191 5] Lewis William Fetser 3 



Rogers knew that Eliot also belle ved in the laboratory method of 

 teaching chemistry. 



After the selection of Professor Storer had been made, Eliot re- 

 ceived, at Vienna, a letter from Professor Rogers, asking Eliot to be- 

 come Professor of analytical chemistry in the Institute, and telling 

 him that his f riend Storer was to be the other professor of chemistry. 

 Storer and Eliot began, in September, 1865, to teach chemistry 

 by the laboratory method to the first class enrolled in the Massa- 

 chusetts Institute of Technology in a small and poorly equipped 

 room on the second story of a mercantile building on Summer Street, 

 nearly opposite the störe of C. F. Hovey & Co. But Rogers Hall 

 was nearly finished; and in the course of that year President 

 Rogers assigned the rooms in the new building to the Chemical De- 

 partment, and provided the money with which to furnish and equip 

 the laboratories. Storer and Eliot made all the detailed plans, and 

 supervised the constructions on the principle that in all chemical sub- 

 jects every Student was to have desk-room and apparatus for con- 

 ducting experiments several hours a week with his own eyes and 

 hands. 



Foreseeing the need of laboratory manuals, first in general chem- 

 istry, and then in qualitative analysis, Storer and Eliot soon began 

 the preparation of these books, — first the " Manual for Inorganic 

 Chemistry," and then the " Manual for Qualitative Analysis." These 

 books were written in a manner then novel, though now familiär 

 — some chapters by Storer and some by Eliot. The manuscript hav- 

 ing been put into type, the authors used the proofs in their classes 

 for one year in the Institute laboratories, and in this process dis- 

 covered and remedied some defects, and made many improvements. 

 It is related, by one who knew of the relations existing between 

 these pioneer teachers of chemistry, that when it came to Publish- 

 ing the book, a title page was demanded of them ; and each author 

 maintained that the other's name ought to stand first. Discussion 

 led to no result ; so they tossed up a cent to decide the question by 

 Chance. Storer picked up the cent, and announced that Eliot's 

 name was to stand first. Eliot accused him of not having looked 

 at the cent; but he would not recognize the correctness of Eliot's 

 Observation. So the book became known as Eliot and Storer's ; but 

 the authors succeeded in putting on the back of the book the names 



