McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1927

Stansfield, A. (Supervisors)  Read more

The subject matter of this thesis has been divided into two main sections, one on the Thermal Constants of Liquid and Solid Carbon Dioxide and the other on the Latent Heat of Fusion and Specific Heats of Ice. While the principle underlying the experimental method employed in each part is the same, namely, adiabatic calorimetry, the two general problems investigated can be presented more conveniently and clearly if separated. A third section has been introduced on new experimental technique that has been developed in connection with this research and which 1s applicable to certain general calorimetric problems where precision measurements …  Read more

Bancroft, J. (Supervisors)  Read more

Hemmeon, J. (Supervisor)  Read more

One of the outstanding consequences of our modern civilization is that the economic phase of life predominates all others. The "profit" motive has become the basis of individual endeavour; money-making is the goal of the business man, the dream of the youth and the incentive to work. The steady progress in the direction of improving the financial and banking systems, and the widespread education of the people in the advantages rendered by the banks to the community, have meant a greater utilization of banking institutions. With this development, the question of currency and mediums of exchange have asswmed great importance. …  Read more

As Sir WaIter Scott, when he drew near his end, sat by the window of his library looking down on his beloved Tweed, he expressed a wish to his son-in-law Lockhart that he should have something read to him. Lockhart asked him from what book it should be. "Need you ask?" said Sir Walter, "there is but one." That book was the Bible, and it was the Bible in the Authorized Version of James the First. We may apply the words with perfect fitness to the place which the Bible holds in the rich treasure-house of our English Literature. Of …  Read more

Prince, S. (Supervisors)  Read more

The study of surface phenomena is perhaps one of the most important in modern chemistry. Bancroft devotes more than half of his treatise on colloid chemistry to the discussion of adsorption alone. The purely mechanistic nature of adsorption as well as the chemical and electrical nature, are not at all completely understood. In an attempt at an explanation of adsorption, the furthest we dare go, if we are to base our conclusions on actual experimental data, is to say that it may be die to a loose chemical union in which o0nly secondary valences take part, or to a condensation …  Read more

Welsh, R. (Supervisors)  Read more

Sandwell, B. (Supervisors)  Read more

The subject matter of this thesis deals with the preparation of pure hydrogen peroxide and the subsequent use of this pure product for the re-determination of the density and melting point, as well as the determination of the partition coefficients of hydrogen peroxide between ether and water. In connection with the latter, theories of solution are discussed. The reason that the re-determinat ion of the density and melting point were attempted was because they serve as the criteria of purity and the original values did not appear to be sufficiently accurate for this purpose. [...]  Read more

Noad, A. (Supervisors)  Read more

Best, E. (Supervisors)  Read more

The experiments described in this Thesis arose out of work begun in collaboration with Professor John Tait in which particles of quartz were injected into the circulating blood of rabbits in connection with a study of platelets and of blood coagulation. During the course of these experiments the writer found that nucleated red cells appear in the circulation as a result of injection. Since quartz is practically insoluble the writer began to investigate the effect of particulate matter in general upon the red cell content of the blood, particularly in relation to the haemolyto-poietic function of the reticuloendothelial system. Certain …  Read more

Macallum, A. (Supervisors)  Read more

Sandwell, B. (Supervisors)  Read more

Hibbert, Harold (Supervisor)  Read more

From primeval times mankind has applied heat to food in order to make it more palatable and digestible, but only during the last century and a half has the preservation of food byheat been the definite object. In 1748 Needham, in support of his theory of spontaneous generation, heated putrefiable substances in well-corked flasks, Within a few days his flaskswere peopled with micro-organisms. This, to Needham, wae proof that his theory of spontaneous generation was tenable. Spallanzai, however, in 1765, boiled meat extract for one hour and a half in hermetically sealed flasks and observed that no decomposition of the …  Read more

Bliss, S. (Supervisors)  Read more

In the last twenty years something has happened to poetry. something which justifies the modern reader in being prepared to discuss, With bitterness or enthusiasm - according to his bent - that phase of contemporary literature known as "The New Poetry". But the modern reader is usual1y hard pressed when one insists on his defining his terms. Exactly what is "The New Poetry"? Tbe definition, when it is elicited, is apt to be somewhat highly flavoured with the prejudice of him who defines. In 1917 there was published in New York, under the title of "The Young Idea", an "Anthology …  Read more

The importance of the cyclic acetal and ketal glycerols has long attracted the interest of investigators in the field or carbohydrate chemisty. Such workers as Tollens 1,Fischer 2, Karrer 3, Irvine 4 and more- recently Hibbert 5 and his pupils have studied or used this class of compounds in their efforts to explain, by analogy, certain features of the chemical behaviour of the more complex polysaccharides. It is remarkable, therefore, that up to the, present time, the molecular structure of one of the simplest glycerol acetals, namely, ethylidene glycerol has remained undetermined, its formula being given as either, or both, …  Read more

In the cultivation of various fungi in artificial media it has been observed that after a certain period of development the growth rate is materially decreased or entirely inhibited. When such a condition occurs the culture medium is said to be "staled." Investigational work as to the cause and nature of this condition has been directed along the following lines: 1. Depletion of food material. 2. Changes in the chemical composition of the medium. 3. Products of metabolism formed by the organism during the various physiological processes, which may be toxic in effect; or produce changes in the pH concentration …  Read more

The use of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidising agent for organic compounds was first recognised by Thenard, its discoverer, who in 1818 subjeoted a great variety of the then known organic compounds to its action. His work was limited due to the dilute solutions which he used, but the path indicated by him has been followed by a large number of investigatorssince his important initial efforts. A thorough examination of the literature has disclosed the fact that a great many tests have been made with hydrogen peroxide without any regard to the part played by temperature, concentration or condition of …  Read more

Stehle, R. (Supervisors)  Read more

Inasmuch as "there is no new thing under the sun" it is almost invariably possible to trace the main tenets of a writer's creed to some authority outside himself. Owing, however, to the chameleon-like nature of originality swift and vital changes are immediately found in the original borrowing, which itself merges rapidly into the form which creativeness has given it. Thus, in spite of all his originality Rousseau owed a certain debt to predecessors who were distant from him in space and in language. Thompson, Young, Gray, Osaian, Richardson,- contemporary English writers,- all contributed their small quota of seed to …  Read more

Trade unionism in Canada as elsewhere, is essentially a phenomenon of modern industrial society, a reflex on the part of "the workers" to the action of capitalism in creating social strata in which the sole means of support is the daily wage. It is designed primarily to offset the unfairness and inequality of the labourer's bargaining position (1) in wage negotiations. History reveals no single genesis of it, or no uniform process of development through which all types of unionism go. [...]  Read more

The purification of saturated a1dehydes is often achieved by isolating the pure addttion products with acid sulphites of alkali meta1s or with ammonia, and then hydrolysing these compounds. If an ethylene linkage be present, irreversible addition to the aldehyde molecule results, rendering the method inapplicable to cotonaldehyde, which yields sulphonic acids with sulphurous acid and collidines with ammonia. [...]  Read more

Bliss, S. (Supervisors)  Read more

All substances are magnetic to a more or less degree. Leaving out of account the ferro-magnetic substances, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, which are very strongly acted on by a magnet, we may divide substances into paramagnetic substances which are attracted to the stronger parts of a magnetic field, and diamagnetic substances which are repelled from the stronger to the weaker parts of the field. In an important paper published in 1905 Langevin (l) gave a satisfactory explanation of magnetic phenomena on the basis of the electron theory which may be briefly summarized as follows: A substance is diamagnetic when …  Read more

The Roman Catholic Church has, for almost a century, been concerned with conditions among the working people of the cities in Catholic countries. It has engaged in all kinds of social work, and has done all within its power to keep its adherents from being "caught by the glitter of Socialism". In this work it has been recognized by the middle classes of Europe, and to a certain, but lesser, extent, by the same classes in America.It has gained the approbation of this section of society, which after its rise to power with the decay of feudalism, was at first …  Read more

The work described in this paper comprises the first direct experimental determination ever made of the surface energy of a true solid. The meagre amount of work done previously in this field, of which a brief account follows, has been based on theory, usually highly involved, which alone, aside from the experimental errors, introduces great uncertaintyin the results. The large experimental errors, added to this, makes such work merely qua1itative in nature. In contrast to this, the experimental results obtained in the present work give the surface energy directly, while the experimental method presents no unsurmountable difficulties and has a …  Read more

This thesis deals with certain physical constants of pure sulphur dioxide and its aqueous solutions. The results of experiments to determine these values are given, and are discussed both from the point of view of their theoretical significance and from their relation to one another. Sulphur dioxide has been known from a very early date. The ancients knew that the fumes evolved when sulphur was burnt in air exerted a purifying action, and they used it for fumigating and for bleaching cloth. [...]  Read more

The following can be regarded as little more than a preliminary survey of the field of instinct. The problem of the original nature of man is one that seems to have come spasmodically to the forefront in history, submitted to some modification at the hands of current thinking, and then retired for a period, only to bob up again at the next crisis. There is no indication that the present popular interest will resuit in anything approaching a permanent solution. In fact, it seems to me that the confusion now is greater than at any previous period. The scientific study …  Read more

Macallum, A. (Supervisors)  Read more

Friction is one of Nature's paradoxes. It is at once a blessing and a curse to huumanity. Without friction, man would be unable to control his movements and continue his existence; yet, because of its presence, he is using up the greater part of his energies. Thus, there are benefits derived from friction which are accepted as a matter of course and with few expressions of appreciation; but at the same time, the action of friction imposes a burden upon man which he carries with a continual struggle and frequent protest. The writer of this essay, following a very human …  Read more

In the following pages an account is given of an investigation of the colloidal properties of meta styrene. Meta styrene is a colloid that swells and disperses yielding lyophilic sols not with water but with organic liquids. From the work on proteins, soaps, tannins and other substances we now have considerable knowledge of the properties of colloidal solutions where water is the dispersion medium, that is to say, hydrophilic colloids. But the class of lyophilic colloids of which meta sytrene is an example, that is organophilic colloids, has, to date, received scant attention. This is due, no doubt, to the …  Read more

Kellog, J . E. (Supervisor)  Read more

Consider any member in a structure. This member, when loaded, carries a certain total stress, which, if divided by the cross-sectional area of the member, will give an average unit stress commonly called the primary stress. This assumes a uniform distribution of stress which rarely, if ever, exists. If it were possible to determine the actual stress existing in any particular fibre, by measuring the strain in that fibre, it would, in general, differ from the Primary Stress. Secondary Stress, as considered in this paper, is defined as the difference between the Primary Stress in any fibre and the stress …  Read more

The full title of the present Thesis reads as follows: "The writers of the New Testament: a study of style and subject-matter in the English Bible." The general aim of the proposedstudy was to review the historical introduction to the New Testament from the point of view of a reader of the English Bible, - taking the Authorized Version of 1611 as the standardBible of the English-speaking world. The historical evidence for composit1on and authorship was to be criticised, also the internal evidence of style and subject matter as far as this is apparent to a reader of the English …  Read more

The Sea has always awakened a profound emotion in the heart of every true descendant of Celtic or Anglo-Saxon stock. From the far off misty days of these primitive peoples to the present twentieth century, a fervent love of the sea has been, and is destined to remain, a predominating trait in the national character of the British race. To the Celt, the Sea was a beautiful but mysterious and uncontrollable power; he loved it for its majesty and beauty, but he feared it for its great strength, its treachery and its cruelty. [...]  Read more

Fifty years ago, the title of a monograph announcing serious study of the thought of Algernon Charles Swinburne as revealed by his poetry would probably have provoked a simle in even the most tolerant reader. Young Swinburne had shot like a meteor through the calmness of the Victorian sky. His genius as a lyrist was everywhere conceded but, save in the minds of his own particular circle of friends, the London reveller of a few years previous was granted little credit for an earnest thought in connection with the problems of social, political or religious philosophy. [...]  Read more

The Thurso map-area is situated immediately to the east of the districts of Buckingham and of the river Lievre where mining operations have been carried on for many years. Just recently the Singer Mgr. Co. have oonstructed a local line, "The Thurso and Nation Valley Railway", for the transportation of timber from lake Barriere to Thurso. It ls hoped that mineral deposits of economio value will be discovered in the northern portion of this district now open to transportation, and it is largely in view of this that the following geo1ogical investigation was undertaken. [...]  Read more

Among the most important hortioultural orops, the Iris is one of the most attractive and satisfactory for season-to-season effects in a garden. Its flowers of all shades of colors would satisfy any artist, and in landscape its foliage gives definite line and mass making gradual transition from the lawn to shrubbery or other arohitectural features. Unfortun8tely a leaf spot disease attacks its foliage and causes its complete destruction wherever infestation is bad. At Macdonald College some two hundred and fifty varieties of Iris are grown. [...]  Read more

The importance of the cyclic acetals in relation to the chemistry of the carbohydrates is well recognized and their synthesis has been the subject of much experiment and study.In earlier work dealing with the formation of cyclic acetals by the action of acetylene on polyhydroxy compounds in the presence of a catalyst, an interesting speculation as to the mechanism of this reaction was brought forward. With acetylene and ethylene glycol, for example, it was assumed that the first change involves the addition of one hydroxyl to the unsaturated acetylene linkage with formation of the intermediate hydroxy-ethyl Tinyl ether. [...]  Read more

Although various systematists have visited the Province of Quebec at different times to investigate special phases of the flora of the povince, very little modern worki is availablefrom Quebec itself covering any part ot its flora. Frère Marie Victorin has undertaken some detailed studies in this field and has already published the following fivee cntributions [...]  Read more

Gillson, A. (Supervisors)  Read more

Porter, J. (Supervisors)  Read more

Archibald, E. (Supervisors)  Read more

Mackay, H. (Supervisors)  Read more

The Progress of science for more than a century has been associated with the development of two concepts, that of force and that of matter. One of the most important discoveries which man made in his study of the universe was that the attractive force between bodies was proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This same law of attraction was found later to govern the foroes between electrically charged particles and the forces between magnetic poles. The hypothesis that matter is discontinuous has been very successful in explaining …  Read more