514 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 720 



ritories; in 1907 only IS reported. The re- 

 ports received indicate a death rate per thou- 

 sand employees of 3.31 in 1906 and 4.86 in 

 1907, and the number of tons mined for each 

 life lost decreased from 194,950 to 145,471. 

 The state which had the lowest death rate per 

 thousand (0.95) in 1907 was Missouri, where 

 499,742 tons of coal were mined for each 

 life lost. Michigan was second on the roll of 

 honor as far as death rate per thousand em- 

 ployees was concerned, and Kentucky was 

 second in the number of tons mined for each 

 life lost. The death rate in Michigan was 

 1.76 per thousand; in Kentucky it was 1.89. 

 Kentucky mined 336,035 tons of coal for each 

 life lost; Michigan mined 290,837 tons. Ar- 

 kansas reported a death rate of 1.97 in 1907, 

 with 133,522 tons mined for each life lost, and 

 Utah, with a death rate of 2.72, mined 324,601 

 tons for each life lost. West Virginia re- 

 ported the largest death rate in 1907 — 12.35 

 per thousand — and the lowest production for 

 each life lost — 65,969 tons. New Mexico stood 

 next to "West Virginia, with a death rate of 

 11.45 and a production of 77,322 tons for each 

 life lost, and Alabama was nest, with a death 

 rate of 7.2 per thousand and a production of 

 92,535 tons for each life lost. 



Nature states that silver medals are this 

 year offered by the Industrial Society of Miil- 

 house for the synthesis of a gum possessing 

 the properties of Senegal gum, and for a hand- 

 book treating of the drugs used in the dyeing 

 and printing industries; a medal of honor is 

 offered for an economical substitute for dried 

 egg-albumen, or for a decolorized blood-al- 

 bumen for the same purpose. Other awards 

 will be given for papers on the coloring matter 

 or on the carmine in cochineal ; the theory and 

 manufacture of alizarin reds; the composition 

 of aniline black; the transformation of cotton 

 into osycellulose ; the composition of coloring 

 matter and synthesis of a natural color, vari- 

 ous mordants, bleaching processes and colors, 

 et-c. Papers, etc., must reach the President de 

 la Societe Industrielle de Mulhouse, Alsace- 

 Lorraine, before February 15, 1909. 



The smelter production of copper in the 

 United States in 1907, according to L. C. 



Graton, of the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey, was 868,996,491 pounds. From the record 

 figures of 1906 this is a decrease of 48,809,191 

 pounds, or 5.6 per cent., the largest actual de- 

 crease ever recorded and the largest relative 

 decrease since the American copper industry 

 became important. This is the first time since 

 1901 that the annual production has been 

 smaller than that of the preceding year, and 

 the first time since 1872 that it has been 

 smaller than that of the second year preced- 

 ing. The total given above is made up of 

 the fine copper content of blister produced 

 and of the smelter output of ingot and anode 

 copper from Michigan. Of this quantity, 

 approximately 10,075,048 pounds in blister 

 were produced in foreign smelters from do- 

 mestic materials exported. In addition to the 

 domestic materials handled, smelters in this 

 country turned out as blister 64,145,648 

 pounds from foreign ore, concentrates, and 

 matte. Domestic blister containing 42,350,- 

 963 pounds was exported unrefined, while 

 blister from foreign sources containing ap- 

 proximately 183,530,132 potinds fine copper 

 was imported for refining in this country. 

 The greatest decreases in smelter output are 

 shown by the returns from the three states 

 that rank highest. Montana's production, 

 which was 294,701,252 pounds in 1906, was but 

 224,263,789 pounds in 1907, and the state 

 yielded first place to its rival, Arizona, whose 

 production, however, showed a decrease of 

 nearly 6,000,000 pounds, from 262,566,103 

 pounds in 1906 to 256,778,437 pounds in 1907. 

 Michigan still holds third place, with its pro- 

 duction decreased from 229,695,730 poimds in 



1906 to 219,131,503 pounds in 1907. De- 

 creased production is also shown by the re- 

 turns from Alaska, Oregon, Washington and 

 North Carolina. Many of the other copper- 

 producing states showed substantial gains. 

 The output of Utah, the fourth state in point 

 of production, was nearly 16,000,000 pounds in 

 excess of that of 1906 — 66,418,370 pounds in 



1907 as against 50,329,119 pounds in the pre- 

 ceding year. The production of California 

 increased from 28,153,202 pounds in 1906 to 

 33,696,602 pounds in 1907; that of Colorado 



