THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



171 



allows himself to be tied down to a special field, 

 in order to assist his professor scientifically, be- 

 fore he has acquired an exact knowledge of 

 organic chemical methods. We organic experts, 

 as is well known, put the greatest value on this, 

 that after a student has learned chemistry theo- 

 retically and practically, he shall acquire the 

 ability of independently working in scientific 

 fields, so that he may learn to find the way in 

 unknown, unexplored chemical fields. The 

 teacher must only assist, must keep the student 

 from going astray and must not interfere by his 

 own action with the independence of the stu- 

 dent's work. This is the best preparation for 

 his profession as a technical chemist, because 

 later he will have to rely upon himself alone in 

 the research of chemical developments, as also 

 principally the invention of new technical 

 methods or new technical valuable products. 

 The chemist however, should not work indepen- 

 dently until he has mastered the methods, and 

 when he does so, he must avoid such work 

 as is only imitation of what others have done 

 before him. 



In theoretical chemistry, the chemist should 

 be thoroughly acquainted with chemical reac- 

 tions, which form the basis of analytical meth- 

 ods, so that he can meet all the difficulties of 

 technical analysis. Althought analysis in 

 inorganic chemistry has been much perfected it 

 still leaves much to be desired in technical 

 questions, and is entirely deficient in organic 

 chemical industry. The young chemist must 

 therefore learn also to find new analytical 

 methods, so that in technical practice he can 

 himself find the proper analysis, if they should 

 not be known. But above all, he should be 

 thoroughly acquainted with the chemical reac- 

 tions that take place in the operation of techni- 

 cal chemical industry. I am 'an enemy to all 

 specialization at universities, in whichever 

 direction it may be, for the young chemist when 

 he begins his study does not know to what 

 branch he will finally devote himself, whether 

 to inorganic industry, alimentary chemistry, 

 electro chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, 

 the technic of preparing inorganic and organic 

 products, color chemistry, fermentation chem- 

 istry, agricultural chemistry, or any other 

 branch of applied chemistry. It almost always 

 depends upon accident, in which special field 

 the chemist will find his career. For that reason 

 we do not wish that the chemical technologist 

 be taught in such a manner, as is often the case 

 that the smallest detail of the apparatus is taken 

 into account, and all the tricks that are wanted 



in some technical work are explained. We only 

 wish that chemical technological sciences ex- 

 plain to the student practical inorganic and or- 

 ganic syntheses for which they are, as for 

 instance, color-technology, remarkably well 

 adapted. We wish of course, that the technical 

 chemist should be acquainted with the great 

 processes such as Le Blanc, Solway, Deacon, 

 Weldon, etc., but only in large outlines, not in 

 apparative details. Nor should he neglect 

 physical chemistry, especially electrical chemis- 

 try. In the laboratory of all universities the 

 young chemist should find electro- chemical 

 appliances, not in special apartments, but in 

 diflFerent places in the general working room so 

 that every student be in the position to produce 

 inorganic and organic preparations by electro- 

 chemistry. The young chemist must learn to 

 handle electric currents and the principles of 

 electrolysis. He will thus be placed in the po- 

 sition, if his way should lead him to the electro- 

 chemical field, to easily master that science. In 

 Germany the chemist generally finishes his 

 studies with his promotion based on his perform- 

 ance of a chemical experimental research, and 

 after passing a verbal examination in the gene- 

 ral field ot chemistry and in physics and miner- 

 alogic or another associate science. He then 

 obtains the title of Doctor of Philosophy or of 

 Doctor Rerum Naturalium. Since this examin- 

 ation can be passed in Germany only at the 

 university and not at the technical high schools 

 that also serve for the education of chemists, 

 although in the more technical direction the 

 students of the technical high schools finish 

 their studies generally by passing the so-called 

 "diploma examination." The young chemist 

 is now ready to go into practice wherever a 

 suitable situation ofi"ers itself and it will be easy 

 for him to perfect himself in any special branch 

 by studying the literature on that subject. If 

 however, he should have the necessary means 

 and should not compelled to work for his live- 

 lihood he would do well, although his university 

 study has cost him from four to five years al- 

 ready, to become assistant at the laboratory of 

 a high school. He will strengthen in that way 

 that knowledge that has very often been super- 

 ficially acquired for the examination and before 

 all, and above all, he will exercise himself in 

 independent practical laboratory work, but 

 under the superintendance of the professor. 



In our works in Elberfeld and Leverkusen, 

 in which, for our special object, we choose al- 

 most exclusively young chemists from the high 

 schools, we always give to those the preference 



