198 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LV, No. 1417 



must be admitted is a serous disadvantage. 

 The range of aequaintaneeship with pei-sons 

 engaged in his own class of work is limited and 

 while there are a few science organizations 

 these are small in comparison with those that 

 can be enjoyed in an American city. The re- 

 sult is that, although one often spends more 

 time in reading books and journal articles than 

 if he were here, he finds on his return that a 

 number of things of importance have transpired 

 in the science world of which he either did not 

 hear, or which failed to make much of an im- 

 pression on him. 



Work is often retarded by failing to get sup- 

 plies promptly. It so happened that during 

 my stay in the Philippines this condition pre- 

 vailed all over the world, but it was worse there 

 and is more or less chronic. If supplies are 

 ordered from the United States, they cannot be 

 expected in less than three months. To receive 

 them in such a short time means that the stock 

 was on hand at the supply house when the order 

 was received and that there was no delay in 

 filling the order. The time may be shortened, 

 of course, by sending a cablegram, but unless 

 definite arrangements are made and a special 

 code established, this procedure is not prac- 

 ticable in general. With the cable rate from 

 Manila to New York more than a doUar a word 

 it may be seen that cable messages are justi- 

 fiable only in rather unusual circumstances. If 

 the order, when it arrives in Chicago or New 

 York, is not filled with care and dispatch, an- 

 other month or two may elapse. Usually it is 

 not safe to count on delivery of goods in less 

 than six months. It frequently happens that 

 the manufacturer or dealer in America does not 

 realize how long a time is required for an ex- 

 change of correspondence and wUl write re- 

 questing some further information, which 

 means a delay of another three months, and 

 so on. 



On one occasion I ordered a pyi'ometer from 

 a well known manufacturer in the United 

 States. The order was sent by mail, but 

 marked rush, and we hoped to receive the in- 

 strument within three or four months. At the 

 end of that time, a letter was received, asking 

 whether the vrall type or tal)le tj'pe of galvano- 



meter was preferred. This was answered at 

 once, stating that the table type was preferable. 

 Several months later another letter came, this 

 time asking whether we desired the scale to be 

 graduated in Fahrenheit or Centigrade. By 

 this time our work had been held up so long 

 and we were so disgusted by the long delay that 

 we at once cabled him to send the Centigrade 

 scale. Practically a year from the date of the 

 original order, the instrument arrived. Pos- 

 sibly a little profanity was justifiable when on 

 unpacking the pyrometer, it was found that he 

 had sent the Fahrenheit scale. Of course, this 

 is an extreme case, but serves to illustrate the 

 serious disadvantage of being separated by 

 10,000 miles from a supply house where a large 

 stock of chemicals and apparatus may be ob- 

 tained immediately. In Manila, as a rule, such 

 materials are handled by drug stores and the 

 limited stocks which they carry are available 

 only to tide over untH regular orders can be 

 placed. Usually the chemicals in stock are pri- 

 marily for pharmaceutical purposes, and not 

 many chemically pure reagents are to be had. 



Such compounds as ferrous salts seem to be- 

 come oxidized much more rapidly than here; 

 although I have seen no actual data to that 

 effect. Also a number of compounds which do 

 not take up moistiu'e rapidly in a dry climate, 

 do so there. On one occasion I bought an ounce 

 or two of sodium thiosulphate for some photo- 

 graphic work. After completing the work, I 

 left the remainder of the chemical in its original 

 container which happened to be a paper bag 

 and placed it in a drawer of the library table. 

 On pulling out the drawer a few days later I 

 was surprised to find considerable water which 

 had wet a number of articles in the drawer. On 

 looking for the source I found that the chemical 

 was saturated with water and that it was neces- 

 sary to keep it in a tight container. Chemicals 

 for use in the tropics should be ordered in small 

 containers so that if a portion is removed and 

 the remainder is allowed to stand for a time, 

 the loss will not be great. Although the cost of 

 chemicals in quarter-pound bottles is slightly 

 higher than in pound bottles, the saving and 

 satisfaction more than repay the extra cost. 



Tlie deterioration of instruments and appara- 



