Chemist Congress

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Food Research Institute of Leland Stanford, Jr., University. Amino acids, which are the basis of proteins, have been made in the laboratory. In the distant future men may grow crops only for the purpose of obtaining vitamins, unless these too should be put together artificially. Processes may be developed for the storage of solar radiation which are far more efficient than the net result of vegetation.

¶ The direction of growth of plants can be controlled by cutting off their tops, exposing them to light from a given direction, and then grafting the tops on again by a gelatin cement, said Dr. W. T. Bovie, of Harvard. The steering apparatus consists of a chemical manufactured by the sun which has the power to affect the cells of the whole plant, causing it to bend in the 'direction of the light.

¶ In a symposium on heat transfer, speakers asserted that the annual industrial heat losses of the U. S., due to bare or insufficiently insulated pipes, walls, cracks, evaporation, etc., total over one billion dollars. A metre has been developed for the more accurate measurement of heat flow.

¶ In a session on photochemistry, Dr. J. S. Hughes described experiments by which the lay of a flock of hens was increased from 30 to 144 eggs in one month by the use of ultraviolet rays. The rays produce a chemical reaction in the blood stream of the fowl, which helps to concentrate the calcium and phosphorous in quantities sufficient for bone and egg building.

¶ It was announced that the nationwide essay contest established by Francis P. Garvan (TIME, Sept. 24) would be continued another year, and that awards for the first year will be announced June 1.