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Section B.— CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 

 President of the Section — Professor Heebeet McLeod, F.E.S., F.C.S. 



THURSDA Y, A UG UST 4. 



The President delivered the following' Address : — 



In endeavouring to prepare myself to properly fulfil the duties of President of 

 this section, to vphich I have been elected, and for which honour I am much 

 indebted to the council and members of the Association (although I am only too 

 well aware that the position might have been more eificiently filled by many 

 others), I naturally looked at the reports of the previous meetings held in Edin- 

 burgh in 1834, 1850, and 1871, and it appears that on the first two occasions an 

 address was not given by the President, a custom the discontinuance of which I 

 have, at the present moment, much reason to regret. 



At the meeting in 1834 a committee was appointed, consisting of Dr. Dalton, 

 Dr. Hope, Dr. T. Thomson, Mr.Whewell, Dr. Turner, Professor Miller, Dr. Gregory, 

 Dr. Ohristison, Mr. K. Phillips, Mr. Graham, Professor Johnston, Dr. Faraday, 

 Professor DanieU, Dr. Clark, Professor Gumming, and Dr. Prout, to report at tlie 

 next meeting their opinion on the adoption of a uniform set of chemical symbols, 

 Dr. Turner to be secretary. 



In the following year the report contains : ' Report of the Committee on 

 Chemical Notation. Dr. Turner, the chairman of the committee appointed to take 

 into consideration the adoption of a uniform system of chemical notation, made a 

 report to the following eflPect : — 



' 1. That the majority of the Committee concur in approving of the employment 

 of that system of notation which is already in general use on the Continent, though 

 there exists among them some difference of opinion on points of detail. 



' 2. That they think it desirable not to deviate in the manner of notation from 

 algebraic usage except so far as convenience requires. 



*3. That they are of opinion that it would save much confusion if every 

 chemist would always state explicitly the exact quantities which he intends to 

 represent by his symbols. 



' Dr. Dalton stated to the Chemical Section his reasons for preferring the 

 symbols which he had himself used from the commencement of the atomic theory 

 in 1803 to the Berzelian system of notation subsequently introduced. In his 

 opinion regard must be had to the arrangement and equilibrium of the atoms 

 (especially elastic atoms) in every compound atom, as well as to their number and 

 weights. A system either of arravgements without weights, or of weights without 

 arrangements, he considered only half of what it should be.' 



