432 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1322 



new buildings and $14,530 for the State Game 

 Farm, 



Although the new law makes only a little 

 more than half a million dollars available at 

 once for new construction, it directs the state 

 architect to prepare plans for the further ex- 

 tension of the college; and it authorizes the 

 board of trustees, following the architect's 

 plans, to enter into contracts for additional 

 construction to the amoimt of $3,000,000. 



The remaining $1,256,358.80 is for the sal- 

 aries of the staff and expenses of operation 

 during the fiscal year from July 1, 1920, to 

 June 30, 1921. This appropriation is larger 

 than last year's by $282,855, of which about 

 two thirds will go for increased salaries. 



The law also provides for some new officers 

 of administration, principally a vice-dean of 

 resident instruction and a vice-director of 

 the Experiment Station. There is already a 

 vice-director in charge of the extension serv- 

 ice. The filling of the new positions will 

 therefore complete the administrative organiza- 

 tion in the three chief phases of work which 

 the law requires of the college. 



SELENIUM AND TELLURIUM 



At the recent meeting of the American 

 Chemical Society in St. Louis a report of prog- 

 ress of the sub-committee of the National Re- 

 search Council on The Uses of Selenium and 

 Tellurium was presented by Victor Lenlier, of 

 the University of Wisconsin, at the request of 

 the Engineering Division of the National Re- 

 search Council. This sub-co mm ittee is work- 

 ing in close contact with all of the producers 

 of selenium and tellurium in the coimtry, and 

 is carrying out one of the ideals of the National 

 Research Council, which is to promote and co- 

 ordinate research work in every direction. 



The source of selenium and tellurium is in 

 the anode mud from the electrolytic refining of 

 copper. Copper refineries can annually pro- 

 duce under present conditions approximately 

 300,000 pounds of selenium and about 125,000 

 pounds of tellurium. A few hundred pounds 

 of these elements would amply supply the mar- 

 ket to-day. The large amounts of these ele- 

 ments available and for which there is no prac- 

 tical use, has caused the National Research 



Council to create a committee whose duty it is 

 to find piossible methods for their utilization. 

 This committee consists of Arthur E. Hall, 

 chairman, H. G. Greenwood, Victor Lenher, O. 

 C. Ralston, E. W. Rouse, S. Skowronski and 

 A. W. Smith, and it has been working in close 

 contact with the producers of selenium and 

 tellurium. Arrangements have been made 

 whereby large quantities of these elements can 

 be procured for experimental purposes at cost 

 price from the Raritan Copi)er Works, Perth 

 Amboy, N. J., the United States Metals Refin- 

 ing Co., Chrome, N. J., the American Smelt- 

 ing and Refining Co., Omaha, Nebraska, and 

 the Baltimore Copper Smelting and Rolling 

 Co., Baltimore, Md. 



Mr. E. W. Rouse, of the Baltimore Copper 

 Smelting and Rolling Co., Baltimore, Md., will 

 ship at any time reasonable quantities of se- 

 lenium gratis to investigators upon the recom- 

 mendation of the Committee of the National 

 Researdh Council on the Uses of Selenium and 

 Tellurium. Mr. Arthur E. Hall, of the Omaha 

 plant of the American Smelting and Refining 

 Company, will forward reasonable quantities 

 of tellurium gratis under the same conditions. 



PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONSTANTS 



The American Chemical Society at its St. 

 Louis meeting passed the following resolution : 



Whereas, every industry, for its successful 

 operation, depends upon an accurate knowledge of 

 the properties of the materials it uses and pro- 

 duces and the numerical values of these properties 

 which are known as their constant, and 



Whereas, during the war, it became evident that 

 much of the published data on these constants was 

 found to be extremely inaccurate, entailing consid- 

 erable loss in time and money and it was found in 

 many cases that data very much desired was not to 

 be found in published records, and 



Whereas, up to now publication of such con- 

 stants in tabular form has been mostly in some 

 foreign language and consequently of limited avail- 

 ability, and 



Whereas, under allotment by the Inter-Allied 

 Council and the International Research Council, the 

 National Eesearch Council of the United States 

 (an organization duly created by the President of 

 the United States) has decided that this deficiency 



