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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 724 



chemical laboratory is a workshop, never- 

 theless a bit of decoration without and 

 within can not fail to gratify the artistic. 

 This is particularly true when a laboratory 

 forms one of a group of buildings con- 

 structed according to a particular archi- 

 tectural plan. To cause the chemical 

 laboratory of the College of the City of 

 New York to conform to the architectural 

 features of the rest of the buildings, there 

 have been placed four shields of terra- 

 cotta, about two meters high and one and 

 a half meters wide, on the ends of the 

 building. The two shields in front of the 

 building have two series of alchemistical 

 symbols, indicating the two fields of or- 

 ganic and inorganic chemistry. The other 

 four have the alchemistical symbols indi- 

 cating the old elements of earth, air, fire 

 and water. 



The ground plan of a laboratory should 

 be laid out to secure the greatest amount 

 of light, air and compactness. The plot of 

 land will, of course, influence any deci- 

 sion. Where land is available, it is gen- 

 erally considered by those who have had 

 experience that a building in the shape of 

 the letter E is most satisfactory. The 

 main entrance may well be placed at the 

 front of the central extension, which, being 

 two stories above the basement, may pro- 

 vide space for the main lecture theater. 

 This part of the basement may well be 

 arranged for receiving freight and con- 

 tain the main or central room for stores. 



It is desirable to limit the entrances to 

 the building to two. Near the main en- 

 trance should be the director's office and 

 just within this main door should be a 

 small office for the janitor or door-keeper. 

 All communications should enter the 

 laboratory of the building by that means, 

 and the other entrance to the laboratory 

 should be at the rear, or within a court if 

 the building is constructed with a court, 

 and in connection with the main storeroom. 



This entrance should be used solely for 

 freight purposes. 



The width of the building, in my opin- 

 ion, should at no point be more than sixty 

 feet, except where the lecture theater is 

 located. This will provide an ample cor- 

 ridor of about ten feet and laboratories 

 not too deep for good light throughout, 

 from without. To secure the latter, ceil- 

 ings should be at least fifteen feet in the 

 clear from the floor. By the use of rein- 

 forced concrete for the interior construc- 

 tion, the greatest economy in height of the 

 building may be had. 



FLOORING 



There has been very much difference of 

 opinion in regard to the kind of material 

 of which to construct flooring for labora- 

 tories. Cement is hard; wood gets soggy 

 and is affected by chemicals that are 

 spilled; and asphalt compositions get soft. 

 The heavy desks and hood supports sink 

 and the furniture is thrown out of plumb. 

 A number of different materials have been 

 suggested. In my opinion the best which 

 has been put forward is that which is 

 known as lithoplast, devised by Dr. W. L. 

 Dudley, of Vanderbilt University. It is 

 essentially a paraffined sawdust sand floor, 

 with a magnesia cement. This flooring 

 may be laid in any length and in one 

 piece, and offers many desirable qualities. 

 The baseboard may be made as a part of 

 this floor. There are no cracks. The pres- 

 ence of the sawdust allows of its expan- 

 sion and contraction with changes of tem- 

 perature, and the coating of paraffine over 

 it prevents its rotting or napping, which 

 are the objections put forward in opposi- 

 tion to composition floors containing saw- 

 dust. It may be tinted, polished, washed 

 or scrubbed. It can be repaired without 

 having cracked joints, and, furthermore, it 

 allows nails and screws to be driven into it 

 in much the same way that wood does. 



