March 27, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



485 



tory whose province it is to study the 

 chemical composition of wood in all forms 

 including studies on wood distillation, the 

 analysis and standardization of timber 

 preservatives, the estimation of the tannin 

 and cellulose content of wood and bark, 

 bleaching experiments, etc., and to conduct 

 investigations covering the utilization of 

 various woods and saw-mill waste for paper 

 pulp and allied products. One of the im- 

 portant objects of this laboratory is to 

 experiment on the pulp-making possibili- 

 ties of various Avoods with a view to obtain- 

 ing: First, a pulp with which it will be 

 practicable to replace spruce pulp, the 

 supply of which has notably diminished; 

 second, other pulps that may have proper- 

 ties particularly adapted to the manu- 

 facture of special kinds of paper; third, a 

 pulp of marketable value as a by-product 

 from the waste material from saw mill and 

 lumbering operations. 



The Office of Experiment Stations of the 

 Department of Agriculture does not main- 

 tain a laboratory but employs a number 

 of men with chemical training in connec- 

 tion with the publication of the Experi- 

 ment Station Record and other publica- 

 tions relating to chemical matters. The 

 work of this office is of special interest be- 

 cause of its intimate connection with the 

 forty-eight state agricultural experiment 

 stations of the United States. Although 

 these stations are in part maintained by 

 funds appropriated by congress they are 

 not under the supervision of the federal 

 government, and for that reason can not 

 receive more than a passing notice in this 

 connection. 



COMMERCE AND L,ABOR 



The chemical laboratory of the Bureau 

 of Standards has a considerable amount 

 of routine work in the examination of sup- 

 plies— chiefly for the Department of Com- 

 merce and Labor. Its principal work, 



however, is of a research character inclu- 

 ding, among other lines, the preparation 

 and examination of substances employed 

 in the construction of standard electrical 

 cells and the investigation of methods used 

 in technical analysis and in the examina- 

 tion of chemical reagents for the purpose 

 of improving their standards of purity. 



I have stated briefly the aim and 

 character of the work done in those gov- 

 ernment laboratories to which appoint- 

 ments are most frequently made, and have 

 given as complete an idea as I could in the 

 time at my disposal of the opportunity 

 they offer for study and research. 



Practically all appointments are made 

 from the eligible lists of the Civil Ser- 

 vice Commission. The only exceptions 

 are those of chemists whose training and 

 experience peculiarly qualifies them to 

 undertake some special problems and whose 

 appointments are temporary. The exami- 

 nations from which such eligible lists are 

 established may be broadly divided into 

 four classes. 



1. Those occasioned by vacancies in posi- 

 tions of unusual respOTisibility or requir- 

 ing exceptional training and experience. 

 Examinations of this type are frequently 

 "non-assembled" and no practical ques- 

 tions are asked. Applicants are rated on 

 the courses of study they have completed 

 and especially on the work they have done. 

 The degree of doctor of philosophy or its 

 equivalent is commonly essential to eligible 

 rating in educational requirements. Un- 

 der educational qualifications it is obvious 

 that only that work can be recognized for 

 which credit has been received from repu- 

 table colleges or universities. Unfortunate 

 as it may be, it is impossible to rate state- 

 ments of applicants regarding independent 

 study or regarding partial courses in edu- 

 cational institutions from which no credit 

 has been received. Experience is rated, 

 especially in the case of younger men, on 



