258
T H E JOURA'AL OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGIATEERIA'G CI-IEAJlSl'R1'
thc favorable development of these plants on soils very rich in lime and poor in magnesia would be a proof against the influence of a certain ratio of lime to magnesia in soils upon other plants which do not produce oxalates, is not tenable.
IT. Experiments upon the influence on cane growth of differcnt ratios of lime to magnesia produced in one and the same soil, maniwed exclusively with mineral compounds, have thus far 'lot yet made. Hence the opinion thar growth of cane is independent of that ratio is not justified. OSCAR Loew HYGIENICINSTITUTE
the acid- and alkali-solublc constituents. This possibility, however, has not been proved to affect results appreciably. Whatever the method under consideration, \ ~ arc c judge of its accuracy by comparison with the official method because of the lack of definiteness as to the character of the cloth strainer and because of the incomplete rctcntion of the crude fiber of some products by such a filter.
Below arc a fcw figures by this method, and thc official I1lcth0rl. The samplc in each case weighcd I gram. The figurcs iti-c weights in grams of crude fiber.
~ I U N I C HGERMANY ,
AN IMPROVED METHOD OF CRUDE FIBER ESTIMATION
Official method
Modified method
'0.0544
0.0568
method Oats, xrt,i,,
,
,
i
Editor o j the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: This crude-fiber method is a n improvement on the Morgan P. Sweeney modification of the official method, the improvement consisting in filtration through asbestos and sand in a Gooch crucible, treatment with hydrochloric acid, washing without transfer, and ignition in the Gooch crucible. The details are as follows : To a I - or 2-gram sample add 2 0 0 cc. of boiling 1.25 per cent. sulfuric acid, and boil for 30 minutes.. Neutralizc with I O per cent. sodium hydrate, using phenolphthalein as a n indicator; add zoo cc. of 2.656 per cent. boiling sodium hydrate; make volume up to 425 cc. and boil for 30 minutes. Filter through a porcelain Gooch cruciblc containing an asbestos pad and 1-12 grams ('/2inch) of veryfine acid-washed sand, compacted by water and suction. Treat with hydrochloric acid ; wash with hot water until free from chlorides, and then with alcohol and ether; dry, weigh, ignite and weigh. Sand satisfactory for this purpose has been purchased from the Berkshire Glass Sand Co., of Cheshire, Mass. Coarse sand was found not to b e useful, the reason being t h a t i t allows the fiber to pass through and then to clog the asbestos pad. The improved meth,jd usually gives higher figures than the the results check, one with another, oficial satisfactorily, and the method is very much easier to use. Thc unsatisfactory character of the official method is too well krlomn to require comment. This new procedure eliminates all transferof the saml,le and also the llnstandardized cloth strainer,for ,+.hie-, it substitutes a filter which is thoroughly and which at the Same time allow; of very rapid filtration o f solutions such as those from linseed and cottonseed meals n.hich are very difficult of filtration by any other method. The use of hydroch~oric acid facilitates the final washing. A microscopical examination of the crude fiber and the filtrates from the official and from our modified methods showed that the higher Obtained by the latter were due to undissolved woody and chitinous particles which passed through thelinen b u t which were retained by the sand and asbestos. I n the products examined there was no evidence of contamination of the crude fiber as determined by the improved by gummy or protein substances. Objection to the Sweeney method has been raised on account of difficulty with the colored extracts of some feeds in determining the neutral point. This objection is not insuperable range and and in using this method with in any considerable number of products %\-efound t h a t i t was in rare instances only that the color of the extract interfered with the use of the indicator. The slow filtration by the Sweeney method is entirely overcome in our modification. Objection has also been raised t o the Sweeney method on account of possible intcrference of the fat with t h c solution of
l l a r . , 1013
nlcn'
Soy
hC:I.IIS.
7
0.1110
0.0910 0.0228 0.0212
nrhcnt, 0.1112 0 0272 patent f l o u r . , n.02xo
,
,
0 1217 izii
o
J o 0324 ( o 03.31
o
0.332
ii
(1.0n10
n
0.3.32 002i
{ n 0012
0.0272 Gluten I c e d . , , , , 0.0482 0.0472 0.0484 Cott ,llcnl. " . 1232 O .1239 0 . 1 2 2 ~ 0.1240
.~GKICUL.I.UKAL \$'oUSTER,
,
,,
(,,,
E. B. FORBESA N D J . mlo
mrthod
\$Theat hrall, , , ,
0.0570 0.0922
0.0238 0.0470
..,,
Distillcr'sgraill (corn). . . .
0.0554
0.1215 n 1212
n7o.i
o .n7 IO
0 0iO.i
0.0720
jo 1:.
n 002.5
.\II~XSCI.IING
EXI~ERIMI:NT ST,vrxox
nCC.
27, 1912 ___.__~~_
AMERICAN MINE SAFETY ASSOCIATION As the result of a conference which was held [irldcr tllr ;ills piccs of the United Statcs Bureau of llincs last ScI)tet,ii)c\r, I ) C tlvccn inen \vho are interested in the saving of the lives "I Initlcrs, there has bcen formed a society known as thc American Mint Safety Association, with hcadquartcrs a t 40th and Butler Strccts, Pittsburgh, Pa. This association, which is now enrolling among its members the leading coal and metal mine operators, mining engineers, and mine safety engincers of the country, has for its purpose the conservation of the life and health of the miner and a reduction in property loss due to explosions or fires in mines. It Will attempt to Place before the miners standard methods to be used in rescuc work and in first aid to the injured. The work Of the Of &lines in reducing the nuinher of deaths in'thc mines has 1cd t o the adoption of niariy diffcrcnt types of rescue apparatus, such as the oxygen hclmcts which the rescuers wear in a gas-filled mine, and also to thc usc of mdtly different methods of resuscitation and first aid to the injured. Hundreds of mines within the last three or four years have been equipped with rescue apparatus, corps, and first-aid corps. Many of these men who are called upon in emergencies have developed their own ways of doing things and i t is the opinion of the organizers of this association that the most cfficient methods and apparatus should be found through actual use and recommended to the mining industry as a genera^ standard. H. M. Wilson, the engineer in charge of the Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines a t Pittsburgh, has been sclectcd as chairman of the executive committee of the Association and has been instructed to carry on the work of organization, There were 2,719 persons killed in the coal mines of thc United States during the year 191I , and there werc 9,106 scriOUSlY and 22,228 slightly injured. Nearly an equal numbcr of mines and quarries. men were injured in In the hope of reducing the number of these accidents and of shortening the period of disability of the injured, it was felt that there should be grcater uniformity in methods of conducting rescue operations in mines after explosions, fires, or other disasters, and of giving first aid t o thc injured.
