July 7, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



11 



Superintendent Tittman who is much more 

 capable of addressing you on this subject. 



In the foregoing, the endeavor has been 

 made to give some idea of the contributions 

 which the Coast and Geodetic Survey has 

 made to geodesy. Of necessity much has 

 been omitted, but what has been given will 

 bear witness that the world's geodesy has 

 been greatly enriched by the work of the 

 Survey. 



A test of the greatness of the geodetic 

 work of the Survey may be had in a review 

 of the comments made by prominent men in 

 other organizations and countries, by men 

 who are well qualified to judge. They all 

 accord to the geodetic work of the Survey a 

 very high place in the geodesy of the world. 

 One comment only will be here given as a 

 fitting close to this brief review of the con- 

 tributions made by the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey to geodesy. 



Commandant Perrier, the French geode- 

 sist, in speaking of the work of the Survey, 

 says: 



There is no example in the history of geodesy of 

 a comparable collection of measurements, made 

 with so much decision, such rapidity and such pow- 

 erful means of action, and guided by such an exact 

 comprehension of the end to be attained. 



William H. Burger 



College op Engineering, 

 Northwestern University 



PITTSBURGH'S FIRST CHEMICAL 

 SOCIETY i 



In The Commonwealth, a Pittsburgh 

 weekly newspaper, of November 4, 1811, 

 there was an advertisement to the effect 

 that Dr. Aigster would deliver an intro- 

 ductory lecture on chemistry, Wednesday, 

 November 6, at 3 p.m. in the grand jury 

 room at the Court House. The advertise- 

 ment concluded with this striking sentence : 



i This paper was read before the Historical So- 

 ciety of Western Pennsylvania on January 25, 

 1916. 



All friends of science will be gratuitously ad- 

 mitted. 



The Pittsburgh Gazette, of December 20, 

 1811, carried the following advertisement: 



The subscribers to Dr. Aigster 's Chemical Lec- 

 tures are informed that the regular lectures will 

 begin on Monday, the 16th of December, at the 

 Laboratory, corner of Smithfield and Second 

 Streets, at 3 o 'clock p.m., to be continued from 

 that time every Monday, Friday and Saturday at 

 the same hour and at the same place. Further 

 subscription will be received at the Laboratory. 



That Dr. Aigster was not unlike many 

 modern lecturers on scientific subjects is 

 seen from an announcement in the Gazette 

 of December 27, 1811, that Cramer, Spear 

 and Eichbaum had just published a dis- 

 course, introductory to a course of lectures 

 on chemistry, which included "a view of 

 the subject and the utility of that science, 

 delivered at Pittsburgh on the 6th of No- 

 vember by F. Aigster, M.D." 



There is a copy of this discourse bound 

 with Cramer's Pittsburgh Magazine Alma- 

 nacks for 1816 and 1817 in the Carnegie 

 Library of Pittsburgh. The lecture dis- 

 cusses in the words of Dr. Aigster, "the 

 application of chemical knowledge in pri- 

 vate and social life." It describes the ap- 

 plications of chemistry to agriculture, min- 

 ing, cloth making, glass making, brewing, 

 tanning, paper making and, last but not 

 least, to cookery. 



Some of Dr. Aigster 's statements sound 

 as if his lecture were delivered yesterday. 

 Witness this : 



The time is come when America can shake off 

 the yoke of foreign dependency for a number of 

 the most necessary wants, whose first material, 

 bountiful nature has scattered with lavish hands 

 over this country. 



And this: 



A laudable beginning has been made in the 

 wool, flax and cotton manufactures. But it can 

 never be expected that they will attain any high 

 degree of improvement as long as the art of dye- 

 ing, which is altogether chemical, is not at- 

 tended to. 



