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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 442. 



jects to be covered applicants should address 

 the Civil Service Commission at Washington. 

 It is probable that another position as assist- 

 ant chemist will be open to competition in 

 the Geological Survey during the summer. 

 The position is one paying $1,800 per annum. 

 Only a fair knowledge of mineralogy will be 

 required of applicants for it, but they must 

 be men of experience, well versed in chemical 

 analysis, and able to do independent work on 

 problems relating to geology. The examina- 

 tion in this latter case will not be of the usual 

 kind, but the markings will be based on edu- 

 cation and technical experience, a thesis of a 

 thousand words and published work. As the 

 filling of this position is not yet in the hands 

 of the Civil Service Commission, inquiries 

 and addresses should be sent to the director of 

 the Geological Survey, at Washington. 



There wiU be a civil service examination 

 on July 29 and 30 to fill positions of assistant 

 engineers and hydrographers in the U. S. 

 Geological Survey at a salary of $60 a month. 



Nature states that the twenty-first congress 

 of the Sanitary Institute will be held at 

 Bradford on July 6-11. The inaugural ad- 

 dress to the congress will be delivered by the 

 president, the Eight Hon. the Earl Stamford. 

 Numerous sectional meetings will be held, the 

 sections with their presidents being as fol- 

 lows: (1) Sanitary science and preventive 

 medicine. Professor T. Clifford Allbutt, 

 F.E.S.; (2) engineering and architecture, 

 Mr. Maurice Fitzmaurice, C.M.G.; (3) phys- 

 ics, chemistry and biology. Professor C. 

 Hunter Stewart. On July 8 there will be 

 conferences of those engaged in the various 

 branches of practical sanitary science, and in 

 the evening a conversazione and reception by 

 the mayor of Bradford. The concluding day 

 will be devoted to excursions. 



The report by Dr. Joseph StrutKers to the 

 United States Geological Survey on sulphur 

 and pyrite in 1902 is now in press. The pro- 

 duction of sulphur in the United States in 

 1902 was 8,336 short tons, valued at $220,560, 

 as compared with Y,690 tons, valued at $223,- 

 430, in 1901, and 3,525 tons, valued at $88,100, 

 in 1900. The production in 1902 was derived 



from Louisiana, Nevada and Utah, in the 

 order of the importance of their output. 

 Oregon and Idaho, which contributed to the 

 output during 1901, reported no production 

 for 1902. The quantities of sulphur produced 

 in the United States during 1901 and 1902 

 are the largest annual outputs that have been 

 recorded. Up to 1901 the production of do- 

 mestic sulphur averaged less than one per 

 cent, of the total consumption, an insignifi- 

 cant amount compared with the foreign im- 

 ports, which amounted in 1902 to 174,939 long 

 tons. The quantity of sulphur consumed in 

 the United States from foreign and domestic 

 sources, including the sulphur content of iron 

 pyrite, which is used in the manufacture of 

 sulphuric acid, amounted to 510,106 long tons. 

 By far the greater part of the sulphur con- 

 sumed in the United States is used in the 

 manufacture of paper stock by the sulphite 

 process. The production of pyrite in 1902 

 reached the largest annual output yet attained 

 in the United States, 290,973 long tons, valued 

 at $1,219,210, exceeding the previous record 

 in 1901 of 234,825 long tons, valued at $1,024,- 

 449, by 23.9 per cent, in quantity and 19 per 

 cent, in value. Of the total output, Virginia 

 contributed nearly one-half, followed by 

 Georgia and North Carolina, Colorado, Massa- 

 chusetts, California, Indiana and Ohio, Mis- 

 souri and New Tork, in the respective order 

 of the quantities of output. In addition to 

 the large increase in the production of pyrite 

 in the United States during 1902, there was 

 a very large increase in the quantity of pyrite 

 imported, the statistics of imports for 1902 

 and 1901 being respectively 440,363 long tons 

 ($1,650,852) and 403,706 long tons ($1,415,- 

 149). The increased use of pyrite for acid 

 making has been due both to the development 

 of the sulphite wood-pulp industry for manu- 

 facturing paper and to the increased domestic 

 manufacture of superphosphates, consequent 

 upon the increased production of phosphate 

 rock from Florida and Tennessee. 



At a special meeting of the Physical So- 

 ciety, held in London, on June 8, with the 

 president. Dr. E. T. Glazebrook in the chair. 

 Professor E. Eutherford, of McGill Univer- 



