November 28, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



505 



THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 

 IV 



Symposium on annual patent renewal fees with 

 the Division of Fharmaceutioal Chemistry and Sec- 

 tion of Dye Indiistry. E. J. Prindle, chairman. 

 The symposium discussed various features of the 

 proposal that a system of annual patent renewal 

 fees shall be adopted for the United States. 

 There were verbal or written discussions by: T. 

 H. Anderson, L. H. Baekeland, J. M. Francis, Ed- 

 win A. Hill, A. D. Little, John XJri Lloyd, L. V. 

 Eedman, Mr. Stinchfield, Elihu Thomson, W. R. 

 .Whitney and others, including members of the 

 Patent and Related Legislation Committee of the 

 American Chemical Society, and members of the 

 Patent Committee of the National Eesearch Coun- 

 cil. The chief ideas brought out in this discussion 

 were found in the October, 1919, issue of the 

 ^our. Ind. and Eng. Chemistry. 



The use of crystalUzers in cane sugar m,anufac- 

 fure: Charles E. Coates. 



The centrifugal method for the rapid determina- 

 fion of potash : L. S. Converse. For control work, 

 .the common methods too long. Description of 

 centrifugal method. Calibration of tubes, effect 

 of speed and time on centrifuge effect of other 

 salts, etc. Comparison of centrifuge and other 

 methods. Usefulness and accuracy of method. It 

 is impossible to obtain results accurate to 0.1 per 

 cent, if the sample contains more than 12 per 

 cent, potassium nitrate. Because of rapidity — 20 

 minutes — it is useful for control work. 



J Comparison of methods for determining am- 

 monium nitrate: J. T. Grissom. Need of rapid 

 piethod for estimating ammonium nitrate. Com- 

 parison of nitrometer, kjeldahl and formaldehyde 

 methods. 



Effects of chlorides on nitrometer determina- 

 tions of nitrates: M. T. Sanders. It is not pos- 

 sible to determine nitrates in the presence of 

 larger amounts of chlorides. Determinations with 

 known quantities of chloride are given, results are 

 discussed and reasons for abnormal results sug- 

 gested. It is impossible to obtain results accurate 

 ito 0.1 per cent, if more than 15 to 17 per cent, 

 sodium chloride is present in the dried sample. 



The oxidation of methane. Quartz comliustion 

 apparatus: F. C. Vilbrandt and James E. 



WlTHEOW. 



Carbon Hack — its properties and uses: G. St. 

 J. Perrott. An investigation of the carbon black 

 industry has been undertaken by the United States 



Bureau of Mines as a result of economic issues 

 brought up during the war. In the present proc- 

 ess of manufacture carbon black is made by burn- 

 ing natural gas with a smoky flame against a 

 metal surface and collecting the liberated carbon. 

 The yield is from 2 per cent, to 7 per cent, of the 

 total carbon in the gas. Other possible methods of 

 making carbon black are considered. The uses of 

 carbon black are discussed with particular atten- 

 tion to the ink and rubber industries. Testing 

 methods are described and results of chemical and 

 microscopic analyses of blacks making "long" 

 and "short" inks are given. An explanation for 

 the difference in working qualities of blacks made 

 by different processes is proposed. 



Adherent rust as an accelerator in the corrosion 

 of iron and steel: "W. D. Richardson. 



Some properties of commercial silicate of soda: 

 J. G. Vah.. 



The leaching of zinc chloride from treated wood : 

 Ernest Bateman. As the result of experimental 

 work and analyses of ties which have seen several 

 years' service, the following conclusions have been 

 drawn: (1) In laboratory experiments as well as 

 service tests the chlorine radical was drawn from 

 the wood by leaching faster than the zinc radical. 

 (2) The amount of each component leached can 

 be calculated with fair accuracy from the diffu- 

 sion constants of the hydrochloric acid and zinc 

 chloride and the amount of each component pres- 

 ent in the solution. (3) From the above it fol- 

 lows that the relative rate of leaching of any 

 other salt from wood can be calculated if we 

 know the amount injected and the diffusion con- 

 stants of the salt. (4) The presence of compara- 

 tively large amounts of zinc in treated material 

 does not insure that the wood is protected against 

 decay unless a sufB.cient amount of acid be also 

 shown to be present. (5) The basic chlorides of 

 zinc seem to have little or no toxic effect. 



Tensile strength of glue: G. Hopp. The paper 

 describes a method for testing glue, by determin- 

 ing its exact tensile strength and elasticity. 

 Hitherto all methods used were more or less arbi- 

 trary and entirely comparative. It was shown 

 conclusively that the method is exact and opens a 

 wide field for research and scientific standardiza- 

 tion not only of methods of testing glue but also 

 of selecting the right glue for a particular pur- 

 pose. 



. A netv illuminator for microscopes: A. Silver- 

 man. 



