dried soilsHypo- Hamiis andscopic combined Total Nitric Organicwater. water. nitrogen. acid. Ammonia. nitrogen.Drycland soil.. 41.12 14-06 0.231 0.098 0.009 0.198Paddy soil . . . . 42.12 21-61 0.4S5 0,048 0.024 0.418Glass jars were filled with the soils (1400-1600 grams), which wereonly so far dried as not to destroy the micro-organisms contained inthem. The soils were manured with ammonium sulphate, fishinttnure, and in some cases with calcium carbonate, and the jars thentaken to the respective fields, where they were let into the ground ;the paddy soil was watered with distilled water, the level of which waskept about 2 cm. above the surface of the soil.It was found that indry-land soil the nitrogenous manures were quickly converted intonitric acid, whilst nitrification did not take place in the irripitedpaddy soil, in which ammonia seemq to be amonq the principal pro-d u d s of the decompoqi tion of the nitrogenous organic manure. Theapplicat,ion of lime distinctly favours, on the one liand, nitrification i nthe dry land, and, on the other hand, the formation of ammonia in thepaddy soil. The fact that nitrification does not take place in paddysoils was observed by Kellner and Sawano in 1832 (Abstr., 1884, 674 ;vompare Bmrnann, Abstr., 1887, 82, and Muntn, Abstr., 1890, 1183).Many organic and inorganic constituents of soils have the power ofretaining ammonia, rind protect it very well from being washed away,Init lime (as oxide or hydroxide) will disperse the ammonia, and maythus give rise to considerable loss of nitrogen.The action o f lime on the phosphates in the two soils was next in-vestigated. The first soil wris taken from the surface of the paddyfield ; the other was from the subsoil of a dry-land field.Bottles werefilled with the soils (10 grams each) Containing 0.0, 0 25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5,and 5.0 per cent. of quicklime. Each bottle received 20 C.C. o€ water,and two weeks later a solution of potassium dihrdrogen phoqphate(containing 0.0.5 gram of phosphoric acid) was added t o each bottle.The first set of soils examined one mont'h after the application of. thephosphate showed. that in the paddy soil only 12.7 per cent.of thophosphoric acid remained in the soluble form, and that the additionof lime was decidedly henr?.fic:iaI, the maximum effect bein? obtainedwith an application of 1 to 2.5 per cent., the amount of soluble phos-phate beicg in both these cases 22.6 per cent. of the total phosphateadded. After two months, there was still more soluble phosphate(27.2 per cent.) in t8he soil which had 2.5 per cent. of lime. This.slight after-effect is attributed to the action of calcium hydrogencarbonate on ferric phosphate, converting a part of it into free ferrichydroxide and calcium phosphate. This view is verified by directexperiments with ferric phosphate and lime-water saturated withcarbonic anhydride.The beneficial egect of lime was not obseryed i n the case of thedry-field subsoil, and inasmuch as the two soils have the samegeological origin there is nG doubt that the humus of the paddy soi9 l; ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.played an important part in bringing about the action of lime onsuperphosphates.With regud to the frequent application of large amoniits of limeit is shown that the exhaustive action of lime is not confined tonitrogen and potash but also favours the consumption of the phos-phatic ingredients of the soil by the crops.The Value of Animal DBbris as Nitrogenous Dressing.ByA. M ~ N T Z and A. C. GIRARD (Compf. Tend., 112, 1458-1460).-Nitrogenous materials require that their nitrogen be transformed intothe state of nitrate before plants can avail themselves of them asaliment). Hence the aptitude of organic manures to undergo nitrifica-tion under the influence of organisms present in the soil may be takenas a measure of their activity as dressings. KO practical value canbe assigned to the ordinary laboratory methods of comparing therelative values of animal mnnnres.A numher of substances hnve been compared 5.y the authors byascertaining the proportion of nitrate formed i n ft given time by in-trodncing quantities of the substances containing an equivalentamount of nitrogen into a, nitrifying soil and maintaining the sameconditions in each case.Commercial manures may be divided into three classes: the first,undergoing nitritication rapidly, comprises dried blood, dried flesh,horn refuse, and guano : these substances are nearly as active, andhave nearly the same effect on the crop, a s t h e mineral manures,sodium nitrate and ammonium ~ulphate ; the second comprises burntleather, woollen waste, and dried night, soil, of which the nitrificationis slower; these consequently do not give their whole effect inone season. but have some influence on the followinq crop ; the thirdincludes unburnt leather waste, the nitrification of which is so slowthat the yield of the crop is not sensibly augmented.This classification has been confirmed by careful practical agri-cultural experiments. With manures ot’ the first class, 60 per cent.of the nitrogen has been utilised in two years; with those of t h esecond class, 40 per cent. ; and with that in the third class, 20 per cent.only. The unburnt leather refuse should only be used in compostheaps, as its nitrification proceeds too slowly for it to be directlyavailable €or the crops.The unit of weight of nitrogen often costs more when purchased asorganic manure than when obtained as saline manures ; i t would bemore logical to pay the higher price for it in the latter case, as itcould then be immediately 11 tilised, and its applicaf ion regnlatedaccording to the needs of the crops.N. €3. M.W. T