674 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. No. 1036 



CHEMISTRY IN THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



Professor Copeland in a recent article in 

 Science! on "Botany in the Agricultural 

 College" states as a minor point that much 

 of the chemistry taught in these institutions 

 is not basic to work in agriculture. 



It may be interesting to note in this con- 

 nection that we have found in this laboratory 

 that it is possible to give freshmen, in a re- 

 quired course in chemistry, work which has 

 relation to agriculture and seems to be of 

 interest to them. 



The work is synthetic rather than analytic 

 or descriptive in character, and consists, in 

 part, in preparation from the original sources 

 of the following materials: superphosphate, axQ- 

 monium sulfate (from gas liquor), high grade 

 muriate and sulfate of potash, as well as the 

 sulfate of potash-magnesia from crude salts, 

 arsenate of lead, lime-sulfur, Bordeaux mix- 

 ture, Paris green and various emulsions. 



A student spends one or more two-hour 

 laboratory periods on one preparation, often 

 using the product of one day's work to make 

 a second substance. For example, copper 

 sulfate is made from metallic copper, and at 

 a following exercise Bordeaux mixture and 

 Paris green are made from the copper salt. 

 Similarly lead nitrate is made from the oxid 

 before the nitrate is used to prepare the 

 arsenate of lead. 



Many of these preparations, in the making, 

 furnish excellent opportunities to illustrate 

 the principles of mass-action and some phases 

 of colloidal chemistry. 



C. A. Peters 



Massachusetts Agricultural College, 

 Department of General and 

 Agricultural Chemistry 



THE RENOUNCING OF HONOKARY DEGREES 



To the Editor of Science: In your issue 

 of October 2, I notice certain German pro- 

 fessors have stated their intention of renounc- 

 ing the honorary degrees conferred upon them 

 by British universities. If they imagine they 

 can do this they are, as regards Cambridge, 



1 September ]8, 1914, page 401. 



imagining a vain thing. Our statutes, which 

 are acts of parliament, give no power, even to 

 the authorities of the university itself, to take 

 away honorary degrees. 



The utmost the German professors can do is 

 to cease to use them, but they will still remain 

 honorary doctors of Cambridge. They will go 

 down to the tomb with this indelible stain upoa 

 their names. 



A. E. Shipley 

 Christ's College, 

 Cambridge 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Telegraphy. By the late Sir W. H. Preeoe, 

 K.C.B., F.E.S., and Sir J. Sivewright, 

 M.A., K.C.M.G. Eevised and partly re- 

 written by W. Llewellyn Preece. London 

 and New York, Longmans, Green and Co., 

 1914. 422 pages, 269 illustrations. Price 

 $2.25 net. 



This interesting volume in the Text-Book 

 of Science Series is a thorough revision of a 

 smaller volume of 300 pages by the same two 

 authors published by Longmans, Green & Co. 

 in 1876. Although the original volume passed 

 through nine editions, its contents remained 

 almost unchanged. At that time, the book was 

 practically the only one on the subject of teleg- 

 raphy in Great Britain available for operators 

 and artisans employed in the British post-offica 

 system. Great changes have naturally taken 

 place in that system during the 38 years which 

 have passed since the book first made its ap- 

 pearance. The new book has, for instance, t* 

 include telephones and telephony, neither of 

 which is referred to in the original edition. 

 On the other hand, it has been necessary t» 

 exclude, for want of space, some of the sub- 

 jects dealt with in the original volume. 



In clearness and simplicity of statement, it 

 would be difficult for the new edition to im- 

 prove upon the old. All the writings of the 

 late Sir William Preece were signalized by 

 their directness and lucidity. His collaborator. 

 Sir James Sivewright, was entitled to a like 

 share of praise for his literary presentations. 

 Between them they wrote a volume that re- 

 mained, during a generation, a standard for 



