602 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1060 



to many other industries such as the wall- 

 paper, printing and paint industries requiring 

 lakes and pigments. 



In 1870, the time when this industry com- 

 menced to be transferred to Germany, organic 

 chemistry was not recognized by our older uni- 

 versities, and the newer universities, which 

 since then had done so much for the progress 

 of science, did not exist. Many of our univer- 

 sities and particularly those of Oxford and 

 Cambridge, and those in Scotland, contributed 

 practically nothing to the advancement of 

 organic chemistry in the latter part of last 

 century, and even now their output of research 

 was far less than it should be. In Germany, 

 as soon as the importance of the subject be- 

 came apparent, schools specially devoted to the 

 subject were founded by such teachers as 

 Liebig, Wohler, Kekule and Baeyer. 



The president then dealt with the deficiency 

 of dyes in this country, and referred to the 

 schemes proposed by the government to ascer- 

 tain the best means of obtaining sufficient 

 supplies of chemical products. The grant of 

 £100,000 which the government proposed to 

 make to the company for research purposes 

 would be better employed in subsidizing the 

 research laboratories of those universities and 

 colleges which were willing to specialize in 

 organic chemistry, and to train a certain num- 

 ber of students with a view to their entering 

 the services of the company. The existing dye 

 works in this country compared very unfavor- 

 ably, he said, with those in Germany, where 

 experience had been in favor of building large 

 works and against spreading manufacturing 

 operations over small works situated in differ- 

 ent parts of the country. Moreover, in the 

 manufacture of any substance, by-products re- 

 sulted which must be either recovered or used 

 in the manufacture of other saleable products, 

 and in order that these by-products might be 

 used to the best advantage the dovetailing 

 operations should be carried out on the same 

 site, and thus save transporting the by-products 

 from one works to another — an operation that 

 must entail loss. The proposal of the govern- 

 ment, therefore, to take over the existing 

 works in this country appeared a doubtful 

 policy. 



INTERSTATE CONFEBENCE ON CEBEAL 

 INVESTIGATIONS 



The undersigned committee on arrange- 

 ments respectfully announce that on May 25- , 

 28, 1915, an Interstate Conference on Investi- 

 gations of Cereals will be held in California. 

 This proposed conference is the outgrowth of 

 suggestion and expressed desires on the part of 

 many investigators for a number of years that 

 such a conference be held for the purpose of 

 conferring on the various phases of all cereal 

 research but particularly those more difficult 

 problems concerning which there is difl'erence 

 of opinion, different methods of work, different 

 points of attack and considerable variation in 

 results, in order that these differences may be 

 better understood by each other and that all 

 such investigations be more coordinate and 

 effective hereafter. 



It seems that the fact that there are no other 

 meetings at that time to conflict with this one 

 and the fact that it is near harvest time in that 

 region would be much in favor of having the 

 conference at the time stated. It is realized 

 that the time may be inopportune for some 

 and that many in the eastern part of the 

 United States will not be able to attend. It 

 is hoped, however, that even of those in the east 

 there may be certain ones who would in any 

 case visit California about that time and who 

 would avail themselves of the opportunity to 

 take part in the conference. It is hoped and 

 expected that there will be a good attendance 

 from the territory west of the Mississippi 

 Eiver. A number have already signified their 

 intention of being present and several have 

 submitted titles of papers. 



The arrangements are: To meet at Merced 

 Tuesday, May 25, for a field inspection of 

 the San Joaquin Valley cereals, go to Berkeley 

 the evening of the same day and begin the 

 conference proper the morning of the 26th at 

 the University of California ; continue the pro- 

 gram the next day at the State Experiment 

 Farm at Davis and finish the day with an 

 inspection of the farm; then go to Chico in 

 the evening or the next morning and visit the 

 Plant Introduction Garden of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture on the 28th. 

 During the same day those who wish wiU go 



