424 
Conditions are given for the quantitative pre- 
cipitation of vanadium from solutions of steel, 
ores, etc., by coprecipitation with ammonium 
phosphomolybdate. Some methods of separating 
the vanadium from the precipitate are described. 
Attempts to determine the vanadium in the pre- 
cipitate by Gregory’s colorimetrie method were 
unsuccessful. The vanadium may be reduced by 
sulphurous acid without reducing the molybdenum, 
and titrated against permanganate, but the method 
recommended by the authors is to reduce by 
hydrogen peroxide in concentrated sulphuric acid 
solution and titrate against permanganate, ad- 
hering closely to the conditions prescribed in the 
paper. 
ERNEST BiwTEL: Valuation of Fluorspar. 
Determinations usually required: Calcium-fluo- 
ride, silica, calcium-carbonate, sometimes lead, 
iron, zine, sulphur. 
Calcium-carbonate is determined by dissolving 
with ten per cent. acetic acid, taking the solubility 
of calcium-fluoride into consideration. Residue 
treated by yellow mercuric oxide to oxidize the 
sulphides, and silica volatilized by evaporation 
with hydrofluoric acid; loss in weight is silica. 
Calcium-fluoride is eliminated without decom- 
posing the ore. Iron oxide is transformed to iron- 
fluoride and separated together with lead and zine 
sulphate by a solution of ammonium acetate con- 
taining ammonium citrate. 
L. B. LockHarr: The Quality of Commercial Ker- 
osene. 
PERCY A. BoEcK: Notes on a New Form of Ez- 
traction Thimble. 
Notes collected from various investigators on a 
new type of inorganic extraction thimbles and 
filters known as alundum. Manufacture described. 
Articles are made from bonded alundum grain, 
which is the product of the fusion of bauxite in 
the electric furnace and is practically pure fused 
alumina. Any texture, filtering capacity, melting 
point, tensile strength, ete., for any purpose can 
be obtained by varying method of manufacture. 
Articles filter rapidly, without any previous prepa- 
ration and without changing the concentration of 
the solution, absorb only slightly, require little 
washing, and can be cleaned and sterilized by 
dry heating. Several types of extraction and 
filtering appliances for various kinds of work 
mentioned. 
JoHN P. Stvmons and O. J. TEEPLE, Jr.: The 
Effect of Filtration upon the Physical Proper- 
ties of Petrolewm Oils. 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 898 
FREDERIC P. DEwEY: The Direct Determination of 
Small Amounts of Platinum in Ores and Bullion. 
Platinum alloyed with silver being soluble in 
nitric acid, the solution obtained in parting gold 
from silver in ordinary assays is treated with a 
limited amount of hydrogen sulphide, after roast- 
ing, the precipitate is cupelled with a small amount 
of lead and the bead parted in strong sulphuric 
acid. Any platinum present will be left as a 
white metal, generally recognizable as platinum, 
but it may be tested to prove its identity or the 
presence of platinum metals. 
FRANKLIN PEALE SuMMERS: The Product Patent. 
This paper deals with the differences existing 
between our patent laws and those of the other 
countries with reference to the product patent on 
foods, drinks and medicinals. Practically all the 
other countries with the exception of England and — 
the United States refuse to grant a product patent 
on the commodities above mentioned. The result 
is that, first, they permit competition on the neces- 
sities of their citizens, and secondly, they en- 
courage the growth of chemistry in the respective 
countries, by opening and keeping open new fields 
for chemical research. 
As long as these alien countries will not grant 
to an American citizen the same privilege that 
the United States grants to their citizens, it does 
not seem equitable that we should continue to 
grant the product patent on foods, drinks or 
medicinals. 
In so doing our country continues to retard the 
growth of chemistry in a field that the other coun- 
tries keep open. Thus in one product, aspirin, our 
citizens are annually paying a tribute to Germany 
of approximately two hundred thousand dollars, 
over and above what this same commodity sells for 
in Canada where no product patent is valid. This 
is due to the fact that in England and Germany 
the field for the production of acetyl salicylic acid 
is an open one and competition is permitted. 
Were our country to change its patent laws so 
as to conform with these other countries in this 
respect, it would open a vast field in the produc- 
tion of organic synthetic compounds. We would 
be enabled to compete with these countries in an 
industry whose financial return is many millions of 
dollars. We would also offer still further induce- 
ment for the chemist, and by so doing we would 
more than ever narrow down the handicap now 
held by Germany for supremacy in chemical fields. 
