710 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVIII. No. 985 



olive oil, the mean molecular weight of part of the 

 condensible hydrocarbons can be calculated. 



Chemical methods are not wholly satisfactory. A 

 small laboratory compressor holding 4 liters of 

 gas and capable of withstanding pressures up to 

 500 lbs. is described. By its use the yield of 

 liquid gasoline obtainable from any gas under any 

 working conditions of temperature and pressure 

 can be determined quite accurately. 

 George A. Bdrrell and Frank M. Seibert: The 



Condensation of Gasoline from Natural Gas. 

 Sidney D. Wells: Some Experiments on the 



Conversion of Long-leaf Fine to Paper Pulp iy 



the Soda and Sulphate Processes. 



One hundred and fifty small autoclave cooks were 

 made to study the influence of various factors in 

 the cooking operation of the sulphate process. It 

 was found that the more caustic soda or sodium 

 sulphide, in use, the greater the concentration, the 

 higher the temperature and the longer the time of 

 cooking, the lower the yields of pulp and the lighter 

 and easier to bleach. Caustic soda had twice the 

 reducing power possessed by sodium sulphid. 



Nineteen larger semicommercial cooks were made 

 and with a yield of pulp of 4& per cent, of the 

 dry weight of the wood a kraft paper was made 

 stronger and tougher than the usual imported 

 kraft papers. Paper could be made from soda 

 pulps of the same wood as strong but not as tough 

 and the yields of pulp were much less. 

 Chas. p. Fox: Syrian Autoiurning Limestone. 



Examination of a sample of Syrian self -burning 

 limestone, obtained from IT. S. Consul Whiting at 

 Jerusalem, Palestine, and described by him in 

 Daily Consular Report of July 21, 1911. 



This rock belongs to the fossiliferous bituminous 

 limestone formation of the Hauran district in the 

 upper Jordan Valley. 



In this section lime burning, on account of the 

 quantity of raw material, quality of product and 

 low cost of production, is an important industry. 



Analysis of sample shows calcium carbonate, 

 phosphoric acid, nitrogen, sulphur and organic 

 matter, a portion of which is of asphaltic nature. 



The original limestone has a fuel value equal 

 to one fourth that of good coal. When properly 

 prepared it forms a compounding material suitable 

 for use in the production of black rubber goods. 



The presence of notable quantities of plant food 

 associated with the physical characters of the rock 

 classifies it as an important soil maker, a fact 

 proven by the rich grain fields of Syria. 

 Chas. F. Fox: An Improved Laboratory Burner. 

 A description, illustrated by photograph, of a 



useful attachment (combined wind shield and 

 crucible support) for laboratory burners. 

 J. Culver Hartzell : The Correlation of Chemical, 

 Structural and Thermal Analyses of Steels. 

 In this paper the author presents the subject 

 from the viewpoints of pure and applied science. 

 In a recent trip which occupied several weeks, the 

 author made a study of testing laboratories and 

 heat-treatment plants and was impressed with the 

 necessity of a better correlation of laboratory re- 

 sults with works results. Refinement of laboratory 

 technic must be maintained; but there is need of 

 better recognition of the limits of refinement in 

 the hardening-room and high-speed-steel furnaces. 

 While the latter should be brought up to and 

 maintained at their highest efficiency, the refine- 

 ment of the laboratory should not be expected; 

 but the instructions sent down from the laboratory 

 should contain reasonable working limits compati- 

 ble with the best practical results obtainable. 

 E. Lehman Johnson: If the Chemists Manufac- 

 tured Cottonseed Meal. 



If chemists, familiar with the need of balancing 

 rations, had the exclusive manufacture of cotton- 

 seed meal, instead of turning out a product al- 

 together too rich, too concentrated, for ordinary 

 feeding of any kind, as the southern cotton-oil 

 mills are doing, they would make it in more sen- 

 sible, more scientific fashion, more nearly like the 

 cereals, corn and oats. 



To insist, as some states already do and the 

 national government is trying to do, upon compel- 

 ling a high protein or nitrogen content of cotton- 

 seed meal (higher than linseed meal, for instance) 

 is an arbitrary abuse of power, good for neither 

 producer, manufacturer or consumer. All three of 

 these classes should look to the chemist for guid- 

 ance in this matter, not to old habit or prejudice. 

 Irving C. Allen : The American Petroleum Society. 

 Irving C. Allen: Flash Testing. 

 Horace 0. Porter and O. C. Ealston: A Study 

 of the Oxidation of Coal and of the Process of 

 Combustion. 



The rate of oxidation was studied for different 

 kinds of coal at temperatures from 40° to 200° C. 

 Large differences in rate were found which are in 

 general parallel to the differences in inflammability 

 and ease of ignition. The rapid increase of rate 

 with rising temperature was shown. A study was 

 made also of the products of oxidation, and evi- 

 dence obtained which strongly supports the theory 

 of the preliminary formation, in the early stage 

 of combustion, of an addition complex of coal 



