December 18^ 1914] 



SCIENCE 



873 



nearly $2,500,000. The demand of the dye- 

 stuffs works for coal-tar products also led 

 to the great development in the recovery 

 of by-products in coke manufacture. The 

 recovery of ammonia as ammonium sul- 

 phate, a valuable fertilizing material, has 

 grown rapidly in Germany. 



The purely inorganic chemical works in 

 Germany have been in a different position 

 as compared with the large color works, 

 which, with their large and excellent scien- 

 tific and commercial organization, as well 

 as their splendid financial position, repre- 

 sent enormous powers. The German color 

 works long ago ceased to purchase the in- 

 organic products they required. In 1913, 

 they worked their own mines, made all in- 

 organic and intermediate products them- 

 selves, not only for their own requirements, 

 but also for sale, and controlled every 

 branch of chemical industry. The great 

 advance of these large concerns made it 

 very difficult for the inorganic works to 

 take up new manufactures to compensate 

 for the continued falling-off in the profits 

 on heavy chemicals. 



Much is to be learned from a study of the 

 history of German technology. We find, 

 for instance, that the progress of industrial 

 chemistry, especially in its synthetic 

 branches, has lagged in the United States 

 because the United States corporation and 

 patent laws are unfavorable (in Germany 

 a patent must be worked or forfeited) and 

 because there is no large supply of cheap 

 researchers. German conditions in these 

 respects have been the direct causes for 

 the German development. However, with 

 proper legislation, the chemical industry 

 will develop in the United States, at least 

 to the same extent as in Germany, for 

 American engineering ingenuity will serve 

 to counterbalance the advantage of cheap 

 labor; and the same applies to Canada, 

 whose engineers have demonstrated skill 



and resource in many developments of im- 

 portance to the Dominion. 



Like Canada, the United States has un- 

 necessarily imported too much. Given 

 proper conditions, American industrialists 

 can take care of a large amount of goods 

 now being imported, and in some eases pro- 

 duce them here. In other cases, they could 

 even become exporters of commodities now 

 imported. To accomplish this, however, a 

 large amount of research will be necessary, 

 and, in general, considerable investments 

 will have to be made. 



THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES OF SWEDEN 



Since most of the rivers of Canada pos- 

 sess waterfalls on their course, they must 

 become increasingly important as sources 

 of power, the basis of industry. Your swift- 

 flowing streams, capable of supplying al- 

 most unlimited power, remind one of those 

 which are the boast of Sweden and Nor- 

 way; and like these countries, Canada has 

 not only waterfalls, but she has many lakes, 

 which will serve some day as large natural 

 reservoirs for conducting the water to the 

 power stations. It is appropriate, there- 

 fore, that brief reference be made to the 

 chemical industries of Scandinavia. 



Sweden is a land in which chemistry has 

 played an important role from an early 

 date. No less than twenty of the known 

 chemical elements have been discovered by 

 Swedes, and we are all familiar with the 

 pioneer work of Scheele and Berzelius 

 during the constructive period of chemistry, 



Sweden owes to three factors its past and 

 present position in industrial chemistry: 

 an abundantly diversified mineral wealth; 

 forests of enormous extent; and abundant 

 water power. Its metal products are of 

 notably high quality; the manufacture of 

 cellulose in its varied forms constitutes an 

 enormous industry; and the electrochem- 

 ical industries have availed themselves of 



