McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1939

Maass, O. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The results of partitioning the feed consumption of growing bacon-type swine into fractions used for body maintenance and for body weight increase are reported. The regression equation found to fit the data was: y = 0.524 + 0.102(W)^0.73 + 1.163(ΔW) in which y= calculated feed intake, (W)= body weight, and (ΔW)= change in body weight. The data indicate that approximately two-thirds of the feed eaten by full-fed growing pigs is used for body maintenance and one-third for body weight increase. Standard partial regressions show that of the variability in feed consumption accounted for by body size and by rate of …  Lire la suite

During the past few years a number of thorough studies have been made of immigration into Canada and the United states. These have not only revealed the quantitative movement of large numbers of people across international boundaries with the expressed intention of establishing permanent residence, but have also indicated the precise nature of the social process of immigration. The studies of’ the latter have been most profitable in bringing out the causative factors of migration and the by-productual results affecting individual personalities and the general body politic among which they seek an economic and social niche. [...]  Lire la suite

"In spite of all that is written, said, and done, this great, big, incontrovertible fact stands out-the Negro is progressing, and that disproves all the arguments in the world that he is incapable of progress." L'amélioration de l'état et de la position sociale des Noirs est un des faits les plus saisissants de notre vie d'aujourd'hui. Depuis le commencement du vingtième siècle, période plus libérale et plus tolérante que nulle autre auparavant envers le Noir, il commence à pénétrer dans tous les domaines de la pensée, de la vie intellectuelle, sociale et politique. Il reste beaucoup à faire, naturellement, car …  Lire la suite

The section which has served as a type for the Lower and Middle Devonian beds of eastern Gaspe was first worked out by Logan in 1863, and later elaborated by Clarke. The former gathered much of his data from the Gaspe Bay region, especially from the exposures on the Fori1lon. The latter also studied the rocks of the Forillon intensively, and, using Logan's work as a basis, worked out in great detail the section of the limestones, both lithologically and paleontologically. It might have been expected that the section thus developed would serve for much or all of the Gaspe …  Lire la suite

The alkali metals, because of their extraordinary properties and comparative ease of theoretical treatment have figured largely in the theories of the solid state and the optical properties of metals. [...] One very significant result of this work is that transmission curves calculated from the values of the refractive index and extinction coefficient show a gradual onset of transparency and "do not allow one to talk of the point where transparency commences". [...] One would thus expect a falling off in the photoelectric emission to be connected with the region of transparency. This is observed in the alkalis. But the …  Lire la suite

Although Salmonella pullorum has for many years been the subject of much investigation resulting in the accumulation or considerable knowledge of its various characteristics, there still exists some confusion regarding its exact recognition. This, and the fact that the genus Salmonella has undergone radical change through the newer methods of antigenic analysis stimulated particularly by White and Kauffmann, seemed to warrant a reinvestigation of the fermentation and agglutination reactions of Salmonella pullorum. As the historical resume will indicate, much of the work done on this organism has aimed at amplifying into species rank minute differences between this organism and the …  Lire la suite

A considerable amount of work has been done on toxicity by various workers but no definite, satisfactory method of expressing a definition has yet been devised. That an insecticide should be efficient in killing the insects against which it is used goes without saying, but it is difficult to frame a satisfactory definition of toxicity, which, in the case of a contact poison, is concerned with the inherent killing value of the poison as it comes in contact with the exterior of the insect's body. The chief object of these experiments is to develop a simple method of comparing contact …  Lire la suite

Following the discovery, about 70 years ago, that wood could be pulped by heating in bisulphite solutions, the sulphite process has grown rapidly to an important world industry. During this development, commercial improvements were stressed, and until comparatively recent times, the theoretical issues involved were largely neglected. In this field, much has been accomplished, so that a sound basis is provided for the present work. In a difficult problem such as this, complicated by the heterogeneity of wood as well as by the uncertain chemical atructures and properties of many of its constituents, close co-operation between the organic and physical …  Lire la suite

Any reader of elementary economics knows that money is defined as being a medium of exchange. In the course of world history, some periods can be found when the whole economy was conducted along barter lines, that being when goods are directly exchanged against other goods. But this system was found to be highly inconvenient, and the difficulty of measuring how many sheep were worth a cow, or how many pigs were worth a horse, often proved to be insuperable. The result was naturally that trade was harmed to a great extent. Eventually some particular form of goods which happened …  Lire la suite

Because of its abundant forest resources, accessible power sites, growing population and availability of investment funds, Canada leads in the output of pulp and paper. The pulp and paper industry has headed the lists in net value of production, one of the best indicators of the relative importance of a manufacturing industry since 1920, and in wage and salary distribution since 1922. It employs 16.2 per cent of all gainfully employed in Canada as compared to mining's 9 per cent. It was first in gross value of production from 1925, when it replaced the flour mills, until 1935 when it …  Lire la suite

Numerous researches during the past hundred years have been carried out to determine the structure of the lignin materials found in nearly all plants. It is well known that these substances play an important role in plant life and plant products. During this period the development of processes for the isolation of cellulose from different trees and grasses has led to the simultaneous production of huge quantities of lignin substances, the world production running into many millions of pounds. The utilization in industry of this lignin component of the plant has heretofore met with only slight success. The reason for …  Lire la suite

The production of celery in Quebec is, at the present time, not well enough developed to supply the market demands in the province. This state of affairs is not due to soil or climatic conditions. There is sufficient area of muck soil, favourably located in this province, to produce enough celery for local demands and the climate is suitable for celery growing. The cause of this state of affairs is that Quebec celery growers have suffered serious losses in the storing and marketing of their crops. For this reason, celery production is comparatively undeveloped, and the great muck soil wealth …  Lire la suite

Isolated lignins, obtained by extraction with formic and acetic acids, which are normally insoluble in aqueous bisulphite solution, have been shown to yield water-soluble lignin sulphonic acids after a prior treatment of the lignin with ozone. The alkaline cleavage of these lignin sulphonic acids has given rise to vanillin and acetovanillone, both of which have hitherto evaded isolation from these lignins. The use of formic acid as an ozonization solvent has been developed, and its characteristics in this capacity demonstrated by experiments on organic compounds of known structure. For the first time direct chemical evidence has been demonstrated for the …  Lire la suite

During many years a number of observers have presented evidence suggesting that cerebral ischaemia, resulting from local vascular spasm, or from suddenly diminished blood supply to the brain as a whole, may be instrumental in producing an epileptic seizure. Investigators have also demonstrated that an epileptic discharge may originate in an area of cortex which has been pathologically altered by a previous ischaemia. In the investigation described here these two aspects of the problem of epilepsy have been studied. The first part of the thesis deals with vasospasms and focal cerebral ischaemia produced by mechanical and electrical stimulation of pial …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this thesis is to report original experiments concerning the spread of the epileptic discharge and from these as well as from physiological studies of the cerebral cicatrices to discuss the nature of the epileptic discharge. By epileptic discharge is implied the excessive, violent discharge of certain portions of the central nervous system which is responsible for many if not all of the manifestations of epileptiform fits and epilepsy. [...] Since there are now at least four reliable indices of the epileptic discharge, as will be pointed out later, the spread of the discharge can be followed with …  Lire la suite

Aucun psychologue de race ne peut négliger les Juifs - les Juifs, leur lutte pour la vie et leur exil éternel. Cette race a donné à Jérôme et Jean Tharaud, chercheurs patients des idées primitives et anciennes, des sujets pour la plupart de leurs livres. Ils écrivent d'observation personelle de la race juive, particuliérement les Juifs de l'Europe centrale, qui sont les principaux personages de leurs oeuvres. Ainsi, "les Juifs errants, dans leur installation précaire en Europe, avec leur inquiète pensée toujours orientée vers Jérusalem, à travers d'incertaines conditions d'existence, appraissent pour la première fois dans la littérature française." Comment …  Lire la suite

In 1935, when the author entered the Graduate School at McGill, plans for the construction of a cyclotron and the active entry of McGill into the field of nuclear physics, which are only now beginning to take concrete form, were being seriously considered. Conforming with this line of development the author was set the M.Sc. problem of constructing a linear amplifier for the detection of single alpha-particles and protons. After about a year and a half this was completed and the technique of counting alpha-particles had been successfully developed. The cyclotron plans had not progressed; however, the department had obtained …  Lire la suite

Words are strange things - they change their meanings so very frequently; or perhaps it is we who do the chang1ng. At times it seems as though each man has a different meaning, or at least a different shade or meaning, for the same word. This fact is what makes defining such a difficult task. "A good definition must be succ1nct, i.e. it must with the greatest possible conciseness of expression accurately and completely establish the concept. A definition delimits the meaning of a particular word which serves to indicate a particular phenomenon. In the definition the phenomenon as a …  Lire la suite

The study of organic chemical reactions has been intensified greatly in recent years. Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics have contributed generous results as to the possibility of chemical reaction and to the position of equilibrium attainable. Since, however, considerations of this type are concerned with probability states, and are static in their treatment, no knowledge is obtained of the interaction processes by which chemical change takes place. Chemical kinetics, on the other hand, involves characteristics of the reactive process and, allied with knowledge available from thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, forms an efficient method of attack. Progress in this field has made …  Lire la suite

During the past twenty years the extension of knowledge relating to the ehem1stry of high molecular weight substances has become increasingly important. The pronounced industrial advances in the realm of plastics and artificial fibres within recent years has given impetus to the search for fundamental information concerning the mechanism of polymerisation and the structure and properties of polymers either as such or in the form of co- and mixed polymers. [...]  Lire la suite

Le problème des transports en est un epi remonte loin dans 1'histoire de 1'humanité. Ce problème a grandi sans cesse jusqu'à 1'heure actuelle, et il est certain ql'il continuera à devenir plus urgent et plus compliqué à l'avenir, au fur et à mesure que les différents moyens de transport deviendront plus perfectionnés et plus variés. Notre civilisation et nos déve1oppements, qu'ils soient nationaux ou internationaux, ont suivi partout le développement des communications et des voies de transport. De nos jours, les transports ont atteint une importance et une puissance énormes dans toutes les phases de la vie humaine. [...]  Lire la suite

[...] In order to try and clarify the existing impressions, the present investigation was started with a twofold purpose: 1. To separate sulphite pulp into fractions according to their fibre length which could then be examined for resinous bodies, enabling a comparison of the quantity and nature of the resinous constituent to be drawn. 2. To try, by any means which might suggest themselves, to note the effect of these groups of resinous materials on the properties of viscose solution in order to derive a relation between the nature of the resin and its influence on the suitability of viscose …  Lire la suite

Hydroeaia immanis Gn., the hop-vine borer, is a species indigenous to eastern North America. In the larval stage it is a pest of hops boring in the stems and roots of this plant. The first mention of what was probably this insect was made by Bethune (1872) who gave a description of a number of larvae taken from the roots of hops at Fort Credit, Ontario, and also described their work. He attempted to rear these larvae but was unsuccessful and, accordingly, gave the insect no name. However, his description of the larvae and the injury that they did to …  Lire la suite

"Power always corrupts, and absolute power absolutely corrupts. All great men are bad." Such was the final judgment of Lord Acton concerning the possession of unlimited authority and the character of those outstanding personalities who occasionally arise to assume the unconditional leadership of the society in which they live. Bat the once unquestioned conclusions of many Victorian thinkers are now the object of considerable doubt. The fields of economics and political science have perhaps been most fertile in producing significant challenges to formerly accepted doctrines. [...]  Lire la suite

The air-bladder of bony fish, or Osteichthyes, has aroused the interest of scientists for a very long time. According to Goodrich, Ronde1et studied the bladder of the Actinopterygii in 1554 and concluded that it helps the fish to swim. In the following century (1667) Needham suggested that it might serve one of several purposes: as a float, as a respiratory reservoir or as an organ to secrete gas to help in digestion. During the seventeenth century Mayow, Ray, Boyle and Borelli studied it by various experimental methods. Discussion on the functions of the bladder continued throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth …  Lire la suite

In the investigation of this problem the major part of the time was spent in the construction, erection and adaptation of the required equipment to incineration of waste liquor. A great deal of space could be filled describing the various mechanical difficulties encountered; for example, considerable time was spent in attempting to adapt a belt and pulley auxiliary drive mechanism to rotate the furnace. This was eventually scrapped and a chain and sprocket drive used. It is deemed advisable, however, to omit such descriptive details from this treatise, as they would be uninteresting and of minor value to future readers. …  Lire la suite

During the past twenty-five years the taxonomy of the Nematoda has received much consideration and the classifications which have resulted have been of great value in the proper understanding of the group. Much progress has been made in the arrangement of the parasitic forms and several systems have been proposed for the free-living individuals. However, since the systems of classification of the two groups are so widely differentiated, a consideration of these two as one, cannot yet be adopted. It is, however, generally agreed that the nematodes are forms of very primitive organization and that they do not possess any …  Lire la suite

The course of world economic activity has not been steady; indeed, it has been subject to continual fluctuations, some of which have been·very sweeping. History records many periods of great economic expansion and recession. Such long trends, however, have been brought about, for the most part, by structural changes in economic conditions as, for example, by the discovery of new lands and consequent waves of migration, and, as such, they have been beyond the control of human influence. For that reason they are not the subject of consideration here; we are concerned, rather, with the familiar short-term fluctuations that are …  Lire la suite

The discovery of a large copper-zinc ore-body on the Waite-Amulet property in Northwestern Quebec has been an important development of 193S. This deposit, known as the lower 'A' ore-body, is interesting not only because of its large size but also because of the possibility of discovering similar deposits near it. The author believes that a brief description of the mineralogy and the rock alteration about the ore-body, as disclosed by the diamond-drill core, is of interest. [...]  Lire la suite

Location of the Property.- The Fontana Gold Mines property has an area of one thousand acres, embracing the north half-lots of range V and the south half-lots of range VI, lots 12 to 21 inclusive, Duverny township, Quebec. The southwest corner of the township is six miles due east of the town of Amos, on the north line of the Canadian National Railway. It may be reached by a motor road that runs north from the town of Amos for about ten miles to the colonist settlement of St. Maurice de Dalquier, and thence two and a half miles east. …  Lire la suite

Although Byron's popularity has been growing in recent years, his writings have a greater significance than has usually been attributed to them. A study of the biographies and articles written about him shows that ihe importance of Byron's influence on the political thought of the nineteenth century has been seriously neglected. It is my aim, in the following chapters, to discuss the political theories which Byron held and to estimate the influence they had on Europe. To present a proper background, it has been necessary to paint a sketchy account of eighteenth-century Europe and a slightly more detailed one of …  Lire la suite

While the structures of the solid and gaseous states of aggregation are fairly well understood, statements are frequently found in current physical chemical literature deploring the inadequacy of our present knowledge of the liquid state. Mathematical attempts to clarify the situation have been made recently with considerable success. Consequently, experimental data becomes doubly important in that it serves to test mathematical prediction, and forms a basis for further calculation, and in addition presents a clearer mental picture of the constitution of the liquid state. Investigations of the phenomena occurring during the transition of substances or states of matter from one …  Lire la suite

Concrete is the material made from the mixing of three materials: water, cement, and aggregates. The water and cement forms the paste which, on hardening through the chemical action between water and cement, binds the aggregates into a rock-like product. Thus concrete is an artificial conglomerate with the mortar as the matrix for the stone. [...] As the concrete is the result of the intimate arrangement of water, cement, and aggregates into a rock-like mass, its properties should necessarily be influenced by its components. Just how does each constituent part affect the character of the combined product, and what relative …  Lire la suite

Reference has been made in writings since time immemorial to the scourge epilepsy. The minds of the greatest Medical Faculties of all times have turned toward the solving of this dread problem. Although much has been learned the riddle remains unsolved. [...] The problem as attacked in this study has been divided into three distinct parts: The anatomy and the perivascular nerve supply of the intracerebral blood vessels of the normal human cortex; the anatomy and the perivascular nerves of the intracerebral blood vessels removed from epileptogenic foci; and the relation of the cytological changes seen in epileptogenic foci to …  Lire la suite

Social research in Canadian universities has recently begun to tackle the task of studying Canadian society. Under the aegis of the Department of Sociology at McGill University, studies of the West have dealt with the process of pioneer settlement which has played such an important part in determining the characteristics of Canada*s social structure. Graduate students have written a number of theses dealing with the cultural adjustment of immigrant groups in our large cities. The Social Research Department at McGill has conducted extensive studies of employment and unemployment in Montreal, and of industrial and agricultural development in Eastern Canada. Following …  Lire la suite

Numerous researches during the past hundred years have been carried out to determine the structure of the lignin materials found in nearly all plants. It is well known that these substances play an important role in plant life and plant products. During this period the development of processes for the isolation of cellulose from different trees and grasses has led to the simultaneous production of huge quantities of lignin substances, the world production running into many millions of pounds. The utilization in industry of this lignin component of the plant has heretofore met with only slight success. The reason for …  Lire la suite

Bell, J. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Hughes, E. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Du Roure, R. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The work to be described in this thesis forms part of a comprehensive research which is being carried out in this laboratory on the properties of sulphite systems. This general investigation was instituted when it was found that there were little available data on sulphur dioxide, sulphurous acid solutions and its salts. Furthermore the data recorded in the literature were not of great value since experimental results had been obtained over only small ranges of temperature and concentration. [...]  Lire la suite

The determination of the true percentage ot sugar in sugar products and syrups is of considerable importance in industry and in nutritional studies. The multiplicity of soluble sugars makes the problem a complicated one in any cases, and ncessitates the use of a large number of separate methods. In commercial sugar products sucrose is usually the chief constituent, and methods for its determination have been widely studied. The ordinary methods for sucrose determination are, polarimetric, densimetric, and refractometric. With the exception of the polarimetric method, these have been adapted, 'by calculation, from determinations of the total solids of the saccharine …  Lire la suite

Boron is an element definitely known to be essential for the normal growth of higher plants but its true rôle in the physiology of the plant is still a matter for conjecture. Doubtless its metabolic functions will ultimately be revealed by physiological and biochemical studies but it was thought that a thorough investigation of the influence of boron on the anatomy of the plant would constitute a desirable precursor to such researches and, by giving some indication of the role played by boron in the life of the plant, should indicate other pertinent studies most likely to yield constructive results. …  Lire la suite

Comparative digestibility trials with steers and rabbits fed on identical diets of pasture herbage (lawn clippings) are reported. Rabbits were found to be somewhat more variable than steers in their ability to digest pasture herbage. The variability of the rabbit, however, is not so large as to necessitate impractically large numbers of animals to obtain reliable average results. Evidence is presented to indicate the existence of a correlation between the ability of steers and rabbits to digest pasture herbage.  Lire la suite

Kellogg, C. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Historical settlement in Canada was conditioned by water accessibility. As a result, population units became located on the coasts and along navigable rivers. In New Brunswick this general pattern was carried out on the north and east coasts, and along the banks of the St. John River. Thus, two areas within the Province evolved independently of one another. The North Shore, as it is now called, was isolated overland from the valley of the St. John by the central wilderness, and the out-thrust province of Nova Scotia was a barrier to water communication between the two regions. [...]  Lire la suite

One of the major problems facing the United States Government at the present time is that of the coordination and consolidation of the various types of transportation facilities throughout the country. The largest single factor of transportation is that of the railroads. That railroads and the Government are mutually interdependent goes without saying. In order to have a healthy nation, it is necessary that the nation have healthy arteries of commerce and communication. This work is not intended to forward any type of solution to the problem, but to emphasize the need for coordination and cooperation on the part of …  Lire la suite

At every stage in the development of ethica1 thought, the following question has arisen: what is the role of the primary needs of man--his physical maintenance, the survival of the race-in the determination of his conduct? Almost every ethical philosopher has agreed that this role is a vital one. The father of ethical idealism, Plato, pointed out that society arises from the wants of men, wants that can be satisfied only in human intercourse, since no person is self-sufficient. In our day another ethica1 idea1ist, Bosanquet, has emphasized the continuity of man with this natural environment, and has suggested that …  Lire la suite

The factors which influence the secretion of milk may be classified into three main groups, namely, physiological, nutritional, and environmental. Environmental factors are controlled within limits by the livestock man. Nutritional and physiological factors are interdependent in regard to milk production, and thus the extent to which production can be increased, through liberal feeding practises, is limited. Turner (1936) has discussed in detail the factors affecting milk secretion, grouped as nutritional, physiological and managerial. A comparatively recent development in the study of lactation is the discovery of the physiological action of the endocrine glands. A large amount of work in …  Lire la suite

In the course of a survey of parasitism in trout during the summer of 1938 an interesting condition was reported among Speckled Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis fontinalis) taken from parts of Lake St. Bernard in the Province of Quebec. The fins and the skin under the scales in a specimen sent from this area were disfigured by numerous black spots. Microscopic examination showed that this was caused by the encysted metacercaria of some trematode. To establish the identity of the parasite part of the trout was given to a cat which had never previously been fed fish. On post mortem examination …  Lire la suite