180 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. No. 1023 



creased under Napoleon, gradually spread 

 to neighboring countries, and then reaching 

 out farther, their influence is now obvious 

 throughout the whole world. 



France, during the revolution, scattered 

 to the winds old traditions and convention- 

 alities, in culture as well as in politics. 

 Until then, she had mainly impressed the 

 world by the barbaric, wasteful splendor of 

 her opulent kings, at whose courts the 

 devotees of science received scant attention 

 in comparison to the more ornamental 

 artists and belles-lettrists, who were petted 

 and rewarded alongside of the all-impor- 

 tant men of the sword. 



In fact, as far as the culture of science 

 was concerned, the Netherlands, Germany 

 and Italy, and more particularly, England, 

 were head and shoulders above the France 

 of "le Eoi Soleil." 



The struggles of the new regime put 

 France in the awkward position of the 

 legendary beaver which "had to climb a 

 tree. ' ' 



If for no other reason, she needed scien- 

 tists to help her in her wars against the 

 rulers of other European nations. She 

 needed them just as much for repairing 

 her crippled finances and her badly dis- 

 turbed industries which were dependent upon 

 natural products imported until then, but 

 of which the supply had suddenly been 

 cut off by the so-called Continental Block- 

 ade. Money-prizes and other inducements 

 had been offered for stimulating the devel- 

 opment of chemical processes, and — what 

 is more significant — patent laws were pro- 

 mulgated so as to foster invention. 



Nicolas Leblanc's method for the manu- 

 facture of soda to replace the imported 

 alkalis, BerthoUet's method for bleaching 

 with chlorine, the beet-sugar industry, to 

 replace cane sugar imported from the 

 colonies, and several other processes, were 

 proposed. 



All these chemical processes found them- 

 selves soon lifted from the hands of the 

 secretive alchemist or the timid pharmacist 

 to the rank of real manufacturing methods. 

 Industrial chemistry had begun its lusty 

 career. 



First successes stimulated new endeavors 

 and small wonder is it that France, with 

 these favorable conditions at hand, for a 

 while at least, entered into the most glori- 

 ous period of that part of her history 

 which relates to the development of chem- 

 istry, and the arts dependent thereon. 



It is difiicult to imagine that, at that 

 time, Germany, which now occupies such 

 an enviable position in chemistry, was so 

 far behind that even in 1822, when Liebig 

 wanted to study chemistry at the best 

 schools, he had to leave his own country, 

 and turn to Gay-Lussac, Thenard and 

 Dulong in Paris. 



But the British were not slow to avail 

 themselves of the new opportunities in 

 chemical manufacturing so clearly indi- 

 cated by the first successes of the French. 

 Their linen bleacheries in Scotland and 

 England soon used an improved method for 

 bleaching with chloride of lime, developed 

 by Tennant, which brought along the manu- 

 facture of other chemicals relating thereto, 

 like sulphuric acid and soda. 



The chemical reactions involved in all 

 these processes are relatively simple, and 

 after they were once well understood, it 

 required mainly resourceful engineering 

 and good commercial abilities to build up 

 successfully the industries based thereon. 



From this epoch on dates the beginning 

 of the development of that important in- 

 dustry of heavy chemicals in which the 

 British led the world for almost a century. 



In the same way, England had become 

 the leader in another important branch of 

 chemical industry — the manufacture of 

 coal-gas. 



