270 



NA TURE 



[July 19, 1900 



In his first summing up of the principles of the periodic 

 law in 1869, Mendeleeff concludes that "elements which 

 are similar as regards their chemical properties have 

 atomic weights which are either of nearly the same value 

 {e.g. platinum, iridium, osmium) or which increase regu- 

 larly {e.g. potassium, rubidium, caesium)." So in most 

 schemes for representing the periodic system, each trip- 

 let of these elements is considered as a single element, 

 and because even then they do not seem to fall into 

 regular periodic arrangement, they are cast.out, Ishmael- 

 like, into an anomalous eighth group. This is doubtless 

 the reason they have been relatively so much neglected 

 by chemists, and possibly it is not incorrect to say that 

 the chemistry of these metals is less known than that of 

 any other group of well characterised elements. Yet 

 there are certainly no nine nearly related elements which 

 present so many interesting chemical problems, the solu- 

 tion of which will so much further our knowledge of 

 chemistry in general. Prof. Howe dealt in detail with 

 this eighth group and some of its many problems. 



The ordinary division of these nine metals is into three 

 groups, viz., the common metals, iron, cobalt and nickel, 

 with an atomic weight of from 56 to 59 and a specific 

 gravity of 7*8 to 89; the lighter platinum metals, 

 ruthenium, rhodium and palladium, with an atomic 

 weight ior5 to io6'5 and a specific gravity of about 12 ; 

 and the heavy platinum metals, osmium, iridium and 

 platinum, of atomic weight 191 to 195 and specific gravity 

 2r5 to 22*5. These nine metals are held to fulfil every 

 definition of an element, and are just as much to be looked 

 upon as simple elementary substances as any of those 

 substances which are called elements. Though refined 

 determinations may change, to a slight extent, the atomic 

 weights of some of these elements, especially those of 

 ruthenium and osmium, the weights of these elements 

 relative to each other, and hence their position in the 

 periodic system, will probably remain unchanged. This 

 carries with it the conclusion that in the periodic ta'ble 

 an element may have an atomic weight slightly lower 

 than that of the element which precedes it. 



Reference was made to the natural grouping of the 

 elements of the eighth group into three triplets, iron, 

 ruthenium, osmium ; cobalt, rhodium, iridium ; and 

 nickel, palladium, platinum. That this is a natural 

 grouping is attested by a comparison of the compounds 

 of these metals. However, in considering now some of 

 these compounds, the evidence of this grouping is only 

 incidentally presented ; Prof. Howe directed attention 

 to some of the more unusual of these compounds, especi- 

 ally with reference to problems which this group presents, 

 and to problems of other groups, suggested by the 

 chemistry of this group. 



Vice-President Kemp, before the Section of Geology 

 and Geography, spoke upon the " Pre-Cambrian Sedi- 

 ments in the Adirondacks." He showed that the Adiron- 

 dack area of ancient crystallines in Northern New York 

 covers about 12,000 square miles. It has long been 

 known that in the gneisses and eruptive rocks which con- 

 stitute it, crystalline limestones of undoubted sedimentary 

 origin occur in many places. The address presented the 

 results of the work of the last ten years upon these sedi- 

 ments. It has been recently learned that ancient sand- 

 stones are also present, and many gneisses, which are 

 doubtless altered shales. The crystalline limestones are 

 in greatest individual areas in the north-west, where the 

 belts have been shown to be from twenty to thirty-five 

 miles long and from two to six miles broad ; but they 

 are most numerous on the east, where the speaker has 

 now located over fifty different localities of relatively thin 

 beds. In their structural relations these narrow beds on 

 the east are interstratified with the gneisses, and are 

 more especially associated with fragmental sediments. 

 From these relations the argument is drawn that the 

 sediments were extensive, that they involved more lime- 



NO. 1603, VOL. 62] 



stone on the west and more sandstone and shale on the 

 east, and that many gneisses represent former shales. It 

 was further shown that these strata are profoundly meta- 

 morphosed, and in such a way that the changes must 

 have been produced while the rocks were under a heavy 

 over-lying load, and were deeply buried. Evidence was 

 brought forward to prove that this burden consisted of 

 pre-Cambrian rocks. The speaker said that, inasmuch as 

 there are abundant eruptive rocks present of a coarsely 

 crystalline type, which were likewise produced under 

 deep-seated conditions," it is assumed that they represent 

 the deeper rocks of an old and very extensive volcanic 

 area, whose tufas and lavas built up the burden of pre- 

 Cambrian rocks, which have now disappeared, and which 

 made possible the metamorphosis of the ancient 

 sediments. 



Vice-President Trelease, before the Section of Botany, 

 delivered an address under the title, " Some Twentieth* 

 Century Problems," passing in review the great utili- 

 tarian development of botanical science during the 

 present century, and indicating its probable greater 

 advancement along utilitarian lines during the next 

 hundred years. He made a general statement of the 

 great problems to be met and solved, and considered in^ 

 detail the necessity and means of co-operation in the 

 treatment of species and their nomenclature, and ia 

 details of publication which are becoming daily of more 

 evident importance for the greatest possible advancement 

 of science. In conclusion he made a strong plea for the- 

 establishment of a Government Reservation in the Red- 

 wood {Sequoyta sempeivirens) Forests in California, not 

 only as a means of preserving a forest growth which can 

 never be reproduced, but as furnishing the means of 

 solving many problems closely connecting biology and 

 meteorology, which may ultimately be of the greatest 

 economic utility. 



The address of the retiring President, Mr. G. K. 

 Gilbert, was delivered on Tuesday evening at the 

 American Museum of Natural History. His subject was- 

 " Rhythms and Geologic Time." This address appears- 

 in another part of the present number of Nature. 



The programmes of the sectional meetings were very- 

 full, and the discussions in the sections of mathematics 

 and astronomy, physics, chemistry and botany were 

 especially animated and prolonged. 



Several important matters were decided upon by the 

 Council. Perhaps that of the greatest general interest 

 to members of the Association was the decision to try 

 the experiment during the year beginning January i,. 

 1901, of publishing all official notices and proceedings of 

 the Association in the journal Science^ and of sending 

 that journal to all members of the Association at the 

 expense of the Association itself, and without charge to- 

 members beyond their annual dues. This will not make 

 Science precisely the official organ of the Association,, 

 since the management and the editor will remain as 

 before, and the Association will have no strict super- 

 vision of the conduct of the journal. The annual volume 

 of proceedings will be reduced during that year, and 

 possibly for future years, should the experiment prove a 

 success, to a business record of the affairs of the 

 Association, including lists of members and fellows, the 

 text of the constitution, and possibly a list of the papers 

 presented at the meetings. 



Amendments to the constitution were adopted, estab- 

 lishing a new section of Physiology and Experimental 

 Medicine (Section K), and lengthening the term of office 

 of the Treasurer of the Association from one year to five. 

 A discussion of the new International Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, Art and Education was intro- 

 dnced, and conservative action was taken which simply 

 expressed approval of the idea of international co-opera- 

 tion in the field of science, and promised to designate a 

 delegate to a national conference having that end in view- 



