OCTOBEB 1, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



435 



Columbia 166, Cornell 157, Harvard 147, 

 Yale 86, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology 72, Northivestern 71 and Michigan 

 €9. Lehigh with its 25 foreigners and 

 Purdue with 19, make a far better showing 

 than any of the New England colleges, 

 while Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, 

 Vassar and Wellesley have only 31 foreign 

 students altogether, as against 21 at Am- 

 herst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Wesleyan and 

 Williams. 



Examining the foreign delegations of the 

 different institutions by continents, we 

 note that the order in North America is 

 Pennsylvania, Columbia-, Cornell; in South 

 America — Pennsylvania, Cornell, Massa- 

 chusetts Institute of Technology; in Eu- 

 rope— P&w-nsi/Zi;a7iia, Columbia, Harvard; 

 in Asia — Cornell, California, Harvard; 

 and in Australasia— Pe?i?!,s2/Zi;awa, North- 

 western. Of the countries that send at 

 least ten students to any one institution 

 Harvard leads in Canada and England; 

 Pennsylvania in Central America, Brazil, 

 Germany, Australia and New Zealand; 

 Cornell in Cuba, Mexico, Argentine Re- 

 public and China; Columbia in Russia 

 and Japan. As for individual covmtries 

 the order for Canada is Harvard, Co- 

 lumbia, Michigan, Northwestern, Yale; 

 for Cuba— Cornell, Pennsylvania, Co- 

 lumbia; for Mexico— Cornell, Pennsyl- 

 vania, Missouri; for Germany — Pennsyl- 

 vania, Harvard, Columbia; for England— 

 Harvard, Columbia, Pennsylvania; for 

 Russia — Columbia, Pennsylvania, Harvard; 

 for Chms.— Cornell, Harvard, Pennsyl- 

 vania, Yale; for InddSi— California, Ohio 

 State; for Sa^an— Columbia, California, 

 Yale; for AvL^ivalia— Pennsylvania, North- 

 western. Rudolf Tombo, Jr. 



Columbia Univeksity 



■THE UNIFICATION OF THE METHODS OF 

 ANALYSIS OF FATS AND OILS 



The International Commission for the Uni- 

 fication of the Methods of Analysis of Pe- 



troleum Products having been able to accom- 

 plish so much it was thought that a commis- 

 sion along similar lines to consider the analysis 

 of fats and oils would be of equal value and 

 the need for some work along this line is evi- 

 dent when we consider to what an extent oils 

 and fats are bought and sold on chemical 

 analysis. 



In order to bring this about there have been 

 organized in various scientific societies com- 

 mittees for this purpose. At the present time 

 committees, or sections as they are called, have 

 been formed in Germany, Italy, France, Swe- 

 den, Holland, Hungary, Switzerland and Eng- 

 land. These committees or sections are for 

 the purpose of making a study of the condi- 

 tions existing in their own country prelim- 

 inary to the organization of an International 

 Commission. 



The committee or section in this country is 

 made up of three committees, one from the 

 American Chemical Society, one from the 

 American Society for Testing Materials and 

 one from the Association of Official Agricul- 

 tural Chemists, which united in forming what 

 is known as the Joint Committee on the Unifi- 

 cation of the Methods of Analysis of Fats and 

 Oils. 



The work of this section, or committee, is 

 first to study the condition in this country 

 preliminary to taking part in an international 

 conference and this work the committee con- 

 siders of the first importance. The committee 

 has secured the active cooperation of the U. S. 

 Bureau of Standards which will enable it to 

 carry on its work under the most advantageous 

 conditions as regards standardizing of neces- 

 sary apparatus and chemicals and the prepara- 

 tion of tables and samples. 



So far the work under way is, first, consid- 

 eration of tables and methods of expression of 

 specific gravity and consideration of standard 

 temperature conditions. 



Second, a consideration of the meaning of 

 cold or cloud tests in oils and the collection 

 of data as to methods used and their inter- 

 pretation. 



Third, a consideration of the proper method 

 of expressing acidity in oils and fats. 



Fourth, a consideration of the proper method 

 of standardizing refractometers. 



