504 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 171. 



self of the benefits of the John Strong Newberry 

 fund. 



The first paper on the program was a paper 

 by W. P. Mason, describing a ' New Bacteria 

 Counter.' In the absence of Professor Mason, 

 the paper was read by Dr. Bogert and illustrated 

 by an example of the apparatus described. 



The second paper was by Dr. J. H. Stebbins, 

 on the 'Action of Sulphuric Acid on Thymol.' 

 Dr. Stebbins exhibited some photographs of the 

 crystals of the compounds formed in his investi- 

 gation. 



A paper by Messrs. Wm. K. Alsop and J. H. 

 Yocum, on ' The Composition of the Ashes of 

 Some Raw Tanning Blaterial,' was read by Mr. 

 Yocum. One of the interesting points empha- 

 sized by the author was the large amount of 

 manganese found in some of the ashes, rather 

 unusual in the vegetable kingdom. 



P. H. Conradson described ' Some Laboratory 

 Experiments on Standardizing and Investiga- 

 ting Viscometers.' Dr. Conradson mentioned 

 that there were about as many viscometers as 

 there were oils, and that they all left a great 

 deal to be wished for. He gave a very interest- 

 ing description of the various kinds in use, il- 

 lustrating his remarks by charts and drawings. 

 A general discussion followed. 



The session was closed by a paper on the 

 'Technology of Glue,' by E. R. Hewett. Dr. 

 Hewett gave a very complete description of the 

 manufacture of glue, including its history and 

 chemistry, and also exhibited a large number 

 of specimens. 



DuEAND Woodman, 



Secretary. 



ALABAMA INDtTSTEIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



The eighth annual meeting of this Society 

 was held in the city of Birmingham, March 4, 

 1898, President Truman H. Aldrich in the chair. 

 Twenty members and a number of visitors were 

 present. The Secretary, in making a report 

 upon the statistics of mineral production, called 

 attention to the difiiculty encountered in induc- 

 ing the producers to send in their returns 

 promptly, and suggested that the Society recom- 

 mend that the representatives from Jefferson 

 County to the next General Assembly be re- 

 quested to amend the State Mining Law in 



such a way as to secure prompt returns. A. 

 committee consisting of the Secretary, J. A. 

 Montgomery and J. D. Hillhouse was appointed, 

 to draw up the desired amendment. Professor 

 Henry McCalley, exhibited and explained to 

 the Society a manuscript map of the Warrior 

 Coal Field, prepared under the auspices of the 

 Geological Survey and soon to be published, on 

 which were shown the outcrops of all the im- 

 portant coal seems of that region. Dr. William 

 B. Phillips, gave a short account of his recent 

 examinations of some brown ore deposits near 

 Leeds, and made some remarks concerning the 

 probable mode of formation of the ore beds. 

 Dr. Phillips also gave an account of some ex- 

 periments recently carried out by himself and 

 others in Pittsburg upon the coking of some 

 Alabama coal from the Pratt seam, in a by-prod- 

 uct plant. The experiments were most satis- 

 factory, and the Doctor expressed the opinion 

 that when this by-product plant was put in 

 operation in Alabama a number of small indus- 

 tries which use these products would soon 

 spring up. 



The reports of the Secretary and of the Treas- 

 urer were then rendered. The Society has at 

 this time 41 active members, and this number 

 was increased at the meeting by the election of 

 seven new members. 



The address of the retiring President was 

 then delivered, in which the object and aims of 

 the Society were recited and some of the results 

 pointed out which had followed from its efforts. 

 He also made some suggestions as to what the 

 Society might further undertake. The annual 

 election of officers was then held with the fol- 

 lowing result : President, Professor M. C. 

 Wilson, of Florence ; Vice-Presidents, J. G. 

 Moore, of Blocton, and Chas. J. Geohegan, of 

 Birmingham, the four other Vice-Presidents 

 holding over being Joseph Squire of Helena, 

 James H. Fitts, of Tuscaloosa, Jno. A. Mont- 

 gomery, of Birmingham, and J. W. Minor, of 

 Thomas. The Treasurer, Henry McCalley, and 

 Secretary, Eugene A. Smith, were continued. 

 The meeting then adjourned until some time in 

 May, next. After the meeting the members 

 and visitors dined together. 



Eugene A. Smith, 



Secretary. 



