NOTES. I> 1 1 



were presented, many of them dealing with differenl phases of agriculture. The 

 more important of these are noted below. 



The address of the retiring president, I>r. W. G. Farlow, was upon the subjecl of 

 The Popular Conception of the Scientific Man at the Present Day. Dr. Elwood 

 Head, of this Office, gave a public address on the subjecl of irrigation, illustrating 

 his address with an excellenl collection of stereopticon views of Egyptian, Italian, and 

 American irrigation. It was considered thai irrigationin Egypt represents primitive 

 irrigation, the success of which is not the result of Buperior methods but of the mar- 

 velous fecundity of nature, while thai of Italy, on the other band, represents the 

 highesl achievement <>!' engineering skill in the utilization of resources in land and 

 water and the perfection of laws and customs governing the use of water. The greater 

 part of the address was devoted to the development and present status of irrigation 

 in the United States. 



The association adopted resolutions to Congress Looking toward the preservation of 

 Niagara Palls asa National park and the establishment of the Southern Appalachian 

 Forest Reserve. Dr. W. II. Welch, of Johns Hopkins University, was elected presi- 

 dent of the association. It was decided to hold the next summer meeting at Ithaca. 

 X. Y., and the winter meeting in New York City. 



American Chemical Society and Section C. — V. P. Venable, president of the Ameri- 

 can Chemical Society, in his address on Chemical Research in the United States 

 reviewed the progress of chemical research in this country and plead for more original 

 work. 



L. P. Kinnicutt, in an address on The Sanitary Value of Water Analysis, discussed 

 the value of chemical and bacteriological examinations in detecting polluti f sur- 

 face, ground, and artesian waters. It was considered that the bacteriological exam- 

 ination, while giving information as regards recent and continuous pollution, gives 

 no information as to the past history of a water and in tins respect differs from a san- 

 itary chemical analysis. Hence an opinion concerning the wholesomeness of a water 

 should be based upon all the information obtainable about it. 



II. W. Wiley discussed Some Important Problems in Agricultural ( Jhemistry, touch- 

 ing among other things upon problems relating to plant food, cider investigations, 

 preseryation of food products, and nutrition investigations. 



( !. W. Browne, jr., read a paper on Recent Developments in Industrial Chemistry 

 in the South, in which several industries were selected and described as illustrations 

 of the great progress thai isbeingmade. special reference was made to the manu- 

 facture of sulphuric acid and of ice, preservation of timber, utilization of pine and 

 bagasse in paper making, extraction of rice oil. introduction of improved varieties of 

 sugarcane, and manufacture of alcohol from molasses. 



The committee on uniformity in technical analysis submitted a report which showed 

 opportunities for improvement in analytical work in thiscountry. Samples of argil- 

 laceous limestone were submitted to a large number of analysts throughout the 

 United States, the results reported showing decided want of agreement in many of 

 the determinations, especially A1 2 3 , Mn<>, and Xa.,< >. 



A paper on the Filtration and Purification of the Mississippi River Wateral Ne^ 

 Orleans was read by J. L. Porter. The problem was considered one of engineering, 

 Requiring the removal of LOO tons of mud daily from the 4,000,000 gal. of water neces- 

 sary to supply the needs of the city of New Orleans. The most satisfactory treat- 

 ment was found to he preliminary subsidence for 1l' hours, coagulation with -nip hate 

 <»f alumina, and filtration. Softening of the water by the use of lime was also con- 

 sidered desirable. 



The Availability of the Phosphoric Acid of the Soil was discussed in a paper by 

 <i. s. Fraps. The use of water, carbonated water. 1 per cent acetic acid, and two- 

 hundredth normal hydrochloric acid as solvents was considered unsatisfactory. A 



