McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1940

In its development from the unorganized data of Natural History, the youthful science of Ecology has evolved along two rather divergent lines. The first of these, called by Chapman, "Autecology·, deals with some single species of plant or animal 1n relation to its environment or to some restricted part of its environment. This approach has the obv1ous advantage of limiting the field and eliminating many complexities. Its disadvantages l1e in the fact that it tends to over emphasize some isolated part of what ought to be a broad and complexly interrelated structure. The other aspect of Ecology, called ·Synecology' by …  Lire la suite

This project was started in the summer of 1932 when it was felt that a knowledge or the germination behaviour of weed seeds, would enable the Division of Botany of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada, to complete the life history of many weeds. As considerable work has already been done on the effects of burial, these weed seeds were stored in bottles and in envelopes and kept in a laboratory under ordinary conditions of heat and light, etc. By periodically testing these seeds for germination it was hoped that specific differences in viability and changes in germination capacity due …  Lire la suite

Within a hundred years after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, dating from the accession of George III in 1760, England had completely changed from the dominantly agricultural country it had been for centuries before. [...] Wretchedness and misery was the lot of the labouring classes in the crowded industrial centres. Fluctuating prices and inadequate wages marked the period. The labour of women and children was on the increase. [...] So striking was the contrast that protest was inevitable. [...] In the social and political field John Ruskin was both a protest and a portent. Reacting vigorously against the individualist …  Lire la suite

L'oeuvre de Marcel Proust englobe une série d'éléments aussi divers que l'imagination peut les concevoir. ''A la Recherche du Temps Perdu" est à la fois une sorte d'autobiographie, un roman historique,une analyse psychologique,et un -traité philosophique. Tous ces aspects se combinent et se lient inextricablement dans le héros qui représente l'auteur lui-même. La diversité des sujets,l'originalité et la complexité de sa méthode et de son style présentent un problème littéraire extrêmement difficile à analyser. [...]  Lire la suite

Research workers on human nutrition have shown the value and importance of fresh vegetables in the diet, especially for their mineral and vitamin content. Of recent years the consumption of such fresh vegetables has greatly increased, which in turn has brought about the necessity of storing vegetables in order to have a continuous supply. Celery is one of the most important stored vegetable crops and at the same time one of the most hazardous to store. In spite or its importance, very little experimental work has been done as yet on vegetable storage problems. Because low temperature is probably the …  Lire la suite

The work to be described in the following pages may be conveniently divided into two parts, the first section dealing with various chemical reactions resulting from the action of hydrogen peroxide-- nitric acid mixtures on organic compounds and identification of the products obtained, the second with physical measurements of hydrogen peroxide mixtures, principally of refractive index. The latter part is somewhat preliminary in nature, the ultimate aim being to obtain a means of determining the structure of hydrogen peroxide and the various peracids which are formed by its action upon different acids, both organic and inorganic. The refractive index measurements …  Lire la suite

In the course of the cytological studies of cereals conducted in this department it was noticed, in a number of cells, that two or more bivalents were interlocked with each other at meiotic metaphase. The percentage of cells containing such interlocked bivalents is unusually high in the speltoid mutants of wheat (Triticum vulgare Host), unbalanced types having 40 or 42 chromosomes with a homozygous deficiency instead of the usual 42, and resembling Triticum Spelta more than T. vulgare. [...]  Lire la suite

Nous assistons depuis quelques annees en France a un renouvellement d'inter~t a la vie religieuse qui se manifeste par la conversion de nombre d'ecrivains et par des oeuvres dont 1 1 atmosphere est essentiellement religieuse. Un Jammes, un Claudel, un Gheon, et un Le Cardonnel, pour n'en mentionner que quelques-uns, ne sent pas les premiers venus, et temoignent de la diversite de talents qui travaillent a construire la cite mystique des lettres.[...]  Lire la suite

The Waite-Amulet property consists of 3,967 acres in Dufresnoy and Duprat townships, northwestern Quebec. It lies approximately six miles northwest of the Horne mine of Noranda Mines Limited at Noranda, Quebec. [...] The copper-zinc-gold-silver ores are obtained at present from the Waite section, the former Waite-Ackerman- Montgomery mine. [...] A large body of similar ore is being developed in the Amulet section. This is the Amulet lower A ore-body which was disclosed by diamond drilling during the spring of 1938. During the summer of 1939 that part of the property lying between F shaft (Amulet section) and the property boundary …  Lire la suite

For many years past, investigations have been carried out in an attempt to determine the structure of lignin, a constituent of nearly all plants. The importance of lignin and the role which it plays in plant life is not yet clearly understood. But its significance from the industrial and economic aspect can hardly be overestimated. For in the processes developed for the isolation of cellulose from various woods and grasses, there are obtained simultaneously large quantities of lignin. This lignin waste amounts to approximately one ton out of every four tons of wood used in the manufacture of sulfite pulp. …  Lire la suite

The Beaufor Mine, formerly owned by Beaufor Mining Corporation Limited and now the property of Cournor Mining Company Limited, consists of a North-South block of eight claims in the South-West corner of Pascalis township and an adjoining group of eight claims in the NorthWest corner of Louvicourt township, in Northwestern Quebec. It lies immediately to the South of the Perron property (See map no. 2). Its area is 661 acres. It is only about a mile away from the main highway between Val-D'Or and Senneterre and the distance to Val-D'Or is 13 miles. The distance to Pascalis station, on the …  Lire la suite

It has been found that increase in bursting strength of paper is accompanied by a decrease in the dielectric constant of that paper. This is true whether the strength is increased by pressure on the wet sheet or by beater treatment. Two explanations have been made for this relationship, an increase of fibre-to-fibre bonds and increased flatness of the fibres with increased strength. It has not been possible to separate these two effects. The anisotropy of cellulose as a dielectric has been established and a method devised whereby the axial and transverse values of the dielectric constant of the cellulose …  Lire la suite

[...] Man's earliest attempts were to classify the different kinds of matter. The ancient alchemists worked in a murky atmosphere of superstition and mysticism but from this the qualitative classification slowly took shape. Through their endless trial and error experiments, the different substances and their properties became known, as well as their modes of reaction and methods for their preparation. [...] The type of investigation has changed from the study of processes with more than one reactant, to processes where the decomposition of one simple molecule is involved, from this to reactions of atoms and free radicals; all in the …  Lire la suite

The cyanide process has for its object, the commercially profitable recovery of gold from its ores. This is accomplished by the solvent action of an alkaline cyanide solution on the precious metal. This process is complex and if the mechanism of the solution of gold is clearly understood today it is within very recent years that this understanding has been achieved. The variables in the cyanide process have been the subject of much research but there is one which has received less than its due share of attention: the oxygen content of the solution. Holmes (1) states that "it has …  Lire la suite

The action of acids on the phosphorus compounds of the soil is probably one of the oldest processes studied by soil investigators. [...] The plant is believed to absorb its phosphorus as inorganic phosphate, and hence a study of the soluble inorganic fraction would seem to be of great practical importance. According to this view the decomposable organic fraction must be mineralized in the soil to inorganic form in order to be used by the plant. Therefore the uptake of phosphorus by plants is likely to be regulated by the nature of the soil inorganic phosphorus complex. [...] Since soils …  Lire la suite

The Bralorne Mines Ltd. property on Cadwallader Creek, Bridge River District, has been the principal gold producer in British Columbia for the past several years. The ore-bodies show similarities to the ore-bodies from which much of the gold won in Eastern Canada comes. It is therefore interesting to discuss in some detail the relationships in the Empire mine which has been the principal producing section of the Bralorne. The Empire mine is a part of the property of Bralorne Mines Ltd. at Bralorne,B.C. The property is made up of 61 claims, and is northwest of and adjoins that of Pioneer …  Lire la suite

During the last few years the study of organic chemical reactions has received a great deal of attention. Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics have contributed much knowledge as to the possibility of chemical reaction and to the final position of equilibrium, but since they deal only with probability states and do not take into account the intermediate stages of the reactions, no knowledge can be gained of the individual steps by which the overall chemical changes take place. [...]  Lire la suite

For over one hundred years experiments and observations have been made on the so called 'critical' change of a liquid to a gas. No adequate explanation of all the phenomena has yet appeared. Some investigators cling to the classical picture of this transition. They believe that a liquid differs from a gas by degree only, and hold that when the critical change occurs the two phases are physically identical. Anomalous behaviour, which has been observed, would be attributed to impurities, gravitational effects, and other extraneous factors. On the other hand, an increasing amount of evidence has been, and is being …  Lire la suite

In the summer of 1938 the Geological Survey of Canada, as a result of prospecting activity and the discovery of favorable mineralization in the Yellowknife and Gordon lake areas north of Great Slave Lake, sent several field parties into the areas to map the more promising sections in detail. [...] The writer had the opportunity to study the sediments underlying much of the area. This study, with laboratory investigation, is the basis of this thesis. Suites of specimens were collected from which thin sections were prepared by the Geological Survey of Canada. [...] The Gordon lake area, approximately 564 square …  Lire la suite

Although the study of reaction kinetics really originated when Guldberg and Waage enunciated the Mass Law in 1867, little progress was made for many years. Early workers investigated whether a reaction would or would not go and what yield of products it would give but they gave little consideration to the mechanism of the reaction. [...] In many cases, moreover, the products of the primary decomposition would also decompose so that the final products gave little information about the primary processes. [...] The industrial importance of the hydrocarbons has aroused great interest in their thermal decomposition mechanisms. Unfortunately, however, the …  Lire la suite

Phosphorus deficiency is one of the major agricultural problems. Although most of our Canadian soils are well supplied with total phosphorus, only a very small proportion of this is available to plants. [...] We may state the question thus: Does the large quantity of organic phosphorus in our soils represent simply an accumulation of the end products of the decomposition of organic material added to the soil, thus being inactive and of little use for the phosphorus nutrition of plants; or does it still constitute an active part of the phosphorus cycle in our soils, being a store, as it …  Lire la suite

In his contribution to the volume entitled The Social and Political Ideas of Some Great Medieval Thinkers, A. J. Carlyle treats of the place of St. Augustine in the history of political thought. In general he regards Augustine as a typical representative of Patristic thought, and finds his significance in the history of political ideas to lie in his re-statement of the traditional view of the Stoics and the Christian Fathers. On only one point does Carlyle find Augustine differing from the Stoic-Patristic tradition. It is the question of the relation of the state to justice. Augustine had quoted Cicero's …  Lire la suite

One of the first triumphs of the quantum theory was the prediction of the effect that an electric field has on the emission of spectral lines. It was in 1913 that Stark first demonstrated this phenomenon. The historical development of knowledge of the Stark effect is now as well known as that of the Zeeman effect. Since 1913, the original canal-ray type of tube used by Stark and the earlier workers has been superceded by various modifications of the LoSurdo source. One modification of this source was used in this work and is described in detail under the heading "DISCHARGE …  Lire la suite

Grassland, despite its vast areas, was strangely overlooked in agricultural research until about twenty years ago. Since that time, recognizing the importance of this resource, its depletion, and scope for its betterment, many scientific institutions have engaged in experimental work. Study has now been commenced in most world grazing regions and Quebec pastures have not been excepted, as experimental stations and colleges soon responded to the possibilities of the new development. [...]  Lire la suite

The purpose of this thesis is to trace the history and development of scenery, costumes, lighting, and general stage equipment from the earliest drama in England to the year 1700. The drama had its ultimate origin in the services of the Church and it is from this religious drama of the Middle Ages that our modern theatre developed. At first the clergy dramatized parts of the simple Bible stories in the chancel during the Church service. Later the drama lost direct connection with the service and the presentation was given in other parts of the Church. These performances, which were …  Lire la suite

The net debt of the Dominion of Canada on March 31, 1939 was $3,152,559,314. How this grew from the $75 millions owed at Confederation this essay will attempt to chronicle. In the story of the growth of the national debt is reflected the story of Canada -- her booms and depressions, her periods of expansion and her periods of stagnation, the triumphs of her statesmen and the mistakes of her statesmen. Particularly the mistakes. Most legislative blunders would be soon forgotten were it not for the fact that they had some financial repercussions. Yet too often is it true that …  Lire la suite

The common scab (Actinomyces scabies (Thax.) Güssow) characterized by the formation of raised, level or depressed corky lesions upon the surface of the potato tuber, is a well known disease of potatoes. It is also of common knowledge today that potato scab is caused by the organism Actinomyces scabies. The scab organism may be present in the soil or may be introduced into uncontaminated soil by the use of scabby tubers. To-day, this disease occurs in practically every part of the world where the potato is grown. This widespread disease of potato is considered very serious in the United States …  Lire la suite

An industrialized region is one whose main industries have these characteristic features: 1. Use of power-driven machinery and mechanisation and rationalization of production. 2. Large-scale establishments. 3. A large financial structure organized into corporate forms. 4. The concentration of the population in urban centres. [...]  Lire la suite

Blossom-End Rot of tomatoes begins as a slightly discolored watery spot at the stylar end of the fruit. This lesion may increase in size until it involves the distal half of the fruit. Concomitant with the increase in size is a change in color through dark brown to black. Such fruit is unsuitable for consumption. Some years ago the Division of Horticulture, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, began the culture of tomatoes in a crushed sandstone medium in order to obtain an optimum nutrient solution for tomato growth. [...]  Lire la suite

Bell, J. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

A geological study seeking to determine, for economic purposes, the value of the Sydney Coalfield as a source of coal supply. Limitations of the coalfield come under two main heads: a. Areal extent of the undersea coalfield. b. The distance from shore at which coal can be mined at a cost of production permitting its profitable sale. Conclusions reached are that the areal extent of seams below the Phalen Seam is of small economic importance, and that non-persistence of these seams in full thickness and quality in the undersea extension of the coalfield, will put an end to profitable mining …  Lire la suite

The object of science is to systematize the changes which matter has been observed to undergo, to explain their cause, and to predict their occurrence. The investigations of the chemical reactions of the compounds of carbon have shown, in many cases, that rearrangements of the molecular structures concerned might occur either by the simple readjustment of the atoms already present, or as a result of an addition to, or a remova1 from the original molecule of certain atoms or groups of atoms. Since the molecular structure of an organic compound is its fundamental characteristic, the study of these rearrangement processes …  Lire la suite

Aujourd'hui on fabrique les livres et lea autos en grande quantité. Pour aider au grand public à bien choisir parmi tant d'oeuvres superbes, on en fait des réclames de toute espèce. L'auto qui réunit vitesse et sécurité, économie et puissance, accé1ération et freinage, souplesse et rendement, élégance et confort, solidité et silence derrière un beau visage, se vend bien de même que le "Vient de Paraître", "Le Livre du Mois", "Prix Goncourt", "Prix Femina", "Un grand succès partout", ou même "Avant Propos par un membre de l'Académie" assure au livre quelque succès. [...]  Lire la suite

The critical temperature has been defined as that temperature beyond which a gas cannot be liquified regardless of the pressure, and, according to the old classical theory, the change from liquid to gas at the critical temperature could be made to follow a smooth transition in all physical properties such as density, viscosity, surface tension. This conclusion arises from the idea that a gas possesses no structure but a purely chaotic and random distribution and that, in the liquid, the molecules are merely under greater attractive forces due to their closer proximity. Accordingly the transition from the liquid to the …  Lire la suite

Osborne, F. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

During the summer of 1938 the writer was employed by the Geological Survey of Canada to map geologically and to investigate the mineral possibilities of the Windrum Lake area, Saskatchewan. R.C.McMurchy(l) made a reconnaissance survey of the area in 1936 and found geological conditions favourable for mineral deposits. He recommended that a detailed examination be made. [...]  Lire la suite

Much work on organic peracids had been done in these laboratories: as a continuation of this work, Hatcher and MacLauchlan measured the conductivity of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide mixtures. Their results showed a variation similar to that found with organic acids and hydrogen peroxide. Since organic acids and hydrogen peroxide were known to form peracids, it was suspected that the same occurrence would take place with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. [...]  Lire la suite

A desire to reduce the mount of work and expense involved in pasture digestibility trials with ruminants has prompted the suggestion that rabbits might serve as useful pilot animals in such investigations. Brody and Procter, in a review article (1933), propose the rabbit "as an experimental animal for evaluating metabolizable and net energies of cattle feeds", although even at this time it was clear from the data of Forbes, Weigner and MItchell that rabbit and steer digestibilities did not coincide. Owing to the dearth of comparative feeding trial data, however, practical application of this proposal has of necessity been delayed …  Lire la suite

The Reciprocal-Trade-Agreements Program of the United States, is conceivably the cardinal experiment in an endeavor to revive international trade by a policy of removing and reducing excessive commerce barriers. The cooperation between the United States and Canada in this pursuit, affords an excellent opportunity to analyze the results of this stratagem. Divided into 7 chapters, this study devotes the first 2 sections to a brief history of Canadian-American trade policy; and an appraisal of the foremost methods of conducting commerce, with particular emphasis on "most-favored-nation" proposals. Chapters 3, 4, and 5, present a detailed exposition of the actual tariff revisions …  Lire la suite

Boron is an element definitely known to be essential for the normal growth of higher plants but its true role 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 ground work for such researches. An indication of the role played by boron in the life of the plant, might suggest other related studies likely to yield constructive results. Accordingly the studies …  Lire la suite

The cyanide process as actually applied to the extraction of gold and silver from their ores is generally considered to have originated with British Patent nos. 14,174, Oct. 19, 1887, and 10,223, July 14, 1888, issued to J. S. MacAuthur, R. W. Forrest and W. Forrest. The first patent emphasized the efficiency of cyanide as a solvent for gold and silver, and the superiority of dilute solutions. The dissolved gold was to be recovered from the solution by any convenient way, "such as evaporating the solution to dryness and fusing the resulting saline residue, or by treating the solution with …  Lire la suite

The urbanization of the French Canadian parish, which took root in rural Quebec, can best be understood by realizing what the parish was like at the time when it became the social unit of French Canada and then tracing it through the various phases which it has taken in response to its environment There are many different types of parishes—ranging from the inclusive primary group in remote rural surroundings to the highly urbanized parish in a city like Montreal. What was the nature of the early social life in French Canada, where the dominant form of social grouping was to …  Lire la suite

In recent years the most rapidly developing branch of applied chemical science has been that of plastics and artificial fibres. The advances made in th1s field during the past decade, by the development of new substances with desirable properties, and by the industrial application of these substances to a wide variety of purposes, have provided a truly astonishing chapter in the history of our technological progress. But th1s iS not to say that a great many of the fundamental problems do not still remain. As usual, industrial development has outstripped the progress of the purely scientific understand1ng of many of …  Lire la suite

A great deal of research work has been done in an attempt to find a method by which the lignin fraction of plant material may be determined accurately. Fairly satisfactory methods have been worked out for woods and straws, but very little attention has been paid to the lignin content of vegetables. It has been the purpose of this work to study a few of the methods available for the determination of lignin and to apply what has appeared to be the most suitable method to the determination of the lignin content of vegetables. [...]  Lire la suite

The study of soil and applied potash reported in this thesis was undertaken as part of the general research program of the Macdonald College Pasture Improvement Committee. The Committee was set up in 1930 for the purpose of studying means for the maintenance and the improvement of the pastures of Quebec. The members (see appendix I), composed of representatives from the departments of Agronomy, Animal Nutrition, Botany and Chemistry, have followed the policy of studying the fundamental and scientific aspects of the pasture problem of Quebec as well as attacking it from a practical viewpoint. [...]  Lire la suite

Out of Canada's present total population of about eleven millions, some four and a quarter million are the brain and manual workers of all kinds who from year to year contribute to the national income a varied stream of goods and services. This is the Canadian working population. It includes the unemployed, for they are potentially part of the national factors of production whether we manage to use them or not. And it includes employers and employees of all kinds. Customary reckoning does not include in the working population the two or two-and-a-quarter million women who as housewives or helpers …  Lire la suite

Reactions of synthesis are of prime importance in organic chemistry. The reaction itself may be of practical interest by reason of its uniqueness, smoothness, and the high yield of product which may result from it. From a theoretical point of view, however, the mechanism of the reaction may be of greater importance. The discovery of a new synthetic method, whether by design or by accident, is followed by a period of expansion wherein the reaction is applied to a great many cases in order to determine the limits of the reaction. [...]  Lire la suite

Dans la littérature canadienne-française c'est la période de 1860-1900 qui est la plus intéressante et la plus importante au point de vue littéraire et historique. L'histoire fut la source d'inspiration de ces grands poètes canadiens français comme Crémazie, Fréchette, Chapman et LeMay qui appartiennent a la meilleure époque de la littérature de ce jeune peuple. Il n'est pas étonnant que l'histoire, surtout l'histoire du Canada, ait été l'inspiratrice de ces poètes, parce qu'on ne saurait nier l'influence de l'histoire chez les peuples depuis le commencement de la civilisation et surtout dans la littérature nationale d'un pays. [...]  Lire la suite

The area to be considered in this thesis includes most of the townships of Barry, Bailly, and No. 118, and parts of Lacroix, Coursol, Souart, and Nos. 117 and 119, in the County and Territory of Abitibi, northern Quebec. The east-west boundary between the County and the Territory of Quebec crosses the area. The writer was engaged by the Quebec Bureau of Mines to map the geology of this area during the summer of 1939 and was in the field for about four months. During that time the shores of the principal lakes and rivers were examined and the intervening …  Lire la suite

In the past fifty years or so, molybdenum has come into considerable prominence. Up to the beginning of the last World War, its main uses were in connection with the manufacture of magnet steels and of chemical salts such as ammonium molybdate and molybdic acid. However with the World War molybdenum became important owing to its use in a number of special steels. During this period a vast amount of experimental work was undertaken and a more extensive search was made for molybdenum deposits. While the industrial application of molybdenum has been extensive in the last decade or so, the …  Lire la suite