184 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 710 



The consideration that saves the situation 

 is that the entire effective inertia, no matter 

 what may be its source, and where it may be 

 located, is, as a fact, included in the calcula- 

 tions when mass, momentum, kinetic energy, 

 etc., are regarded as attaching to the electron. 

 This process of expression becomes feasible 

 in terms that involve a physical property of 

 the electron itself (its electric charge) and its 

 kinematical elements (acceleration, velocity, 

 etc.) ; so that to this extent the parallel is 

 preserved with the mass-factor and the kine- 

 matical factors of ordinary mechanics. But 

 it may be well, at intervals, while we take 

 advantage of the undoubted convenience in 

 these methods of presentation, to remind our- 

 selves of their artificial nature, and then to 

 employ their fictions consciously. 



Should the suggestion prove true that all 

 mass is an electromagnetic phenomenon, we 

 shall be brought to confess that we have been 

 using some fictions unconsciously; for ex- 

 ample, in attributing kinetic energy to a mere 

 cannon-ball which is more nearly a clearing- 

 house for energies spread through cubic kilo- 

 meters of medium. This would add only one 

 item to a list abeady long enough, where the 

 result of completer analysis is to substitute 

 a complex process for the superficial and 

 simple one. The tendency to identify quan- 

 tities of energy with limited volumes of 

 "bodies" seems strong enough to carry a 

 good load of artificial convention. Witness 

 potential energy, entropy, specific heat for 

 constant pressure. 



Frederick Slate 

 Univebsitt of Califoenia 



THE THIRTY-EIGBTH GElSfERAL MEETING 



OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



I. 



The thirty-eigMh general meeting of the Amer- 

 ican Chemical Society was held at New Haven 

 during June 30, July 1 and 2, in North Sheffield 

 Hall, of Sheffield Scientific School, Yale Univer- 

 sity. President Hadley welcomed the visiting 

 members and extended the buildings and acces- 

 sories for their use and general convenience. 



On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, invita- 

 tions were extended to the chemists to visit the 

 rubber Works of L. Candee & Co., in New Haven, 



and the works of the New Haven Gas Light Co. 

 Wednesday afternoon a special excursion was 

 made to Ansonia to visit the works of the Ansonia 

 Brass and Copper Company and the Coe Brass 

 Manufacturing Company; at all of these places 

 the visitors were courteously received and shown 

 through the works in a very thorough and pains- 

 taking manner. 



On Tuesday evening the local members of the 

 society extended a complimentary smoker lo the 

 visitors at the Graduate Club House. On Wednes- 

 day a subscription shore dinner was given at the 

 " Momanguin " on the east shore. Many of the 

 visitors made use of the excellent salt-water 

 bathing facilities at this place. 



The attendance at this meeting was about 250. 

 Greetings were received from Arrhenius, Emil 

 Fischer, Roscoe, Ramsay, Vau't Hoflf, Julius 

 Tliomsen, Lunge and von Baeyer. A paper on 

 " Agglutination and Coagulation " was presented 

 by Savante Arrhenius, of Nobel Institute, Stock- 

 holm, and two papers were presented by Emil 

 Fischer, one on " Polypeptides " and one on 

 " ilicropolarization." 



The following addresses were given before the 

 general assembly: 



A. L. Winton, " Official Inspection of Com- 

 modities." 



Philip E. Browning, " The Increasing Impor- 

 tance of the Rarer Elements." 



Wm. D. Richardson, " The Analyst, the Chemist 

 and the Chemical Engineer." 



Thos. B. Osborne, " Our Present Kuowledge of 

 Plant Proteins." 



Frank K. Cameron, " Some Applications of 

 Physical Chemistry." 



W. A. Noyes, " Chemical Publications in Amer- 

 ica in Relation to Chemical Industry." 



Wm. Walker, " The Electrolytic Corrosion of 

 Iron as Applied to the Protection of Steam 

 Boilers." 



W. E. Whitney, " The Research Chemist." 



Wm. McPherson, " A Discussion of Some of the 

 Methods used in Determining the Structure of 

 Organic Compounds." 



Tlie following papers were read before the 

 sections : 



AQBICUXTUKAL AND FOOD CHEMISTEY 



A. L. WlJJfTON, Chairman 



The Determination of Cottonseed Hulls in Cotton- 

 seed Meal: G. S. Fbaps. 

 The method consist of boiling two grams of the 



material, after extraction with ether, with 200 c.c. 



