SCIENCE 



Friday, March 8, 1918 



CONTEXTS 



The Manufacture of Organic Chemicals at the 

 University of Illinois: Dr. Boger Adams . . 225 



Shall we eat Whole Wheat Bread? Dr. E. A. 

 DUTCHER 228 



Scientific Events: — 



The Outlook in French Agriculture; The 

 Shaler Memorial Expedition; War Service 

 for Chemists 232 



Scientific Notes and News 235 



University and Educational News 238 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Note on the Geometrical Mean as a B. Coli 

 Index: Professor W. D. Cairns. Some 

 Defects in Our Agricultural Instruction: H. 

 Ness. Professional Courtesy: PROrEssOR 

 E. V. McCOLLUM, N. SiMMONDS 239 



Scientific Books: — 



Societies of the Plains Indians: Professor 



A. L. Kroeber 241 



The Proceedings of the National Academy of 

 Sciences: Professor Edwin Btowell Wil- 

 son 244 



Special Articles: — 



Sesults of Corn Disease Investigations: G. 



N. Hoffer and J. B. Holbert 246 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



Section F — Zoology: Professor Herbert 

 V. Neal 247 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etciiitended for 

 levicw should be sent to The Editor cf Science, GamaoD-on- 

 Hudaon. N. Y. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF ORGANIC 

 CHEMICALS AT THE UNIVER- 

 SITY OF ILLINOIS 



Before the outbreak of the present war, a 

 large percentage of all the organic chemicals 

 used in this country, which included dyestuffs, 

 developers and drugs, as well as the substances 

 needed e-xclusively in scientific research, were 

 imported from Europe. The largest part of 

 these chemicals came from Germany and as 

 soon as trade relations with that country were 

 broken off shortly after the war began, it was 

 necessary for the United States from that 

 time to depend almost entirely upon the small 

 stock on hand. An immediate growth in the 

 chemical industry in this coimtry took place 

 and manufacturers were busy filling the de- 

 mand, first, for the simpler substances as 

 phenol, aniline and beta naphthol, then the 

 more complex substances as hydroquinone, 

 aspirin, salol, amidol, etc. Eecently commer- 

 cial concerns have been working, and are at 

 present working, upon the more fancy chem- 

 icals, particularly among the dyestufiFs and 

 drugs. Until within the last six months, how- 

 ever, no attempt has been made to prepare 

 either the complex organic chemical reagents 

 needed in analytical work or substances used 

 exclusively in scientific research. The supply 

 of such chemicals in this country in 1914, held 

 chiefly by large distributing houses and uni- 

 versity laboratories, was considerable so that 

 by careful conservation on the part of the 

 universities and greatly advanced prices on 

 the part of the distributing houses, a serious 

 lack of these compounds was not felt until 

 this last year. Nevertheless, for the past two 

 winters it has become necessary in universities 

 where large amounts of organic chemical re- 

 search have been carried on, for a student to 

 spend a considerable part of his time which 

 under normal conditions would be devoted to 

 original investigation, in preparing various 



