636 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVIII. No. i 



per cent. C +, 11 per cent. C — ,4 per cent. 

 D -\-, 2.5 per cent. D — and 2.5 per cent, fail- 

 ure; or using only the four large steps, 14 per 

 cent, should receive A, 44 per cent. B, 33 per 

 cent. C, 6.5 per cent. D and 2.5 per cent, 

 failure. 



Fig. 3 shows how closely the actual distribu- 

 tion of the grades of upper classmen coincides 

 with the theoretical distribution here com- 

 puted. The continuous line is the theoretical 

 distribution and the broken line is the actual 

 distribution of 5,404 grades assigned to upper 

 classmen in the college of letters and science 

 in the University of Wisconsin. The latter 

 are taken by permission from the unpublished 

 report of Dean Birge. 



The adoption of a uniform scale of grades 

 as well as a uniform standard in the frequency 

 with which the different grades are assigned 

 is a pressing need among colleges and secon- 

 dary schools. These ends could be attained 

 by adopting the scale of eight passing grades, 

 or the coarser one, for reasons given in the 

 earlier part of this paper, and by having each 

 teacher and each institution compare the fre- 

 quency of the various grades assigned with 

 the theoretical frequency. Then an 4 + or a 

 B — would have more nearly the same signifi- 

 cance under different teachers and in different 

 institutions than they have at the present time. 



Daniel Starch 

 Univeesitt op Wisconsin 



THE AMESICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



ROCHESTER MEETING 



The forty-eighth annual meeting of the Amer- 

 ican Chemical Society was held at Rochester, New 

 York, September 8 to 12. This is the first meet- 

 ing held in September under the newly adopted 

 constitution, and the large number present and 

 the enthusiasm of the meeting amply justify the 

 change in date from the Christmas holidays to the 

 fall of the year. 



Below will be found titles of the papers given 

 at the meeting, with such abstracts as could be 

 obtained. A study of the list shows a number of 

 valuable contributions in both theoretical and ap- 

 plied chemistry. Most of these papers will be 

 published in full in the journals of the society. 



A complimentary dinner was given by the 



Eochester Section to the council on the evening of 

 September 8, and following this dinner was held 

 the annual council meeting of the society. Charles 

 L. Parsons was elected secretary of the society, 

 and Dr. A. P. Hallock, treasurer, for a period of 

 three years, under the revised constitution. W. A. 

 Noyes was elected editor of the Journal of the 

 American Chemical Society, and the board of as- 

 sociate editors was continued, with the exception 

 of H. P. Talbot and A. A. Noyes, who asked to 

 be relieved of this duty. W. Lash MiUer, of the 

 University of Toronto, was elected to the board 

 with special reference to physical chemistry. M. 

 C. Whitaker was elected editor of the Journal of 

 Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, and the 

 board of associate editors was continued and the 

 editorial staff strengthened by the addition of two 

 assistant editors. A. M. Patterson was reelected 

 editor of Chemical Abstracts, and J. J. MUler and 

 E. J. Crane associate editors. 



The first general session was held in the as- 

 sembly hall of the Eastman Kodak Company, Ko- 

 dak Park, on Tuesday morning, and was opened by 

 a cordial address of welcome by Mayor Edgerton, 

 and replied to by President Little. Papers were 

 presented as indicated below. 



At the conclusion of the morning session the 

 members and their guests were entertained at 

 luncheon by the Eastman Kodak Company. After 

 luncheon the manufacturing department of the 

 Kodak Company was inspected by the members 

 present, who were divided into groups of fourteen 

 for the purpose and placed under the guidance of 

 members of the Eastman Company's technical 

 staff. This opportunity to see one of the most 

 highly developed chemical industries in America 

 was thoroughly appreciated. On Tuesday eve- 

 ning, the members were entertained by the Roch- 

 ester Section at a smoker, the program for which 

 had been prepared under the able direction of M. 

 H. Eisenhart, assisted by other members of the 

 local section, who provided an extensive program 

 and elaborate feast for the occasion. Each guest 

 was decked out in a commodious white apron, on 

 which was inscribed in bold letters his name and 

 address, and also wore a yellow Chinese mandarin 

 cap with pigtail. The hall was decorated with 

 flags, and contained many small balloons filled with 

 hydrogen, which, as their buoyancy diminished, af- 

 forded special opportunities for amusement of the 

 guests. Unusually attractive songbooks had been 

 printed in the works of the Kodak Company, bear- 

 ing the pin of the society in colors. Three other 

 attractive souvenirs were distributed to each guest. 



