16 Traits. Acad Sci. of St. Louis 



in the ccrainic's, rii1)l)<'r, i^aint, vaniisli, loatlior, dyoinj]; 

 and printiTiiT, ccllnlost', ci'llulosc iiitrat«'S and acftatos, 

 pliototrrapliic and otlicr industries, tlio o]iorat()rs of 

 plants have a vast amount ot" ciiipirical iiit'ornuition as to 

 \vlial happens and know |)riict ically notliin.i; about wliy it 

 hapiu'us. Tlic silicate imlust rifs are avowcilly empirical 

 and so is the dyein.LT industry. The rnhher industry 

 knows practically nothing" about the theory of vulcaniza- 

 tion. People in the cellulose industries do not seem to 

 know how many cellulose nitrates there are. The photo- 

 uraphic industry has only empirical knowled.ire in reirard 

 to emulsions and has no adequate theory in reuaril to 

 photoirraphic develoj)ment Nearly all the tanneries in 

 the countrv run on an emiiirical basis. All th("S(» 

 industries will eventually be put on a sound and 

 scientific basis, and this work will have to be done 

 by chemists. Conditions as they are described by 

 Professor Bancroft were recognized many years aifo 

 by The American Institute of Chemical En,i?ineers. 

 This body of men devotes not a small jiai't of its 

 activities to developiui? courses for students in Chem- 

 istry at our universities wliich ensure etKcient prep- 

 aration for industrial work. Its Coimuitt(>e on 

 Education, Dr. A. D. Little of lioston, Chairman, has 

 recently secured with much labor and at ^reat exjuMise 

 very complete information from many Ainerican univers- 

 ities, and a comprehensive report will be circulated 

 shortly amoni; the interested institutions. Columbia 

 rni\-ersity of New York, The Institute of Technolo.iry in 

 Boston, The Polvtechnic Institute in lirooklvn, N. Y., 

 and Cornell Ctiiversity, are co-o])eratin.u'. A iiumbtM* of 

 universities have already remodeled tlieir courses in 

 chemical enuineerinir, and it is hoped that others will 

 follow, for the benefit of our chemists and of our chemi- 

 cal industrv. 



1 



