166 
to simply carry out instructions, and not to 
meddle with the chemical process itself. 
Professor Silvanus P. Thompson, in dis- 
cussing Professor Lunge’s paper, urged that 
where a great industry is localized, science 
should be applied to that industry, and an 
institute should be put there devoted to 
monotechnical rather than polytechnical in- 
struction. Training in research is abso- 
lutely necessary, and specific research 
should not be undertaken too soon by stu- 
dents who have not been taken through an 
all-round course in chemistry. Sir Henry 
Roscoe pointed out that England suffers 
chiefly from the failure of her manufac- 
turers to see, as they ought to see, the 
importance of the highest scientific training 
for their employés. Scientific teaching has 
taken up a sound position already, and if 
manufacturers will only appreciate its value 
England can turn out scientific men as well 
as any country in the world. 
Tue last Berichte of the German Chemical 
Society contains a series of observations of 
the amount of carbon dioxid in the air of 
Sheffield, by W. Carleton Williams. The 
mean amount found in 142 determinations 
in the suburbs is 3.266 parts per 10,000, 
the maximum being 5.14 and the minimum 
2.16. The average of 22 determinations in 
the center of the city is 3.9, with a maxi- 
mum of 6.22 anda minimum of 2.80. These 
figures are higher than those observed in 
Paris (2.85), Dieppe (2.94) and Odessa 
(3.04), and only equaled by those in 
Dundee (3.9). As regards the conditions 
pertaining at the time of the experiment 
the following conclusions are drawn. Dur- 
ing mist and snow the amount is increased; 
no difference is shown in rainy weather 
(previous observations on this point differ) ; 
a maximum (3.6) is reached in January, 
decreasing to a minimum (2.59) in April; 
the amount decreases with the increase of 
temperature—below 0°, 4.06; 0°-5°, 3.31; 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Vou. VI. No. 135. 
5°-10°, 3.22; 10°-15°, 2.98—possibly due 
to increased fuel consumption in cold 
weather; increase with very high or very 
low barometer. These observations con- 
tribute to the view that the amount of 
carbon dioxid in the atmosphere is by no 
means constant under varying conditions. 
_ G. Sprzra contributes to the Atti of the 
Turin Academy an investigation on the 
action of water on quartz under pressure. 
Pfaff had shown, using quartz powder, that 
at 18° and 290 atmospheres’ pressure one 
part of quartz dissolved in 4,700 parts of 
water; using plates of quartz, Spezia finds 
that at 25° and 1,750 atmospheres (in one 
experiment 1,850 atmospheres) in the space 
of over five months absolutely no quartz 
went into solution. 
Jie i Ee 
SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 
THE subject of Professor W. P. Mason’s ad- 
dress as Vice-President of the American As- 
sociation for the Advancement of Science (Sec- 
tion C., Chemistry) will be ‘ Expert Testimony.’ 
The subject of Vice-President L. O. Howard’s 
address (Section F., Zoology) will be ‘The 
Spread of Land Species by the Agency of Man 
with especial reference to Insects.’ The subjects 
of the other addresses have already been an- 
nounced in this JOURNAL. 
THE party from the zoological department 
of Columbia University reached Puget Sound, 
Washington, in the latter part of June, and 
gave a fortnight to the further exploration 
of the waters of the Sound. Upon July 8th 
they started for Sitka, Alaska, where they will 
remain from four to six weeks, returning to 
Port Townsend at the close of the season. The 
party includes Professor Wilson, Dr. Calkins, 
Professor Lloyd and five others. 
PROFESSOR OSBORN has recently returned 
from a visit to the various parties sent out by 
the American Mueum of Natural History. The 
systematic collection of vertebrates this year 
is extended for the first time among the reptilia, 
and two parties are working in Kansas and 
Wyoming. Professor Osborn and Dr. Wort- 
