290 



SCIENCE. 



[N.S. Vol. XVI. No. 399. 



A New Glass of Low Solubility: G. E. 



Barton. 



The statement in a recent number of 

 Science to the effect that American glass 

 is inferior to that made in Germany is 

 without doubt true if for 'Germany' we 

 read 'Jena.' The grounds for the claim 

 that at least one glass made in this country 

 heretofore has been equal to anything made 

 on the continent except Jena glass, I sub- 

 mit herewith. I have here also samples of 

 a new glass of my own devising which is 

 the equal of the Jena glass as regards its 

 resistance to water, acids and carbonates, 

 and superior in its resistance to caustic 

 alkali solutions. I believe this glass will 

 render the statement in Science obsolete. 

 Solubility tests of Wliitall Tatum Company, 

 Kavalier, Jena, and the new glass were 

 made by determining the loss in weight 

 sustained by pint flasks when boiled for 

 three hours with solutions of the strength 

 shown in the table, under an inverted con- 

 denser. Further details of the method, 

 together with a brief explanation of the 

 reasons for choosing such a method in pref- 

 erence to others, will be found in the com- 

 plete paper which will be published in the 

 Journal of the American Chemical Society. 

 The results obtained were as follows, each 

 figure being the average of three results: 



LOSS PEE FLASK EXPRESSED IN MILLI6KAMS. 



The variations between the new glass 

 and the Jena glass are, with the exception 

 of the solubility in one per cent, sodium 

 hydrate solution, within the limits of fac- 

 tory practice. In resisting the last solution, 

 however, the new glass is over eight per 

 cent, better. 



A Process for Rendering Phosphoric Acid 

 Available: Charles Baskerville. Ab- 

 stract published in the issue of Science 

 for August 8. 



A Contribution to the Chemistry of some of 

 the Asphalt Bocks found in Te.ras; Henry 

 AViNSTON Harper. 



This paper constitutes Chapter V. of 

 Bulletin No. 8, the University of Texas 

 Mineral Survey ('Coals, Lignites and As- 

 phalt Rocks of Texas'). It contains new 

 analytical data and it is a contribution to 

 the chemistry of the asphalt rocks and some 

 of the asphalt industrial products of Texas. 

 The paper includes an introduction, analyt- 

 ical methods used, nomenclature, the limits 

 of the proportion of petrolene to asphaltene 

 in asphalts intended for paving purposes, 

 constituents that lessen the value of as- 

 phalts used for paving purposes, the speci- 

 mens examined. The experimental part 

 contains tabulated results which show: loss 

 of weight in vacuo over sulphuric acid 24 

 hours at room temperature (21°-23° C.) ; 

 loss of weight when heated and maintained 

 at various temperatures four and seven 

 hours ; the influence of a temperature of 

 160'' C. upon the constituents of some as- 

 phalt rocks; and many other chemical and 

 physical points of interest regarding the 

 Texas asphalts. It also contains an exam- 

 ination of the percentage of petrolene and 

 asphaltene in the total bitumen; the 

 influence of a temperature of 160° C, 

 continued one hour, upon the percentage of 

 total bitumen in the samples used and upon 

 the percentage of petrolene and asphaltene 

 in the total bitumen ; percentage of loss 

 of total bitumen and the percentage 

 of petrolene and asphaltene in the samples 

 treated; analyses of the ash of samples; 

 the bitumen of the asphalt rocks of Texas 

 — preliminary investigation; the petrolene 

 complexes obtained from samples 1605, 

 1606, 1607— treatment of these complexes 



