McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1935

During the past few years, considerable work has been carried out in these laboratories on the isolation of lignin. Particular attention has been paid to the use of hydroxylatedsolvents in the presence of catalysts. The pioneer work was carried out by H. J. Rowley (1), who introduced the use of glycol and was able to extract about one half of the ligninby this means, though the recovery was appreciably less. It was shown (4) that the presence of glycol gives rise to false methoxyl values, and this solvent was therefore replaced by methyl alcohol (2, 3, 4). [...]  Read more

In the 1deas which were eventually to lead to the development of the dissociation theory, one can easily see that there were two general trends. One following the empirical idea of Valson founded on the additive properties of salt solutions, and the other a theoretical one based on the passage of electricity through salt solutions. [...]  Read more

En preparant cette these sur L'idée réligieuse dans les oeuvres de Charles Péguy, nous avons trouvé qu'il serait impossible de traiter ce sujet d'une manière digne de l'auteur sans une étude approfondie non seulement de la vie de l'auteur, mais aussi de l'histoire de cette époque dans laquelle l'auteur vécut, car, "si jamais pour un homme, écrire égala agir, c'est bien pour Péguy" (1) [...]  Read more

Though the study ot catalytic reactions has long been a subject of great importance and wide investigation, any single definition or a catalytic reaction involves a great deal of controversy. Ostwald has compared a catalyst to a lubricant - a substance, which, though itself unchanged, aids the process, increasing the velocity, but not banging the final position of thermodynamic equilibrium. [...]  Read more

The great increase during the last few years in the volume of data available on reaction rates in gaseous systems has resulted in wide extensions in their theoretical treatment and it is now possible to give a satisfactory qualitative explanation for almost all of the results which have been obtained in that field. On the quantitative side progress has not been so marked, the calculation of reaction rates from the properties of the reactant substances apparently having been considered somewhat too hopeless a task to be attempted. [...]  Read more

The gradual increase in complexity of processes from the lower to higher forms of living things is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the methods by which animals reproduce their kind. From the simplest unicellular unit with its obvious reproduction by budding, to the higher mammal with its complicated arrangements for fusion of male and female elements, and for the care of the resulting gamete, there is a gradual increase in specialization. This is readily seen in the mechanisms which have made possible the remarkable coordination of the various activities of the living body, and it is in this connection …  Read more

Ls jeune fille de la bourgeoisie française d'après-guerre a évolué: la petite 'oie blanche' de jadis est loin derrière nous; la jeune fille moderne sait ce qu'elle veut et sait ou elle va. Elle est instruite, cultivée, courageuse et énergique. Elle continuera a évoluer vers la parité d'éducation, de travail et de droits entre les sexes. [...]  Read more

Recently men prominent in the public life of Canada and Great Britain have made pronouncements which point to a renewed interest in immigration. The author suspects that frequently neither the speaker nor his audience have very specific knowledge either of the peoples already in Canada or the population requirements of the country. Such literature as exists on this subject is very fragmentary and unscientific for the most part* It is as a contribution to the knowledge in this field that the present study of Germans in Canada is being submitted* The body of the study divides itself naturally into three …  Read more

The identity of a sawfly found seriously defoliating ornamental pine trees in the Montreal district has been established as that of Diprion simile Htg., an insect of Europeanorigin. Although this saw fly appears to have a rather restricted range in central and northern Europe, it is closely associated, and has often been confused, with Diprion pini L.,one of the most important pests of conifers in Europe. [...]  Read more

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the status ot physical education in the Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Provinces of Canada. The information 1s arranged under two heads as follows: a) Qualifications and status of teachers of physical education. b) Requirements in, and programme of physical education in the Elementary and Secondary Schools of the provinces. [...]  Read more

This thesis is a study of the effects produced by the intrusion of a basic magna into an impure crystalline limestone. The small area under consideration was mapped and photographs taken of the outcrops. A petrographic study of thin sections was made and photomicrographs taken of the various rock types. From the results obtained during this work, conclusions were arrived at which have a bearing on the theory of the origin of alkaline rocks. [...]  Read more

The experimental work embodied in the following thesis has been carried out during the last four years and has been published from time to time in varions journals, as each phasewas brought to completion. These experiments were designed to investigate the reaction of the gastro-intestinal tract to temperature variations, to the action of drugs, such as adrenaline, pilocarpine, acetylcholine, atropine and ergotoxine, and, finally, to sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve stimulation. For the last an anatomical, histological and physiological study of the vascular supply of the gastro-intestinal tract was necessary, because, as will be shown, the sympathetic nerves are distributed to …  Read more

The qualitative identification of organic halogen compounds has always been a matter of difficulty. For many years the only method was dependent upon the physical constantsof the compound, such as melting and boiling point, refractive index, and density, in combination with a quantitative estimation of the halogen. [...]  Read more

The rocks of the Black River Group (Middle Ordovician) in the vic1nity of Montreal outcrop in a narrow belt which traverses the Island of Montreal, lIe Bizard, and lIe Jesus. They comprise three formations, the Pamella, Lowville, and Leray. The Pamelia formation is ten feet thick and is made of impure dolomltic limestones and shaly limestones; the Lowville is sixteen feet thick and is made of fine-grained and olitic, dove, thin-bedded limestones with frequent shaly partings; the Leray is twenty-two feet thick and consists of thick beds of black, light-weathering limestone, containing nodules of chert and irregularly horizontal streaks of …  Read more

During the past fifteen years several investigators have shown that commercial or laboratory preparations of the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland when injected into frogsgive rise to a transient increase in weight. [...]  Read more

Although the action of the Grignard reagent on anthrone and anthraquinone has been known for many years, it is only recently that any study has been made of its reaction with benzanthrone. The published work presents conflicting evidence. [...]  Read more

With the development of psychological tests by which an individual's ability may, within limits, be measured, numerous problems have come to light, problems which were previously not fully recognized. Prior to this time children who were unable to learn to read were classified as dull or even feebleminded and no real attempt was made to help them overcome their difticulty. Later it was found that many who possessed average or superior intelligence were quite unable to learn to read in spite of any amount of instruction of the ordinary type. This was a startling tact which, when realized, opened up …  Read more

The polymerization of primary "building units" is a fundamental chemical reaction, and finds extensive application, particularly in industrial fields. Many simple chemical substances are valueless from an industrial standpoint until converted by polymerization processes into compounds which, owing to their greater stability and more desirable physicalproperties, have application in a great variety of industries. The most common examples are the plastic and lacquer industries where many products, formerly of very limited use, are now converted on a large scale into materials from which a great number of useful objects are manufactured. [...]  Read more

The struggle was caused by the Church of England's claim to exclusive establishment in the colonies. It was contended that the Church was established by the Act of Union, 1707, Royal 1nstructions to the Governors, the Quebec Act, 1774, and the Canada Act, 1791. Establishrnent meant legal recognition as the only Protestant Church having the right to perform civil acts, to be incorporated, to control education and to receive government financial support. To these pretensions the Kirk, as the established Church of Scotland madeobjection. [...]  Read more

A careful search of the 1iterature concerning the fishes of the fresh-waters of Canada shows that studies of an ichthyological nature of the fresh-waters of the Province of Quebec in the past have been restricted to accounts of small collections made only within small areas. These are typically incomplete. To the present time there has not appeared a full account of-the species inhabiting the freshwaters of this Province based on studies and collections made over a wide range. [...]  Read more

This is a morphological study of the bark beetle Dendroetonus monticolae Hopk. It involves the external anatomy of the adult beetle, the reproductive system and the digestive tract. A discussion of the evolution of the Rhyncbophorous head is given in which the controversial points of various workers are mentioned. An explanation of the hypostoma and the tentorium is given aecording to the writer's interpretation. The thoracic segments are discussed from an outer and an inner aspect. The mesotergum is peculiar in its enlarged precosta and prescutum and specialized scutum and scutellum. The abdomen presents the most important sexual characters which …  Read more

The study narrowed down then to an investigation of the mental abilities and special aptitudes of the women clerical workers of Montreal. The groups tested were obtained through the very helpful co-operation of the Business and Professional Women's Employment Bureau, which has its headquarters in the Y.W.C.A. and the Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, which supplied a group of employed clerical workers for purposes of comparison. [...] The procedure used involved the establishment of two occupational and guidance clinics in the area. The clinical examination included an interview concerning the individuals vocational and educational history, vocational testing, and a …  Read more

Cette étude essaye de montrer sous quelle forme la préciosité se montre dans l'oeuvre dramatique d'Edmond Rostand. Dans la première partie le terme 'préciosité' est defini et analysé pour en determiner les éléments et les formes, suivi par une brève hlstoire des Précieuses du dix septième siècle et de leur influence sur la société et sur la litterature et le langage français.  Read more

The whole problem of racial division of labor in Canada dates from 1760. Amherst's capture of Montreal in that year broke down the political barrier established by the French Empire and opened the St. Lawrence frontier to the expanding commercial communities of the Atlantic seaboard colonies. The clash which followed between the profit-seeking Yankee and British trader, eager for new fields to exploit, and the French-Canadian habitant, resulted in social and economic complications which have been written deeply into Canadian history. The invading commercial groups secured control ot the fur trade--the French-Canadian remained a "coureur de bois"--and their eoonomic dominance …  Read more

This research was undertaken with a dual purpose. It was hoped first, to ascertain the limitations of the Sb eleotrode as a pH indicator and, second, to attempt an explanation of its mechanism in the light of these results. It is now possible to state that our findings show the antimony eleotrode to be unreliable in acid solutions because of the pronounced salt-effect which shifts the calibration curves towards higher E.M.F. values. This "solute-error" is not confined to inorganic salts, but is also shown by alcohol and acetone. Alkali-metal sulphates in 1N concentrations cause the most serious errors. In alkaline …  Read more

The underlying causes which determine the type of food reserve in any cell of a tree, and which direct its change in form and location, are still comparatively unknown; it isthe object of this thesis to sum up our present knowledge of tree reserves, to add, if possible, to this knowledge by further experiment, and to apply the whole to the importantquestion of winter cold resistance. It is clear that a study of food reserves is of less importance with tropical trees than with trees of temperate climates, since the former, having a faTourable environment (as regards temperature) throughout the …  Read more

If, as has been claimed many times from the first dawn of science to the present day, all the sciences are related, and together form a whole and a single system, then it is important that the means and methods of the greater system be understood. We must discover what is the common demominator and what determines the principles and conditions, the limits and relations. This would lead us to suspect that there is some external study, some science of the sciences, such as philosophy claims to be, which shall say to all the sciences, here are your boundary lines. …  Read more

While observations upon chromosome structure, movements and associations in normal diploids have provided us with fundamental conceptions of the role played by the chromosome in Mendelian heredity, it has been clear for some time that further progress is to be sought in the examination of abnormal or unusual types. In recent years, the chief contributions to an understanding of the conditions underlying chromosome associations have resulted from studies upon organisms whose chromosomes show numerical or structural aberrations from the normal. The abnormalities may arise de novo, but most significant results are likely to be obtained when they are induced by …  Read more

In brief, any concerted effort that may be made to extend the currency use of silver in Canada appears, from this tabular analysis, to be unwise and misdirected. By the same token whether the world price of silver is maintained at its present level or not is a matter of no real importance to the national life of Canada. The price which silver presently commands - and even one substantially lower - is higher than that prevailing for commodities which comprise a much more significant place in our economic set-up. It would appear, therefore, that the people of Canada have, …  Read more

The records of the National Park Branch, Department of Interior of Canada, show that ruminants in Wainwright Park, Alberta have been parasitized by liver flukes for some years. In 1931 an examination of these records revealed that the infested animals were becoming more numerous and an investigation became desirable. At that time it was uncertain whether the parasites present were of one species, Fascioloides magna, which had been reported from that district in 1923 or were F. magna and Fasciola hepatica. [...]  Read more

During the past three years a rust of peas has become prominent in Eastern Canada. From a position of obscurity and of purely myoological interest, this rust has rapidly attained a position which is causing considerable concern among growers. The only pea rust described to date on this Continent is Uromyces fabae (Pers.) de Bary, though the possibility ofthe European pea rust, Uromyces pisi (Pers.) Wint., having become established in this country is considered herein. [...]  Read more

Modern lite 1s so closely bound up with the progress ot science, that there 1s scarcely a field of human activity not untouched by its influence. Our present health, home, city, national and even international life, alike depend on the material advances made in science during the last century. Thus, we can live in large numbers in cities only because of the advances in medical and sanitary sciences. The cities themselves, with homes oomfortable and convenient beyond the dreams of our grandfathers, depend, in the main, on discoveries in the physical sciences and their applioation by the Applied Sciences. Their …  Read more

Lignin is unquestionably one of the most baffling of the naturally occurring organic substances that has attracted the attention of the chemist. Occurring as it does in all woody plants, in grasses, cereals and so forth, and to the extent of about 30% in coniferous trees, it is one of the most abundant of raw materials. Unlike cellulose and rubber, lignin has found no application in industry and the arts. rhus quite apart from the academic interest, the study of the structure of lignin implies an endeavour to find some means for its utilization. [...]  Read more

The nineteenth century was an era of great importance in the establishment of democracy in the United States. The century opened with the election of Thomas Jetferson as president, the first Democrat to be put 1n power. Having but recently obtained its independence, the United States was striving to find the basis tor its future policy of government, internal and external. From that time on there was a rapid growth tn population, territorial expansion and in a more complete severance from European influence. It was a period of momentous changes in government and society trom which America was to emerge …  Read more

Clasaical problems of the kinetic theory of gases fall into two divisions- namely, those problems which deal with a uniform gas, and those which are concerned with a gas which is not uniform in composition, mean velocity or energy. The present work deals with the latter. The keystone of the kinetic theory of gases is the development of the law of distribution of molecular velocities. This was done by Maxwell for the case of a uniform gas; and by means of his well known law the pressure and temperature of a gas can be expressed in terms of the moleoular …  Read more

The measurement of particle size 1s important industrially. Among other applications may be mentioned its use in the grinding of ores and in the manufacture of Pulp and Paper. Investigations have been in progress for some time in the Physical Chemistry department of McG111 University, their object being the measurement of particle size by a light absorption method. Recently a new apparatus and technique were proposed: this investigation deals, in the first place, with an examina tion of the scope and sensitivity of this new apparatus and with the relation of its results to those of a previous apparatus. [...]  Read more

Un jour, à sept heures du matin, Dumas se rendlt chez le baron Taylor, commissaire royal près du Theåtre-Français. 1l portait avec lui un drame hlstorique qu'il venait d'écrire, intitulé "Christine". Dumas, à cette époque était encore inconnu des cercles littéraires, mais, malgré son obscurité, le baron Taylor avait consenti à écouter la lecture de son oeuvre. [...]  Read more