MAGNESIUM. SCHEERER. 



mann and Marchand, the best German chemical workers 

 in this field, and Dumas, the greatest French representative. 



Our standard exactly expresses the work of these masters 

 under one general formula; let us now test the work of the 

 young chemists of Harvard, who are by the Government 

 and Smithsonian standard four thousand times better 

 chemists than was Dumas. 



We see, by the table of the analytical excess given above, 

 that the analytical excess of Dumas was 279 high (in the fifth 

 place) ; that the young chemists of Harvard started out, in 

 their second series at about half this excess (exactly 160) ; 

 that in their third series they brought this excess down only 

 four additional units of the fifth place, and in the fourth 

 series they diminished it only by one unit more. 



The entire " Progress " they have made, measured 

 according to our standard, is the mere reduction of the 

 excess from 160 to 155, that is 5 units! 



Now 155 high, represents 0.34 high on the atomic weight 

 of magnesium, putting it at 24.34. 



Their second series, 160 high, placed this atomic weight 

 at 24.35. 



While these young Harvard chemists, according to the 

 Smithsonian Institution and United States Government 

 Chief Chemist, became two hundred times more perfect in 

 precision, they only succeeded in paring off one measly 

 little hundredth from the atomic weight magnesium, bring- 

 ing it down from 24.35 t 2 4-34- 



But these young chemists of old Harvard, and the author 

 of the American Olla Podrida of Official Chemistry in 

 Washington will say " again " that my standard is not right, 

 that only Mark Twain will take it into consideration, and 

 what not else of abuse and denunciation they may bring 

 forth when among themselves or at the head of some chem- 

 ical fraternity. See my General Chemistry, Lect. 99, Art. 15. 



I think we have given enough of data to show that our. 

 standard is fully established by the work of all the great 

 masters in this branch of chemistry, even up to this point. 

 We shall, in the next few chapters, greatly strengthen it by 

 the best work done in recent days. 



