300 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. L. No. 1291 



turers, and a conference was held on July 29 

 of representatives of the associations already 

 formed for the purpose of discussing some of 

 the many problems which have presented 

 themselves in connection with their work. 



In the absence of Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, 

 president of the Board of Education, the 

 chair was taken by Sir William McCormick, 

 chairman of the Advisory Council. Sir Frank 

 Heath, secretary of the Department of Sci- 

 entific and Industrial Eesearch, was also 

 present, besides some sixty to seventy repre- 

 sentatives. A great diversity of subjects was 

 thus represented, though some, especially the 

 great chemical industries, were conspicuously 

 unrepresented. 



The meeting was informed that nine re- 

 search associations were in operation, eight 

 more have been approved and are only wait- 

 ing the license of the board of trade, while 

 twelve others* are under discussion. So much 

 having been accomplished in the three years 

 which have elapsed since the idea originated, 

 it may be assumed that a general approval 

 has been given to the scheme by the industrial 

 world, but the initial difficulties are far from 

 being overcome as yet 



Among the subjects discussed at the con- 

 ference the first was the formation of a 

 records bureau, and the second the difficult 

 and important one of the conditions of em- 

 ployment of research workers engaged by the 

 associations. Other questions related to co- 

 operation among the associations, and the 

 amount and method of assessment of the sub- 

 scriptions to be paid by the associated firms 

 in addition to the subsidy from departmental 

 funds. 



The formation of a bureau of information 

 and for the recording of results secured by 

 research is a matter of the utmost importance. 

 In the first place it is proposed that its task 

 should consist in storing up the results of 

 work done by the associations, but even this 

 will be found very expensive and not free 

 from difficulties, owing to the views prevalent 

 in some quarters as to secrecy. The associa- 

 tions require access to information of every 

 kind, and apparently the representatives as- 



sembled have something to learn with regard 

 to the existing sources of much of the in- 

 formation they require, for throughout the 

 discussion no reference was made to the mag- 

 nificent journals, containing both original 

 papers and abstracts, issued by some of the 

 British and American engineering and chem- 

 ical societies. It seems to be recognized that a 

 large number of reference libraries will have 

 to be established, especially in the neighbor- 

 hood of great centers of industry; but it ought 

 also to be understood that every association 

 will require a library stored with works of 

 reference, and especially journals cognisant of 

 the subjects it represents; indeed, every works 

 which has a laboratory for research must be 

 similarly provided. All this represents a 

 large outlay of money, the amount of which 

 can scarcely be calculated as yet. 



THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY 



The program for " Ceramic Day " at the 

 Fifth !N"ational Exposition of Chemical Indus- 

 tries, Chicago, September 24, was as follows: 



Morning Session 



Professor Charles T. Binns: "The American 

 Ceramic Society, past, present and future." 



Dr. Alexander Silverman : ' ' Buy on analysis. ' ' 



Dr. E. W. Washburn: "Some aspects of scien- 

 tific research in relation to the glass industry." 



Mr. Ross C. Purdy: "Superior refractories." 



Mr. Frederick H. Rhead: "The making of pot- 

 tery. ' ' 



Afternoon Session 



Mr. Robert J. Montgomery: "General types of 

 optical glass." 



Mr. Douglas F. Stevens: "Brick and tile." 



Mr. A. V. Bleininger: "The application of sci- 

 entific methods to ceramic research. ' ' 



Dr. J. C. Hostetter: "The manufacture of op- 

 tical glass. ' ' 



Mr. R. R. Danielson: "Enameling technology." 



Mr. A. Malinovszky: "Fused silimanite prod- 

 ucts. ' ' 



Evening Session 



A full evening's program of motion pictures, in- 

 eluding: 



"Making of cut glass." 



"Glass bulb and tubing manufacture for Mazda 

 lamps. ' ' 



' ' Manufacture of architectural terra cotta. ' ' 



