4 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



branches of science outside his own specialty. In spite of the facilities 

 for the examination of the literature given by Chemical Abstracts and 

 such compendia as Beilstein's Handbueh der Organischen Chcmic, 

 Richter's Lexikon, Ostwald's Lehrbuch der Allgemeinen Chemie, 

 Abegg's and Gmelin-Kraut's Handbueh der Anorganischen Chemie 

 and the English and French Dictionaries of Chemistry, it often takes 

 a great deal of time to coordinate the knowledge available upon a 

 single topic. Consequently when men who have spent years in the 

 study of important subjects are willing to coordinate their knowledge 

 and present it in concise, readable form, they perform a service of the 

 highest value to their fellow chemists. 



It was with a clear recognition of the usefulness of reviews of 

 this character that a Committee of the American Chemical Society 

 recommended the publication of the two series of monographs under 

 the auspices of the Society. 



Two rather distinct purposes are to be served by these monographs. 

 The first purpose, whose fulfilment will probably render to chemists 

 in general the most important service, is to present the knowledge 

 available upon the chosen topic in a readable form, intelligible to 

 those whose activities may be along a wholly different line. Many 

 chemists fail to realize how closely their investigations may be con- 

 nected with other work which on the surface appears far afield from 

 their own. These monographs will enable such men to form closer 

 contact with the work of chemists in other lines of research. The 

 second purpose is to promote research in the branch of science covered 

 by the monograph, by furnishing a well digested survey of the prog- 

 ress already made in that field and by pointing out directions in which 

 investigation needs to be extended. To facilitate the attainment of 

 this purpose, it is intended to include extended references to the litera- 

 ture, which will enable anyone interested to follow up the subject in 

 more detail. If the literature is so voluminous that a complete bibli- 

 ography is impracticable, a critical selection will be made of those 

 papers which are most important. 



The publication of these books marks a distinct departure in the 

 policy of the American Chemical Society inasmuch as it is a serious 

 attempt to found an American chemical literature without primary 

 regard to commercial considerations. The success of the venture will 

 depend in large part upon the measure of cooperation which can be 

 secured in the preparation of books dealing adequately with topics of 



