192 



THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



few days was shown, and when placed 

 in the electric beam, revolved rapidly. 

 The density of argon prepared by mag- 

 nesium had been carefully determined 

 and fixed at 19.9, whilst that obtained 

 by sparking was approximately 19.7. 

 One of the most important properties of 

 argon was the ratio of its specific heat at 

 constant pressure and constant volume, 

 which we found to be 1.65, and hence 

 approaching to the theoretical limit of 

 1.67. It is hence concluded that it has 

 no energy, with the exception of that of 

 the translation of its molecules, for if it 

 had any other energy it would drop be- 

 low 1.54, or even lower still. Upon the 

 basis of the ratio of the specific heat of 

 argon has been founded the theory of the 

 monatomicity of argon. 



L,ord Rayleigh, in his concluding re- 

 marks, devoted some attention to ques- 

 tions which naturally occurred concern- 

 ing argon. He would have ignored the 

 question as to argon being a new gas or 

 not, had he not seen that morning a sug- 

 gestion advanced that it was merely 

 nitrous oxide. Its presence in the air 

 was, he thought, amply proved, both by 

 the fact that otherwise the discrepancies 

 would have been shown to be false ones, 

 and that blank experiments only gave a 

 small amount, comparatively, of argon, 

 and the presence of this trace was no 

 doubt due to the solubility of argon in 

 water. Graham's method of atmolysis 

 was described experimentally, and allud- 

 ing to the suggestion put forward that 

 argon is merely condensed nitrogen, it 

 was shown that this theory was not likely 

 to be tenable, as it was doubtful if it was 

 consistent with the ratio of specific heats. 

 In speaking of the nature of argon, L,ord 

 Rayleigh pointed out that neither he nor 

 Professor Ramsay had ever suggested 

 that it was an element, until they read 

 their paper before the Royal Society; and 

 also that proving it to be an element, 



was much like attempting to prove a 

 negative. The question as to its being 

 condensed nitrogen, represented by the 

 formula N 3 , was a very interesting one, 

 but as its density ought then to be 21, 

 and it has already been shown to be 

 barely 20, the hypothesis does not seem 

 to be tenable. Even if N 3 did exist, 

 chemists are by no means in unity as to 

 its probable properties, as Mendeleef was 

 of opinion that it was explosive, whilst 

 Professor Ramsay, on the other hand, 

 says it would be non explosive. — Pharm. 

 Journal. 



THE UPLIFTING OF PHARMACY AT THE 



MEETING OF THE NEW JERSEY 



STATE PHARMACEUTICAL 



ASSOCIATION. 



The 25th annual meeting of this asso- 

 ciation occurred on Wednesday and 

 Thursday, the 22d and 23d instant, at 

 Davis's Parlors, in the City of Newark, 

 and it is not too much to say that it con- 

 stituted one of the most notable occasions 

 in the history of pharmaceutical institu- 

 tions in this country. The fact that the 

 New Jersey was the first State Associa- 

 tion ever formed in the United States was 

 alone sufficient to lend great interest to 

 the occasion of its silver wedding, and 

 many an association would have con- 

 tented itself under such circumstances 

 with the celebration of a jubilee in which 

 self laudation, and the boasting overpast 

 progress would have formed the principal 

 portion of the exercises. The officers and 

 members of this association, however, re- 

 solved to go farther and make it not only 

 the culmination of one period of good 

 work, but the beginning of another 

 which should constitute an equally im- 

 portant epoch in the history of American 

 pharmacy. 



The management of the occasion was 

 in several respects novel. The members 

 and guests of the association were cared 



