On the Design of Railway Wagons for the Carriage of Perishable Foods." Special Report No.

Board.*

I of the Food Investigation

The Literature of Refrigeration." Special Report No. 2 of the Food Investigation Board.*

ranklin Kidd, "Laboratory Experiments on the Sprouting of Potatoes in Various Gas Mixtures," New Phytologist, 1919, xviii., No. 8. Muriel Wheldale Onslow, "Oxidising Enzymes," Biochemical Journal, 1919, xiii., No. 1. Dorothy Haynes, "Electrical Conductivity as a Measure of the Content of Electrolytes of Vegetable Saps," Biochemical Journal, 1919,

xiii., III. Dorothy Haynes and Hilda M. Judd, "The Effect of Methods of Extraction on the Composition of Expressed Apple Juice and the Determination of the Sampling Error of such Juices," Biochemical Journal, 1919, xiii., 272. Hilda M. Judd, 'Iodometric Estimation

of

Sugars," Biochemical Journal, 1920, xiv., 255. S. B. Schryver and C. C. Wood, "A New Method for the Estimation of Methyl Alcohol," The Analyst, 1920, xlv., 164.

"Direct Replacement of Glycerol in Fats by Higher Polyhydric Alcohols" :

Part I., Lapworth and Pearson, Biochem.
Journal, 1919, xiii., 297.

Part II., Halliburton, Drummond, and
Cannan, ibid., 1919, 301.

I. Smedley Maclean and E. Thomas, "The Nature of Yeast Fat," Biochemical Journal, 1920, xiv., 483.

W. G. Savage, M.D., "The Methods used for the Inspection of Canned Foods and their Reliability for this purpose." Special Report No. 3 of the Food Investigation Board. (In the Press). + "An Investigation of the Methods Employed for Cooking Vegetables, with Special Reference to the Losses Incurred" :

Part I., Helen Masters, Biochemical Jour., 1918, xii., 231.

Part II., Helen Masters and Phyllis Garbutt, ibid, 1920, xiv.

PRODUCTION OF

GLYCERIN FROM SUGAR.

was

AT the beginning of the war, Germany "swimming in sugar," to use a newspaper expression. Production had been greater than ever; large quantities left from the previous years were still available; and exportation had stopped. One of the ten "war commandments" set forth on bills posted in all railway stations, advised the people: "Use plenty of sugar with your meals; sugar is an excellent food." Certain measures of the Government, however, soon made it impossible for the people to follow that advice, and sugar became scarce in the market, although it was known that stocks were plentiful, for the production of the 1913-14 crop had yielded 2,715,870 metric tons of sugar. Germany had been the lead sugar-producing country of Europe, and yet

*To be obtained from His Majesty's Stationery Office.

+To be obtained (when published) from His Majesty's Stationery

Office.

the people suffered from scarcity of sugar during the war, and were compelled to use honey and saccharin as substitutes. It was supposed that owing to the shortage of fats the Government was trying to conserve the stocks of sugar. However, according to a memorandum prepared by the Research Division of the United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, it now appears that large quantities of sugar which had been withdrawn from human consumption were used in the manufacture of glycerin for war purposes. The consumption of glycerin in the manufacture of cosmetics and for other purposes, chiefly in the manufacture of explosives, increased enormously during the war, while the supply of the raw materials-fats-was constantly diminishing, It was therefore, necessary to seek other sources, and sugar was selected, as its chemical structure is somewhat similar to that of glycerin. The transformation of sugar into glycerine was accomplished by the biochemical method. It had been known for a long time that in the ordinary fermentation of sugar with yeast small quantities of glycerin would be produced, amounting to about 3 per cent of the sugar. By adding alkalis to the liquid in fermentation the production of glycerin was increased. It was found that almost any salt with an alkaline reaction could be used for that purpose. Experiments were made with acetate, bicarbonate, and dibasic phosphate of sodium, and with carbonate of ammonia. The yield of glycerin was increased to 127 per cent, but the alkaline mash was found to be an excellent breeding place for all kinds of acid-forming bacteria, which would pollute the glycerin. This fault was remedied by the use of sodium sulphite, which acts as a poison to the bacteria of lactic acid and others, but does not, even in large quantities, affect the yeast cells (Saccharomyces). sodium sulphite was employed as an antiseptic the yield of glycerin was increased proportionately to as much as 23 to 367 per cent of the sugar.

When

The ordinary fermentation produces not only alcohol, carbonic acid, and glycerin, but also small quantities of acetaldehyde. When the sulphite is added in increasing quantities the yield of acetaldehyde and glycerin increases, while that of alcohol and carbonic acid decreases. The acetaldehyde was used largely for war purposes. The production of glycerin from sugar had a great practical value in war time, according to German writers. The manufacturing process, patented in 1915, was exploited on a large scale, and the production of glycerin exceeded 2,200,000 pounds a month. The invention also possesses an unusual theoretical interest, as it shows how the tranformation of materials by bacteria can be influenced by the addition of chemicals. In the words of a German writer, "the biochemical processes open up new prospects for the future, and seem to be destined to provide many substitutes to a people robbed of all raw materials."

Attempts made during the war in AustriaHungary to produce glycerin from sugar do not seem to have met the success claimed for similar attempts in Germany. Complaint was made by the Bohemian journals of Prague that carloads of sugar had been wasted in recovering negligible quantities of glycerin, and doubts were expressed whether such waste of food could be justified even by the exigencies of war.-Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, October 15, 1920.

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

Ordinary Meeting, November 11, 1920.

Sir J. J. THOMSON, O. M., President, in the Chair.

THE following papers were read :

"Calcification of the Vertebral Centra in Sharks and Rays." By W. G. RIDEWOOD, D.Sc.

The patterns presented by the calcified lamellæ of the centra were by Carl Hasse claimed to have an important taxonomic value, and they were employed by him as the basis of his classification in the monograph, “Das natürliche System der Elasmobranchier," published in 1879-1885. The present investigation was undertaken to test the validity of the thesis, and the results go to show that Hasse misinterpreted the facts to a considerable extent, and that his conceptions of "asterospondyly" and "tectospondyly" are unsound.

In the course of the inquiry, 150 sharks and rays, belonging to 68 species and 44 genera, were examined. The investigation largely resolved itself into ascertaining the limits of the three component cartilages of the definitive centrum, namely, the sheath-cartilage, the arch-cartilage, and the perichondrially produced cartilage, and studying the relations of the calcified lamellæ to these parts.

Similarity in pattern of the calcified lamella is shown in certain cases to be homoplastic, the lamellæ, although having the same disposition, radial or concentrix as the case may be, being developed in sheath-cartilage in some genera and in perichondrial cartilage in others. In some cases the similarity may be accounted for by convergent degeneration from ancestral types which there is reason to believe were themselves different in their mode of calcification.

One of the main conclusions arrived at is that the distribution and proportions of the three kinds of cartilage composing the centrum are of greater morphological importance than the disposition of the calcified lamellæ in them. Another conclusion is that the difference between chorda-centra and arco-centra is relative rather than absolute. In some cases (Lamnida) the centra possesses so little sheath-cartilage that they approach the arcocentra of Esox and Amia.

"Studies in the Mechanism of Enzyme Action. By A. COMPTON, D.Sc.

"Effect of Certain Dietary Deficiencies on the Suprarenal Glands." By C. H. KELLAWAY.

This work was carried out for the purpose of throwing further light on the important observations recently made by McCarrison, concerning the increase in size and in content of adrenalin of the suprarenals of pigeons fed on polished rice.

These changes in the suprarenal glands of pigeons were found constantly when the diet consisted of polished rice alone, or when an adequate ration of protein (casein rendered free from fat and from accessory factors by repeated extraction with alcohol and ether), or fat was added to the dietary, and were associated with the appearance of polyneuritis. The daily administration of a sufficient amount of "Marmite" to the diet of

An attempt was made to explain the enlargement of the adrenals as being due partly to cogestion and edema of the gland tissues, and partly to the storage in the cortex of the gland of lipoids set free by the breaking down of body tissues, which occurs in birds fed on diets deficient in Water Soluble B. The investigation of the cholesterol content of the adrenals of normal and polyneuritic birds did not support this theory of Tipoid storage.

The increased residual content of adrenalin was attributed to diminished output of adrenalin, as a result of the greatly lowered metabolism in birds fed on deficiency dietaries. The histological appearances of the glands suggested obstruction of the venous outflow from the medulla by cortical hypertrophy as an additional cause.

Œdema in birds fed on deficient diets was of infrequent occurrence, and could not be produced by the daily administration of large doses of adrenalin. It does not appear to be causally This related to increased output of adrenalin. view is in harmony with the more recently expressed views of McCarrison.

"Genetics of Sex in Funaria hygrometrica." By E. J. COLLINS.

Experimenting with Funaria hygrometrica-a mona cious type of moss-it was found that, whilst cultures from spores reproduced the normal monacious plants, vegetative cultures derived from the antherida and the surrounding “perigonial" leaves of the male "inflorescence" produced male plants only, pointing to the probability that at some point in the cell divisions by which the axis and its organs are developed, a separation takes place such that the element upon which the monacious condition depends dropped out of those cells from which the male organ with its surrounding leaves is formed.

is

Vegetative cultures from the archegonium and the surrounding "perichætial" leaves have now been made and these have produced typical monoecious plants. The conclusion is that up to the point of the formation of the female organ the cells of the haploid gametophytic phase retain the power to produce monacious plants, whereas the leaves surrounding the male organ have lost this power. It must therefore be inferred that sex-segregation here occurs in a haploid tissue. The cytological aspect of the phenomena is not studied, and the generally accepted alternation of generation within the group with its " and 2n phases is assumed throughout.

THE NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORIC ACID OF WHEAT. -It was already noted by Messrs. Rousseaux and Sirot that in the most suitable flour for bread the proportion of soluble nitrogen is about constant in relation to the total nitrogen. Analyses were made with wheat itself, the samples of grain being taken every five days in the same field. They demonstrated that wheat reaches complete maturity in a state of stability which for nitrogenous and phosphatic matter corresponds to a certain ratio between the soluble and insoluble elements. With different ratios there is a corresponding insufficiency of maturity or a tendency to germination. -Comptes Rendus, September, 1920.

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It contains something not water which forms bubbles on the E sides of the containing vessel when the temperature is raised rather rapidly as well as encrusting solids which separate later. This observation must have been made very early; certainly soon after glass vessels were used for heating.

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Ma

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It

was not, however, until Cavendish had shown how to manipulate gases that the study of such a subject was possible.

The discovery of Henry in 1803 that "under equal circumstances of temperature water takes up, in all cases, the same volume of condensed Che gas as of gas under ordinary. pressure," was followed immediately by Dalton's further generalisation that from a mixture of gases an amount of each gas is dissolved dependent upon the speciS. E hc solubility of the gas and its partial pressure in the mixture. Dalton gave the following example from his own work-Atmospheric air, consisting of 79 parts of azotic gas and 21 parts er cup of oxygenous gas per cent.

Ece

Water absorbs 1/64 of 79/100 azotic gas = 1*234. Water absorbs 1/27 of 21/100 oxygenous gas=0'778.

Showing that he had a fair but not very exact knowledge of the solubility of the gases of air in water. He also sought to establish a simple atomic packing of the gas and water atoms of his new atomic theory using a shot piling analogy and diagrams in three dimensional space.

For half-a-century work on the gases in water seems to have been confined to sporadic observations. The methods of investigation available were neither exact or unsuitable for the work which was attempted. This was mostly undertaken afloat in connection with various expeditions sent out by England and France to explore Lop! the surface and depths of the ocean. By this means a certain amount of useful information was obtained and published, but an experimental study of the solubility of gases in water and other liquids and of the kinetics of interaction was needed if the subject was really to be advanced. Bunsen, who had brought the methods of gas manipulation to much greater perfection than Cavendish had left them, investigated in 1855 the solubility of many gases in water and other liquids.

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e Ha

NS

It had been generally realised that water freed from air and then exposed to or even shaken with air required a rather long period to reach saturation, although the amount of air taken up was very small, but the first suggestion as to the course of this process seems to have been made by Dittmar. In his report on the physical and chemical work of the great Challenger Expedition, published in 1884, he wrote: "Supposing a certain portion of the ocean were separated from the rest, and after some had been deprived of its

*Delivered at Finsbury Technical College, October 14, 1920.

or

same

gaseous contents, exposed to the air at a constant temperature of t°, the three gases would stream into the water at a steadily diminishing rate until absorptiometric equilibrium was established, i.e., a point reached when, for instance, the number of molecules of oxygen dissolved in a given small time would be exactly compensated by the same number of previously dissolved oxygen molecules returned to the atmosphere." The Challenger reports were issued in a vast number of folio volumes, and I suppose few chemists or physicists could afford to buy them. Besides, the investigation of the velocity of chemical reaction was not at that time an attractive subject to chemists. All work on the rate of absorption escape of gas from water, from whatever point of view undertaken, leads to the same conclusion, namely, that the reaction between a liquid and a gas followed the course as that between other heterogeneous phases which have been investigated. We may consider the case of a gas over perfectly still water. The surface rapidly becomes saturated; in fact, there is good reason for considering the surface interchange to be instantaneous, but the downward diffusion of the gas in the liquid is slow and proceeds with greater slowness as the depths are reached owing to the decreasing pressure due to the retention of gas in the upper layers of the liquid. Nevertheless, a continual entry at the surface and procession downwards occurs until the whole of the liquid is saturated with the gas. This case can be treated by means of the application of Fourier's theorem, which is known as Fick's law of diffusion. It has been investigated in the United States by Black and Earle Phelps, but as Adeney and Becker have very recently pointed out, it is most difficult to realise in practice and seldom or never occurs in any actual case needing investigation. The diffusion is extremely slow, and unlike most cases of diffusion of concentrated solution, is not aided appreciably by differences of density, as these seem to be inappreciable. I have not been able on looking at the available data to decide whether water saturated with air is denser or lighter than pure

water.

The very slow diffusion can, however, be supplemented by mechanical agitation, in which case the water can be considered as divided into two layers, an upper one where the concentration gradient falls off from saturation at the surface

to some lower concentration which is uniform throughout the lower part of the liquid. With increasing rate of agitation the layer of varying concentration becomes thinner and thinner, that is the liquid is uniformly mixed.

The rate of solution of a solid in a liquid was first investigated by Bogusky for marble dissolving in acids and later by Noyes and Whitney and Nernst and Brunner for various not very soluble substances, e.g., benzoic acid. It is an analogous case to that which we are considering, and all workers on the absorption of gases by water, or the escaped gases from water, have found an expression based on Newton's law of cooling to hold good. The rate of absorption