14 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 862 



phur through drainage and the low original 

 sulphur content of the soil, it appears that 

 this loss can not be compensated by the sul- 

 phur obtained from the atmosphere. The 

 surface eight inches of the normal soil con- 

 tains only enough sulphur trioxide for about 

 100 normal crops of barley. The fact that 

 the subsoil also has a low sulphur content, 

 shows that the upward movement of capillary 

 water can not bring much sulphur to the 

 surface. In a word, it is necessary to apply 

 fertilizers containing sulphur to maintain the 

 crop yields of such soils. The conclusions 

 derived from these experiments show that the 

 sulphur content of a number of the common 

 farm products, as previously determined, has 

 been too low and that much sulphur trioxide 

 is removed by crops from the soil — more than 

 has been supposed. In fact, soils cropped 

 continuously for half a century with infre- 

 quent applications of fertilizers have lost as 

 high as 40 per cent, of their original sulphur. 



At the suggestion of Dr. Paul G. Woolley, 

 dean of the medical faculty of the College of 

 Medicine of the University of Cincinnati, and 

 with the active cooperation of Dr. John H. 

 Landis, health officer, and Dr. William H. 

 Strietmann, assistant health officer, the board 

 of health of the city has voted that students 

 of the college may have a complete service in 

 all departments of the health department of 

 the city. This cooperative work will begin in 

 the junior year and each student will in his 

 last two years complete a practical course in 

 public health and sanitation. This work will 

 include the usual chemical and baeteriologic 

 work of health departments; water supply, 

 and sewage disposal; disposal of the dead; 

 sanitary, tenement, and house inspection; 

 meat, vegetable and dairy inspection; school 

 inspection and vaccination; tuberculosis field 

 work including dairy work; and actual epi- 

 demiologic work including tracing of cases 

 and sources of infection ; and finally statistical 

 work, and methods of making and filing 

 reports. 



There was an increase of $220,665,617 in 

 the value of metals produced in the United 



States in 1909 over the value in 1908, as 

 shown by an advance chapter from " Mineral 

 Eesources of the United States, 1909," on 

 " The Production of Metals and Metallic 

 Ores in 1908 and 1909," by Waldemar Lind- 

 gren, just issued by the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey. In 1909 the total production 

 had a value of $870,445,230; that for 1908 

 was valued at $649,779,613. Pig iron led in 

 1909, both in quantity and in value, the out- 

 put being 28,638,883 short tons, valued at 

 $411,544,773, of which 27,689,883 tons, valued 

 at $397,907,510, was derived from domestic 

 ores. Eefined copper, gold, silver and lead, in 

 value of production, followed in the order 

 named. Our own mines produced 57,449,584 

 short tons of iron ore in 1909, as against 40,- 

 301,336 short tons in 1908. Copper ores came 

 next, with 28,025,092 short tons in 1909 and 

 22,358,857 tons in 1908; zinc and zinc-lead 

 ores were next, with 10,679,608 short tons in 

 1909 and 8,157,963 tons in 1908 ; gold ores fol- 

 lowed, with 9,241,827 short tons in 1909 and 

 8,991,751 short tons in 1908; lead ores were 

 fifth in order of total production, with 5,811,- 

 687 short tons in 1909 and 5,082,853 short 

 tons in 1908. 



Nature announces that an International 

 Association of Chemical Societies has been 

 formed as the result of a conference of dele- 

 gates from the chemical societies of England, 

 France and Germany, held in Paris on April 

 5 and 26. The three leading societies of the 

 countries named had been invited by the 

 president of the Chemical Society of France 

 to cooperate in this movement and to nom- 

 inate delegates to represent their respective 

 societies at the inaugural meeting. The rep- 

 resentatives of the Chemical Society of Lon- 

 don were Professor P. F. Frankland (presi- 

 dent). Professor Meldola and Sir Wm. Earn- 

 say. The Chemical Society of France was 

 represented by Professors Behal, Haller and 

 Hanriot, and the German Chemical Society 

 by Professors Jacobson, Ostwald and Wichel- 

 haus. With the exception of Professor Mel- 

 dola, who was unable to attend, all the dele- 

 gates were present at the opening meeting, 

 when the association was formally founded 



