SCIENCE 
Frmay, JANUARY 26, 1912 
CONTENTS 
The American Chemical Society :— 
An Early Physical Chemist—M. W. Lomon- 
ossof{: PROFESSOR ALEXANDER SMITH .... 121 
The American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science :— 
The Cause of High Prices: Tue Hon. T. 
EES URTON| trierelafei acters olcbers sels, c=jnereie ees cle ole 129 
The Centenary of the Academy of Natural 
SCLENCES PE MULACELDILON eerily tetereley stele ait 140 
Ncientyic Notes! and ‘News -.\.......-.-.--- 141 
University and Educational News .......... 143 
Discussion and Correspondence :-— 
Number of Students per Teacher: Pro- 
FESSOR ARTHUR S. HatHaway. Fundulus 
and Fresh Water: EUGENE SMITH ...... 144 
Scientific Books :— 
Daniels on the Flora of Boulder, Colorado: 
PROFESSOR FRANCIS RAMALEY ........... 145 
Scientific Journals and Articles ............ 145 
Trematode Generic Names proposed for the 
“Official List of Zoological Names’’: Dr. 
CHMWARDEDL OLILES) erence sess aac 146 
Special Articles :— 
Notes upon Cronartium ribicola: Dr. PER- 
DAG ASONDUDIONE! ‘oe. d cacioy PEORIA OCT 146 
The Botanical Society of America: PROFESSOR 
GRORGE) IL MOOREN Sper aasrieiscen sc 147 
MSS. intended for publication and books, ete., intended tor 
Teview should be sent to the Editor of ScizNncr, Garrison-on- 
Hudson, N, Y. 
AN EARLY PHYSICAL CHEMIST—M. W. 
LOMONOSSOFF + 
Av the present day, it seldom happens 
that due credit is not given to each chem- 
ist for any new facts which he may add to 
the sum of chemical knowledge and, con- 
versely, it is usually an easy matter to at- 
tach to any given fact the name of the in- 
vestigator who first discovered it. For 
reasons which, in part, at least, are obvi- 
ous, these conditions are not always so 
easy to fulfil in the case of the fathers of 
the science. It is certain, at all events, 
that frequently recognition has here been 
long delayed and, even where the most 
fundamental facts are concerned, the de- 
termination of the parentage has had re- 
peatedly to be revised. 
At the very start, there is difficulty 
in settling what constitutes discovery. 
Scheele’s preparation of oxygen undoubt- 
edly took place a year or two before 
Priestley’s, but his publication of the re- 
sults was delayed until three years after 
Priestley’s, and priority in discovery is 
generally held to require priority in pub- 
lication. 
Again, Paracelsus obtained what is now 
known as hydrogen by the action of iron 
filimgs upon vinegar, but Cavendish de- 
fined the substance by its properties, and 
so the discovery dates from 1766. Liebig 
prepared bromine, but set the sample 
aside, believing it to be a chloride of iodine, 
and Balard, who prepared the substance 
later, and recognized it to be a new halo- 
gen, became the discoverer. Similarly, a 
————s 
1 Presidential address, delivered before the 
American Chemical Society at Washington, De- 
cember 28, 1911. 
