128 Biochemical News, Notes and Comment [Oct. 



widespread. It is an excellent illiistration of the valuable results 

 which can be secured through practical cooikration between the 

 medical profession and enlightened business men for the saving of 

 Hfe and the prevention of accidents. (Editorial: Jour. Amer. 

 Med. Assoc, 191 3, Ixi, p. 1637.) 



The commis. consists of Prof. Walter B. Cannon, chairman; 

 nominated by the Amer. Med. Assoc, Prof. Yandell Henderson, 

 Dr. George W. Crile, Dr. 6^. /. Meltzer, nominated by the Nat. Elec. 

 Light Assoc, Prof. Edward A. Spitnka, Mr. W. C. L. Elgin, nomi- 

 nated by the Amer. Inst, of Elec. Engineers, Prof. Elihii Thompson, 

 Dr. Arthur E. Kennelly, Mr. W. D. Weaver, sec'y (elected by the 

 commis.). 



Ether day. The sixty-seventh anniversary of Ether Day was 

 celebrated in the lower amphitheater of the outpatient's dep't of the 

 Mass. Gen. Hosp., Oct. 16. The principal address was dehvered 

 by Dr. M. J. Rosenau. 



Carbates. In this age of method, accuracy and conciseness, 

 we may say sulphates instead of sulphurates ; phosphates for phos- 

 phorates (better still, sulfates and fosfates) ; nitrates for nitro- 

 genates ; chlorates for chlorinates. Why should we not say carbates 

 instead of carbonates? We already say carbides instead of car- 

 bonides ; why should we not f ollow the f ashion consistently and say 

 carbates f We should then have the word carbation to mean the 

 formation of carbates, leaving the word carbonation to refer to the 

 development of carbon in a substance which would fittingly corre- 

 spond to the present word carbonize, and so avoid a puzzling am- 

 biguity. Furthermore, the saving of time and printer's ink would 

 amount to something in a word so often used. (J. E. Todd: 

 Science, 1913, xxxviii, p. 270.) 



Mark crucibles with ink. It is a more or less common 

 practice to mark porcelain crucibles or other articles with ordinary 

 fountain pen ink. The usual directions are to dry and subsequently 

 heat in the blast, repeating the whole Operation as often as neces- 

 sary to obtain a clear brown figure. It is a saving of considerable 

 time if a convenient area of the crucible first be heated in a Bunsen 

 flame and the figure then drawn with a fountain pen. The ink 



