GENERAL PREFACE 



THE rapid development of Applied Chemistry in recent years 

 has brought about a revolution in all branches of technology. 

 This growth has been accelerated during the war, and the 

 British Bmpire has now an opportunity of increasing its 

 industrial output by the application of this knowledge to the 

 raw materials available in the different parts of the world. 

 The subject in this series of handbooks will be treated from 

 the chemical rather than the engineering standpoint. The 

 industrial aspect will also be more prominent than that of 

 the laboratory. Kach volume will be complete in itself, and 

 will give a general survey of the industry, showing how 

 chemical principles have been applied and have affected 

 manufacture. The influence of new inventions on the 

 development of the industry will be shown, as also the 

 effect of industrial requirements in stimulating invention. 

 Historical notes will be a feature in dealing with the 

 different branches of the subject, but they will be kept 

 within moderate limits. Present tendencies and possible 

 future developments will have attention, and some space 

 will be devoted to a comparison of industrial methods and 

 progress in the chief producing countries. There will be a 

 general bibliography, and also a select bibliography to follow 

 each section. Statistical information will only be introduced 

 in so far as it serves to illustrate the line of argument. 



Each book will be divided into sections instead of 

 chapters, and the sections will deal with separate branches 

 of the subject in the manner of a special article or mono- 

 graph. An attempt will, in fact, be made to get away from 

 the orthodox textbook manner, not only to make the treat- 

 ment original, but also to appeal to the very large class of 

 readers already possessing good textbooks, of which there 

 are quite sufficient. The books should also be found useful 

 by men of affairs having no special technical knowledge, but 

 who may require from time to time to refer to technical 

 matters in a book of moderate compass, with references to 



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