proceedings: chemical society 305 



to cavities in the ingot, and will be found to be unduly brittle in the 

 web, due to the segregation of the impurities and carbon in the origi- 

 nal ingot. 



The effect of wrong heat treatment of otherwise good material, such, 

 for instance, as overheating, was illustrated in the case of steel and of 

 naval brass. 



Other cases of failure of a typical sort arc the oxidation of the tin 

 fillings of fusible tin boiler plugs, due to the presence in the tin of a 

 small content of zinc, the selective corrosion of Muntz metal sheet ex- 

 posed to action of sea water, and the season-cracking of brass, particu- 

 larly manganese bronze, which is due to the presence in the material, 

 particularly when in the wrought condition, of high initial stresses. 

 (Author's abstract.) 



The 256th meeting, a joint meeting with the Washington Academy 

 was held at the Cosmos Club, January 13, 1916, The retiring presi- 

 dent, C. L. Alsberg of the Bureau of Chemistry presented as his 

 presidential address, The chemical analysis of nutrition, which consisted 

 of a brief survey of the advance during the last decade in our knowledge 

 regarding the chemical substances involved in animal nutrition and 

 metabolism. Particular reference was made to the advance in our 

 knowledge of the chemical nature of the active constituents of the 

 ductless gland secretions. The effect of vitamines and small quanti- 

 ties of other materials upon the assimilation of foods was considered. 

 The address called forth considerable interesting discussion. A. Sei- 

 dell spoke of his success in concentrating vitamines by means of 

 Lloyd's reagent, that is, by absorbing with hydrated aluminium silicate. 



The reports of the officers for the year 1915 were read and approved. 

 The following committees were appointed by the president for the year 

 1916: Communications: E. B. Phelps, H. S. Bailey, W. H. Keen, R. 

 S. McBride and A. Seidell; Entertainment: F. A. Wertz, H. R. 

 McMillin, G. W. Morey, H. J. Morgan, E. E. Smith. 



The following resolution regarding H. R. Bill 528 to discontinue the 

 use of the Fahrenheit thermometer scale in government publications, 

 presented by the committee appointed to prepare an expression of the 

 feeling of the society, was approved : 



Resolved, That the Chemical Society of Washington favors unquali- 

 fiedly the purpose of Bill 528, now before the House of Represen- 

 tatives and in charge of the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Meas- 

 ures, and endorses said bill, provided it shall appear that its provisions 

 are such as will lead to the desired end with the least determinable 

 inconvenience to the public and to the Government service. 



The 257th meeting of the society was held at the Cosmos Club, 

 February 18, 1916. Mr. H. C. Fuller presented a memorandum in 

 relation to the Sheppard bill (S 1082) now pending before the Senate. 

 The substance of the memorandum was adopted with the proviso that 

 a committee of three be appointed by the President to shorten the 



