Abstract
Dublin
Royal Dublin Society, March 23.
D. A. WEBB and W. R. FEARON: Studies on the ultimate composition of biological material. (1) Aims, scope and methods. A spectrographic survey has been made of peat from samples taken at different depths: (a) surface, (b) five feet down, and (c) twenty feet down. The following elements were plentiful in all samples: aluminium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, strontium. The following decreased with depth: lead, phosphorus, silver. The following increased with depth: barium, iron, silicon, zinc. The following were present as micro-constituents and showed no significant variation with depth: copper, molybdenum, potassium, tin. Surveys were made also of related organisms, namely, bakers' and brewers' yeast, and of various regions of a single structure, namely, the outer and inner layers of the testa and the endosperm of the Brazil nut. The data are discussed in connexion with the classification of biological elements into primary, secondary, and micro-constituents, and contaminants.
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Societies and Academies. Nature 139, 728–729 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139728a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139728a0