ABSTRACTS OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY. No. 17. Session 1885-86. February 4th, 1886. Dr. Hugo Muller, F.R.S., President, in the Chair. Messra. Robert G. Cristopher, George E. R. Ellis and E. E. H. Thorne were formally admitted E’ellows of the Society. Certificates were read for the first time in favour of Messrs. James Henry Allan, 6, St. Chrysostom Street, Liverpool ; Leopold Mande- ville Deane, 52, Elswick Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne ; Preo Loll Day, 4, Bradon Street, Calcutta ; James Arthur Formoy, 12, Railway Approach, London Bridge ; Edward Willmore, 69, Lichfield Road, Bow, London, E. The following note was read : 12. “The Chemical Formula for Wool Keratine.” By Edmund J. Mills, D.Sc., F.R.S. In the last number of these Proceedings, Mr.Whitely points out in Abstract No. 10 that Mills and Takamine gave (Chem. Xoc. Trans., 1883, 142) a necessarily wrong formula for wool, their calculation having been based on data in Gmelin’s Handbook, 18,351,where H is misprinted for N. Mr. Whitely then deduces from the corrected results the formula CalH71N12S011. I wish to point out in the first place that, in the paper by myself and Takamine, the formula of wool was merely an incident, the main object being to give an account of the absorption of weak reagents by cotton, silk and wool. In the second place, I myself noticed the mis- print in Gmelin’s Handbook as long ago as last May (Journ. SOC.Cham. Ind., 1885, 328) and calculated out for wool the corrected formula C39H65NllS013,which agrees well with the results of its destructive distillat ion. 148 A lecture was delivered on- 13.‘‘Methods of bacteriological research from a biologist’s point of view.” By Dr. Kleirr, F.R.S. The object of the lecture was to bring before the Chemical Society the methods used at present by pathologists in the investigations of micro-organisms associated with disease. These methods, thanks to the investigations of Koch, are greatly in advance of those hitherto employed by chemists in the investigation of the activity of bacteria. The enormous amount of work that has been done by chemists since the memorable investigations of Pasteur on fermentation and putre- faction, if viewed in the light of the modern bacteriological methods, is in a gyeat measure unsatisfactory and imperfect, more so than will be conceded by chemists.This unsatisfactory state is chiefly due to the imperfect methods employed. Specific chemical action is ascribed to certain organisms, because these were found present in the sub-stances examined, no regard being paid as to whether these organisms were alone active or whether they were only concomitant and depend- mt on the activiky of others. Numbers of instances can be adduced to prove this : amongst them may be mentioned the assertions that alcoholic fermentation is pro- duced by Mucor racemos‘zcs, and also by a bacillus besides saccharo- myces ;that the ammoniacal fermentation of urine is due to a bacillus ; that the lactic acid fermentation is due to a micrococcus amd also to a bacillus.To determine whether a definite chemical process is produced by a definite organism, and which, it is necessary to prove-(1) that the substances to be acted upon are at the outset free of any accidental organimns; (2) that the particular organism to which the definite chemical activity is ascribed is the only one concerned in this process. The methods used must fulfil these elementary conditions, that is to say :-(1) the materials used must be sterile at the outset, and protected from accidental contamination ; (2) the specific organism must be obtained in pure cultivations, and this pnrified organism must be capabb of producing the specific chemical change. Viewed in this light few of the assertions hitherto made bear eriticism.As one of the most striking instances, it may be men-tioned, that notwithstanding the enormous amount of knowledge gained by chemical research into the changes of proteid bodies during putrefaction, there is no reliable answer yet given to the questions-Which organism or organisms are concerned in this corn- plex process ? Which part of the process is due to which organism ? Is the analytical process by which proteids are carried down to relatively simple nitrogenous principles done by one or more organisms and bF 149 which ? Is the production of the alkaloids kriown as ptomaines due to the same organism, or organisms which started the process of putre- faction ? Another equally important series of investigations refers to the process of nitrification; here also no definite answer can be given.So also the chemical chariges due to the growth of moulds are wait- ing for investigation, When chemical research begins to adopt such methods as are employed by pathologists, but not till then, its results will be un-equivocal. The methods used for sterilising materials, for studying and recog- nising the morphological characters of organisms, for obtaining pure cultivations, and for inoculating nutritive materials with them were then minutely described. DISCUSSION. Prof. FRANKLAND,after dwelling on the importance of intercourse between biologists and chemists, said that he must plead guilty to the charge of having neglected precautions now known to be necessary when making his experiments on the fermentation of urine; he could, however, urge that there were extenuating cir-cumstances, as the experiments were carried out 10 years ago when the necessity of such precautions being taken was not yet realised.He did not contend that the vibrios observed by him were the sole agents, but they were for days apparently almost exclusively present. It appeared to him that a. point of primary importance brought forward by Dr. Klein was the fact that certain pathogenic organisms only develop at a relatively high temperature. It was probable that in the future the study of the chemical effects of organisms would be of greater service even than that of morphological characters as a means of differentiating various organisms.As regards Mucor race-mosus, the statements in his paper were derived from the published researches of Dr. James Bell. Mr. WARINGTONdescribed the conditions under which his experi- ments on nitrification were made. The solutions contained a very small proportion of nutritive matter, and the action was extremely elow : a€ter three or four days a slight turbidity was observed, but nitrification did not set in until aftter about one month. He had made four or five successive cultivations, more being impossible by reason of the slowness of the action. Dr. PERCY said that, as Dr. Klein had properly stated, FRANKLAND he had not asserted that the number of organisms found present on his plates was the number of organisms present in the water examined.150 His experiments were made not so much with the object of discovering pathogenic organisms, but in order to study what took place in the ordiuary processes of water purification. Of all known media, he thought that none was so universally applicable to the cultivation of micro-organisms as gelatin-peptone. The danger from air contami- nation was perhaps overrated. To illustrate how very slight is the contamination, he had recently exhibited a series of 12 plates put up with sterilised water, and of these only one had a growth upon it. He had recently made experiments with air confirming Hesse’s observations, having found only 10 organisms in 20 litres-this, however, being in snowy weather.He had also made experiments on the number of organisms which fell upon a plate of gelatin such as was employed when working according to Koch’s directions, and had found about two per minute. He thought that the experiments on fermentative action hitherto made were worthless from neglect of the precaution to employ pure cnl tivations. Dr. ARMSTRONGsaid that it undoubtcdly was most important that the iiecessity of using pure cultivations should be impressed upon the chemist, but the work hitherto done in this field, far from being worthless as Dr. Percy Frankland had stated, was absolutely of almost as great value as if pure organisms had heen dealt with. In most cases of putrefactive change the products were very numerous, their separation and identification was excessively difficulk, and in not a few instances they were new to the chemist. Until the chemical methods of examining such products had been perfected, it was use- less to incur the great labour involved in obtaining pure cultivations on a sufficient scale.This had been clearly recognised by most of the recent workers on the subject. Mr. EKINinquired if the organisms present in water might not play the part of useful scavengers. Evidence of this would, he believed, ere long be forthcoming. Dr. THUDICHUMobserved that the biologist working with impure ferments could be compared t’othe chemist employing impure reagents. The results of the life of microzymes were to a large extent chemical, as was known from ordinary fermentation ; this was equally true of ferments which caused diseases.Thus in splenic fever, which he had investigated on a farm in Leicestershire, where it was endemic, he had found all hEmochrom tlransformed into methaamoglobin, and the spleen filled with crystals of albuminous decomposition products. In cholera a poison was formed by the bacilli which affected the muscles, and by fluidifying the colloids caused sinking of temperature, or the algid stage. In all diseases, however, the presence of bacilli, as in all fermentations, led to the evolution of heat, which with its atteiidant symptoms was termed fever. Fever heat had two sources, one was increased combustion, another the liberation of laterit or atomic heat, which was peculiar to the bioplasm.Now this liberation of atomic heat under the influence of the bacilli or their products led to a remarkable consequence, namely, a contraction of the atomic volume of tho bioplasm; and when the tissues had attained the smallest atomic volume compatible with their function, bacilli could no longer live or thrive in them ; the contracted bioplasm had attained to the state of immunity from the bacilli and their products. This state of immunity was attained through the action not only of specific bacilli, but also of their modification called vaccines, He agreed with Dr. Armstrong in two particulars concerning the chemical treatment oE questions connected with bacilli. The fermentations might be studied with impure ferments, provided the processes were on a large scale, and a, recognisable particular ferment prevailed.All possible decom- position products might be investigated first, and then the results of fermentations with pure ferments, or pure cultivations of bacilli would be much easier of discovery. In particular, as a pathologist, he was quite certain that investigations of a chemical kind on the changes effected by microzymes in the compositi6n of animal tissues and fluids would not be adequately successful before the entire chemistry of these substances and all their decomposition products was completely known. The PRESIDENTasked Dr. Klein whether the statement had been confirmed that B. amy Zobacter loses its specific character by cultivation in oxygenated media, and when its spores are heated. Dr.KLEIN, in reply, said that he agreed with Prof, Frankland that the chemical aspect of the problem was the important one to study in the future; at present it was entirely unknown how the diseases associated with the presence of anthrax or the tubercle bacillus, for example, were produced. Light had in most cases a deleterious influence on the growth of bacteria; but some live only in light, and it had been stated that the so-called Bacterium photometricurn lived only when exposed to a definite part of the spectrum. Dr. Percy Frankland had somewhat misunderstood him : he certainly thought that tho gelatin method was the most useful one to employ in determining the number of bacteria in two given specimens of water.But he did not agree that gelatinhpeptone was the most universally applicable medium ; several organisms would grow in agar-agar, but not in gelatin, and blood serum was certainly better-indeed he did not know any organism which would not grow in it. As regards the struggle between organisms, there were cases known of non-pathogenic causing the destruction of pathogenic organisms present along with them. With reference to the employment of pure cultivations, what he had desired to point out was that the atatements that certain 152 chemical changes were brought about by certain organisms were based upon insufficient evidence-he wanted to have them placed beyond question by the use of pure cultivations.Changes such as were referred to by the President certainly took place ; t,huR Pasteur had found it possible to alter the functions of the Bacillus anthracis. ADDITIONS TO THE LIRRIARY. I. Donations. On the Spectra of the Gases and Vapours evolved on heating Iron and other Metals, with Photographs and Map of Spectra : by J. Parry : Pontypool, 1885, from the Author. II. By Purchase. Lehrhuch der Anorganischen Chemie : von V. Richter : 5te lieu bearbeitite Auflage : Bonn, 1886. Mikroskopische Physiographie der Mineralien und Gesteine : voii H. Rosenbusch : 2te ganzlich umgearbetite Auflage : Band I: die petrographisch wichtigen Mineralien : Stuttgart, 1885. Lehrbuch der Agi-icultnrchemie in vierzig Vorlesungen : von A. Nayer : 3te Auflage : Band I, eiYste Halfte ; Band 11,erste Hlilfte : Heidelberg, 1885. At the next meeting on February 18th, there will be a Ballot for the Election of Fellows, and the following papers will be read :-“ On the Constitution of Undecylenic Acid, as indicated by its Magnetic Rotation ; and on the Magnetic Rotation, &c., of Allylacetic Acids and Ethylic Diallylmalonate.” By W, H. Perkin, F.R.S. “On Reactions supposed to yield Nitrosyl Chloride.” By W. Collingwood Williams, B.Sc. ‘‘On the Condition in which Silicon exists in Cast Iron.” By A. E. Jordan and T. Turner. EARBISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IK ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY, ST. MARTIN’S LANE.