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I HEMICAL INDl STR] , SOW AND 

 HERE [FTER. 

 Reports of the Progress 0/ IppHed chemistry. 

 Vol ii., 11)17. Pp. 536. (London: The Societ} 

 of Chemical Industry, n.d.) Price 6s. 6d. 



THE annual reports of the Society of Chemical 

 Industry on the progress of applied chem- 

 istry ought In be, and no doubt are, much appre- 

 , iaied by all who are concerned in the develop- 

 ment and extension ol applied science. Next to 

 the institution of their journal, no action of the 

 society will more directly conduce to the interests 

 of that branch of human activity which it is their 

 ial function to advance. These reports seek 

 to bring to 1 focus, as it were, year alter year, 

 all additions to knowledge and to practice in the 

 various departments of applied chemistry, as 

 grouped in the fortnightly issues of the journal 

 of the society. This journal was originally made 

 up of I 1 ) original contributions to the different local 

 sections; (2) abstracts of papers bearing upon 

 technical chemistry published elsewhere; (3) 

 abstracts of chemical patent literature; and 

 (1) reports of the annual meetings of the society, 

 with occasional editorial reviews and notices on 

 subjects of general interest to industrial chemists. 

 During the present year this last item has 

 been considerably enlarged, and placed under 

 special direction. it is an extension, in fact, of 

 the society's activities, and the element of 

 "news " thereby imparted to the journal will pre- 

 sumably increase the number of its regular readers 

 and add to its popularity. It is, however, mainly 

 upon tin' sections of the journal as hitherto con- 

 stituted that these annual reports will continue to 

 be based. The journal itself is so admirably in- 

 dexed that at first sight it might seem that these 

 apercus are in great measure superfluous. If they 

 were simply amplified indexes mere catalogues 

 raisorrnds their value would be very limited. 

 Hut the fait that each section lias been entrusted 

 1o men <>f knowledge and discrimination, identi- 

 fied with and professional!} interested in the 

 subject with which they are concerned, puts a 

 particular value on the whole work and stamps 

 "it w ith a special utility. 



The present issue, dealing with the work of 

 11)17. is the seCjOnd volume in the series. The first 



volume suffered to some extent from the fact that 



it was the initial number. It was a new venture, 

 and experience was needed in order to secure n 

 high standard, comprehensiveness, and 

 uniformity of treatment. \ comparison of this 

 volume with its predecessor shows that ibis to a 

 large extent has been gained, and that the general 

 lines of the work have now been satisfactorily 

 settled. The new volume has been enlarged by 

 the inclusion of several subjects which were nol 

 specially dealt with in vol. i.. \ iz. "Plant and 

 Machinery"; "Fibres; Textiles, Cellulose, and 

 Papei "; "Bleaching"; "Dyeing"; "Printing 

 and finishing "; "Metallurgy of Iron and Steel "; 

 NO. 25(14. VOL. I02"| 



'Metallurgy of the Non-ferrous Metals"; 

 "Sugars, Starches, and thims"; and "Electro- 

 chemistry." This 10 a large extent, although not 

 wholly, accounts for the increased size of vol. ii. 

 Some of the reports- i.e. that by I'rof. Morgan 

 on "Colouring Matters and Dyes," and that by 

 Mr. Ling on "Fermentation Industries" — have 

 been considerably enlarged. But in the main the 

 space needed for the treatment of the several 

 sections is substantially the same in the two 

 volumes, which seems to indicate that, in spite 

 of the prolongation of the war, the- activity of 

 chemical industry as a whole, as indicated by 

 additions to the literature of chemical technology, 

 suffered no marked diminution, although particu- 

 lar departments were no doubt affected. 



A valuable feature of these reports, which might 

 have been more uniformly adopted, is the short, 

 comprehensive introduction to their particular 

 section in which certain authors review the more 

 striking indications of change or progress during 

 the twelve months which have elapsed since the 

 previous reports were published. It is here that 

 the knowledge, judgment, and critical skill of the 

 reporter are needed, and it is the judicious exer- 

 cise of these attributes that serves to differentiate 

 him from the mere compiler. Your wisest clerk, 

 as Queen Elizabeth, quoting Chaucer, once said, 

 is not ahvavs your wisest man. It requires a 

 certain flair, not always possessed by the bookish 

 man, however wide his reading, to discern the 

 true inwardness and trend of a movement, and it 

 is not to be expected that all who contribute to 

 this work should possess this faculty in equal 

 degree. Xo doubt certain branches of chemical 

 industry move slowly, and years are needed to 

 perceive that any substantial change has over- 

 taken them. Nevertheless, each branch affects, 

 to a greater or less degree, every other, and pro- 

 cesses, methods, and machinery and modes of 

 management are transferred from one to the other. 

 It is thus that the Society of Chemical Industry, 

 through its journal and its annual reports, influ- 

 ences the progress of the chemical arts as a whole, 

 and it is for this reason that we shall continue to 

 welcome each successive sign of its publishing 

 activities. 



As was to lx- expected, the general character of 

 the reports is affected, to a greater or less extent, 

 by the war, and most of the contributors have 

 something to say as to its influence upon the in- 

 dustries with which they are concerned. Although, 

 of course, there are exceptions, it cannot be said 

 that the war, on the whole, has adversely affected 

 the future of chemical industry in this country. 

 On the contrary, under the stress of necessity, it 

 has given tm impetus in certain directions that 

 will be maintained. Xew industries have been 

 started, and old ones invigorated and ex- 

 tended, and it can scarcely be doubled that 

 with the establishment of peace and the re- 

 sumption of undisturbed oversea communications 

 a new era of prosperity will dawn upon chemical 

 industry. It is perfectly obvious that Germany 

 has experienced a great set-back, and it may be 



