P OP JJLAR MIS CELL ANT. 



135 



Arsenic in Wall-Papers. — Professor II. 

 Carmichael presented some important facts 

 to the American Association in his paper 

 on " The Quantity of Arsenic contained in 

 Wall-Papers." Scientifically speaking, he 

 said, probably no paper in the market is 

 strictly free from arsenic, for faint indica- 

 tions of it may always be discovered when 

 specially delicate tests are applied. For 

 the present purpose, papers containing less 

 than one fiftieth of a grain of white arsenic 

 to the yard are said to be free. Thirty-one 

 samples of paper, which were regarded as 

 average ones, yielded on analysis an aver- 

 age of 2 - 2 grains to the square yard. It 

 wa3 impossible to classify the papers so 

 that their prevailing colors would bear any 

 simple relation to the amount of arsenic dis- 

 covered. A paper with green ground, in 

 which arsenic might have been suspected, 

 was the only one in the lot entirely free 

 therefrom, while a paper nearly white con- 

 tained a quarter of a grain. Papers "war- 

 ranted strictly free from arsenic" by the 

 manufacturers also contained notable quan- 

 tities. In general, arsenic is more abundant 

 in the figure than in the ground, and in brill- 

 iant than in the light, monotoned papers jus- 

 now in fashion. Carmine red is particularly 

 distinguished by the amount of arsenic which 

 it usually yields. This is to be attributed to 

 the arsenic employed in the manufacture of 

 aniline red, the common red coloring-mat- 

 ter of paper, and from which, in its manu- 

 facture, the aniline fragment is imperfectly 

 freed. This same red dye, with its arsenical 

 impurity, is unfortunately largely employed, 

 on account of its resemblance to the more 

 costly cochineal, in coloring worsted and 

 woolen underwear. It may be easily dis- 

 tinguished from the latter by the readiness 

 with which it imparts its color to wash- 

 water or the skin with which it comes in 

 contact. Unfortunately, there is no guide 

 in the selection of papers free from arsenic 

 except chemical analysis, and no security to 

 the purchaser unless by a prohibitory law 

 duly enforced. 



The French Association. — The French 

 Association for the Advancement of Science 

 met in its fifteenth annual session at Nancy, 

 August 12th, and was opened with an address 

 by the president for the year, M. Friedel, the 



chemist, whose subject was "The Progress 

 of Chemistry and Mineralogy." M. Friedel 

 preceded his address with the announcement 

 that the negotiations for a union with the 

 Association Scientijique, had been brought to 

 a happy conclusion, and only a single detail 

 of formality had to be gone through to make 

 the union an accomplished fact. The object 

 of the Association was defined to be, to at- 

 tract the largest number possible of their 

 fellow-citizens to high scientific culture ; not 

 to vulgarize science, or bring it down by tak- 

 ing its true character away from it ; but to 

 unite those who cultivate the highest science, 

 and group around them those persons who, 

 without ascending to the summits, wish, at 

 least, from medial regions, to follow with 

 their eyes the traveler going up, through the 

 obstacles, from peak to peak, without ever 

 reaching the last one. In his conclusion, 

 he recommended as another purpose, which 

 they could all seek without provoking jeal- 

 ousies, the advancement of the intellectual 

 and moral glory of their country. " Sci- 

 ence," he said, " is a marvelous agent of in- 

 dustrial progress, and those labor under a 

 false inspiration who regard it as a super- 

 fluity of an aristocratic civilization. Eco- 

 nomic failures must soon remind them that 

 the industry of routine has now lived its day, 

 and that that only is vital which rests close- 

 ly on the knowledge of the laws of matter. 

 Science is no less favorable to moral develop- 

 ment. How the assiduous search for truth, 

 whether in the world of matter or in that of 

 extent and quantity, elevates the mind and 

 fortifies the heart ! How much ought the 

 comparison of the little that we know with 

 the infinitude that we do not know to con- 

 tribute to make us modest ! " Another ad- 

 vantage of helping the progress of science 

 is that, while we differ on so many other 

 questions, we can be one in that. M. Colli- 

 gnon, the secretary-general, made the annual 

 report of the history of the Association dur- 

 ing the year. An address of welcome was 

 made by the Mayor of Nancy, who said that 

 they desired to create there a great center 

 of French science, to compensate for what 

 they had lost at Strasburg. An important 

 discussion took place, in the Agricultural 

 Section, on wheat-production, in which the 

 competition of India was acknowledged to 

 be formidable, and threatening to become 



