Distilled Water in the Laboratory: R
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IN. S. VOL.XXXIX. No. 999 in importance, the primary cause of injury being ity of the usual glass containers, which, unless the extraction of electrolytes and perhape of specially prepared for the purpose, give up to the other substances as well. This extraction by dis- water suflicient solids to steadily increase the elec- tilled water is regarded as but a special case of trical conductivity. the general type of injury wrought on cells by un- Sinee a minimum of impurities will be found balanced solu.tions whereby certain necessary con- even in the purest water obtainable for practical stituents, undoubtedly in part inorganic, are dis- experimental purposes, the action of the dilute sociated from their proper attachments in the solution which goes under the name of distilled complicated chemical and physical mechanism of water comes up for consideration. It has been the living cell. The distilled water seems to with- shown that "distilled water" iy injurious to the draw material required for the maintenance of roots of certain plants, an& that this action is the efficient action of the protoplasmic limiting paralleled by, and probably due, in great measure, membranes, with the resi~Itthat the permeability to, the leaching of constituents necessary to the of the cells is increased, and a further dissociation maintenance of life activities. of electrolytes from their points of combination When check cultures grown in distilled water in the proteids, and other chemical structures of are used as a standard of comparison and regasded the cell, ensues. These dissociated electrolytes es- as normal, great danger of serious error in inter- cape from the cell and increase the conductivity preting the results of biological experiments of the distilled water. When a trace of calcium arises, since the behavior of cheek cultures in dis- ions is present in the distilled water, this dissoci- tilled water can not safely be regarded as an ex- ating power of the distilled water over the pro- pression of normal activity. teids and other chemical mechanisms of the cells is It appears that plant physiologists need in their largely developed, and the chemical integrity of work a normal physiological solution, this normal the cells is protected in some way not known. solution to be such a medium as will cause the This report is preliminary in its nature and is least possible disturbance to the usual activities of to be followed at a future date by a further con- the plant. While the difficulties introduced by the tribution reporting the results of work now under use of a normal physiological solution are many, way. and will necessitate great care not only in meet- Distilled Water in the Laboratory: R. 11. TRUE. ing different requirements of various types of With the discovery made by Nageli and Loew plants, but also with respect to the purity of chemicals used, the insolubility of glassware, the that copper distilling apparatus may yield water containing traces of copper sufficient to render quality of distilled water employed, etc., there the water harmful for plant cultures, the use of seems to be little doubt that such physiologically glass distilling apparatus became general, and approximato mixtures are likely to give results carefully distilled water obtained from glasa came much more closely approaching physiological to receive the general confidence of biologists. soundness than is possible with the use of distilled While in the majority of cases this confidence is water. well placed, errors in the interpretation of results GEORGET. Moom are likely to follow a failure to recognize and al- low for certain chemical and physiological char- acteristics of so-called pure water. Aside from JOINT ANNUAL MEETING OP AMERICAN the difficulty of obtaining pure water, this sub- ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION stance having been prepared in a pure state but AND AMERICAN FOLK-LORE a few times and then by chemists and physicists, ROCIETY there is the further difficulty of maintaining it in THE annual meeting of the American Anthropo- a pure state, since it readily becomes charged with logical Association was held in West Assembly gaseous products of the air, and when exposea' to fidl, American Museum of Natural History, New the air of the laboratory is especially likely to as- York City, December 29-31, 1913, in affiliation sume harmful properties for plant cultures-a with the American Folk-Lore Society. The joint danger which may be minimized through taking program was unusually long and more cosmopoli- precaution to exclude these impurities from con- tan than at any previous meeting, and tha -ions tact with the water. Another source of almost were well attended. The thanks of the members unavoiaable contamination is seen in the solubil- of both societies are due to the American Museum of Natural History for the ample and attractive Columbia University, and George Grant MacQurdy, facilities provided; to the Explorers' Club for the of Yale University, as delegates from the as- welcome extended to members of the Council, and sociation. to Mr. George G. Heye and Professor Saville for a A letter was read from Professor A. L. Kroeber, private view of the Heye Museum. who expressed the hope tbt the association would At the Cleveland meeting the secretary was in- accept the invitation of Mr. James A. Barr, man- structed to prepare a list of names of persons emi- ager of the Bureau of Conventions and Societies of nent in anthr~~olo~~to be submitted with the the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, to view of election to honorary membership at the hold a special sewion in San Francisco during the New York meeting of the association. Pursuant exposition. Professor Kroeber announced his to his instructions the secretary submitted a list readiness to do everything in his power to help which was referred to a committee named by Presi- make such a meeting a success. The invitation dent Dixon : Boas (chairman), HrdliEka, Peslbody waB reserred to the executive committee with and the secretary, with instructions to recommend power to act. five names. The report of this committee was The selection of a place for the next annual approved and the following honorary members meeting of the association was likewise left to the were elected, by the council: Professor LBonce executive committee, which has decided that the Manouvrier, Paris, France; Professor Karl von meeting shall be held in Philadelphia during the den Steinen, Berlin, Germany; Dr. Alfred P. Christmas holidays, in affiliation with Section H Maudstay, London, England; His Excellency W. of the American Association for the Advancement Radloff, Saint Petersburg, Russia; Professor Emile of Science. Chrtailhac, Toulouse, France. The chair appointed a committee on nominations Dr. Goldenweiser reportea for the committee ap- consisting of Boas, Lowie, Swanton, Gordon and pointed to consider the advisability of devoting MacCurdy, whose report was accepted by the as- one number of the journals (American Anthropol- sociation, the election of officers resulting as fol- ogist and Journal of American Folk-Lore) to re- lows: cent progress in the field of American anthropol- President-Roland B. Dixon, IIarvard Univer- ogy in connection with the International Congress sity. of Americanists to be held in Washington, D. C., Vice-president 1914-George A. Dorsey, Field October 5-10, 1914. The report was accepted and Museum of Natural History. Dr. Goldenweiser was instructed to complete his Vke-president 1915-Alexander F. Chamber- correspondence with contributors and to send the lain, Clark University. contributions to the editors for publication. The Vice-president 2916-A. L. Kroeber, University editor of the Anthropolog@t was instructed to have of California. extra copies of the number in question printed for Vice-president 1917-George B. Gordon, Uni- free distribution among foreign members of the versity of Pennsylvania. International Congrws of Americanists. The con- Secretary-George Grant MacCurdy, Yale Uni- tributions, already promised are: "Archeology, " versity. W. H. Holrnes; LLPhysicalAnthropologyffl A. Treasurer-B. T. B. Hyde, New York. HrdliEka; "Material Culture," Clark Wissler; Editor-F. W. Hodge, Bureau of Amerioa~Eth- "Mythology, " Franz Boas; 'LLinguistics," P. E. nology. Goddard; ""3eremonial Organization, " R. H. Associate Editors-John R. Swanton, Robert H. Lowie; "Religion," Paul Radin; "Social and Po- Lowie, and Alexander 3'. Chamberlain. litical Organizations, " A. A. Goldenweiser ; "His- The following is a list of the addresses and torical Relations," J. R. Swanton and R. B. papers presented : Dixon. "The Piltdown Skull," by Charles H. Hawes. Dr. HrdliEka gave a detailed report of the prog- "Ten Days with Dr. Henri Martin at La Qnina ress made by the local committee in preparation (Charente), France," by Charles Peabody. for the forthcoming International Congress of "Paleolithic Art as represented in the American Americanists to be held in Washington, D. C. The Museum of Natural History, New York," by American Anthropological Association accepted George Grant MacCurdy. an invitation to become a member of the congress, "The ,So-called 'Argillites ' of the Delanare to which President Pixon named' Franz Boas, of Valley, " by N. EI. Winchell. SCIENCE [AT.S. VOL.XXXIX. No. 990 "Results of an Archeological Survey of the "The Sac-sac or Human Sacrifice of the Ba- State of New Jersey," by Leslie Spier. gobo8" by Elizabeth H. Metcalf. "The So-called Red Paint People Cemeteries of "The Roomerang in Ancient Babylonia," by Maine," by Warren K. Moorehead. James B. Nies. "Stone Implements of Surgery (9) from San (a) "The Hnron and Wyandot Cosmogonic Miguel Island, California," by Ii. Newell Deities and the Iroquoian Sky Gods"; (b) "The Wardle. Wyandot Ukis," by C. At. Banbeau. "Etruscan Influence in West Africa and "The Clan and the Maternal Family of the Iro- Borneo," by Earnest Albert IIooton. (By title.) qnois League," by A. A. Goldenweiser.