May 23, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



SVi 



tic sources; it therefore appears that the 

 heavier pieces, like iron ware, electro- 

 chemical apparatus, platinum ware, etc., 

 are to be had economically in America. 

 For the more delicate and stable glassware, 

 however, it is quite necessary to import. 

 Manufacturers have noticed the tendency 

 to favor home-produced goods, and adver- 

 tise thermometers, porcelain ware, etc., 

 'Made in the United States.' They deserve 

 encouragement, but buyers are not inclined 

 to pay too liberally for their patriotism. 



While some very excellent American 

 balances are made, the prices placed upon 

 the same are high. It is claimed that 

 American glass is inferior to German in 

 quality and power of resistance to chemi- 

 cals, and further there is much criticism 

 of some dealers for substituting inferior 

 goods. This is a clear business proposition, 

 which offers an easy solution, but often- 

 times serious inconvenience is caused by 

 institutions and chemists located great dis- 

 tances from the distributing points. The 

 most promising encouragement for instru- 

 ments of accuracy in home-made goods is 

 offered in the recent establishment of the 

 National Standards Bureau, in the ac- 

 complishment of which members of the 

 American Chemical Society took an active 

 part. 



A larger proportion of chemical students 

 are turning their attention to pharmacy, a 

 most desirable state of affairs. Progress is 

 shown in that line by the many excellent 

 and some bad preparations coming from 

 the drug houses. It is unfortunate, how- 

 ever, that the examination boards of phar- 

 macy in some states are too lax in their re- 

 quirements for license. 



Teaching of Chemistry in the Scliools. — 

 At the request of the Committee Mr. Rufus 

 P. Williams, of the English High School, 

 Boston, prepared a very instnictive his- 

 tory of the teaching of chemistry in the 

 schools, 1876 to 1901 (already published 



in Science). A careful study of the sub- 

 ject by student and teacher is urged. It is 

 most important that they organize an asso- 

 ciation of science for chemistry teachers 

 in various parts of the country, as has been 

 done, with excellent results, by the New 

 England teachers. 



With very rare exceptions all institu- 

 tions, offering courses in chemistry insist 

 upon complementary laboratory instruc- 

 tion, which was not the case in 1876 (see 

 Clarke's Report, Department of Educa- 

 tion, 1880). Information from the smaller 

 colleges, purely academic in character, 

 shows that they now usually have a short 

 required course in chemistry. In 1876 a 

 meager course, usually of lectures, was re- 

 quired; now the subject is elective, accom- 

 panied with laboratory practice, in the 

 larger institutions. 



There is great room for improvement in 

 the smaller colleges along two lines : 



1. Employment of men especially trained 

 to teach the subject. It is well known that 

 men holding the degree of Master of Arts 

 have been employed to teach in some of the 

 small colleges, their work frequently being 

 assigned to them after their arrival. This 

 is an evil and an injustice to science, more 

 widespread than is imagined, and one which 

 can be corrected, and is being corrected, 

 without financial loss to those institutions. 



2. This may be illustrated by the state- 

 ment of one teacher and needs no comment : 



"Most chemists in institutions like 



college and other denominational schools 

 are overburdened with other duties. For 

 example, the undersigned has to teach 

 algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic 

 geometry, calculus, physics, botany, zool- 

 ogy, astronomy, physiology, manager of 

 the college monthly, publications, etc., be- 

 sides teach chemistry." 



There are very few of the larger universi- 

 ties offering courses in advanced inorganic 

 chemistry, such as are given atCorneU. Such 



