474 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 92. 



class. He then called attention to the pre- 

 liminary preparation which should be had 

 and showed how the details of the plant 

 could be better understood by the aid of a 

 printed syllabus, the various parts of the 

 apparatus being labelled in accord with the 

 syllabus. Application of points of interest 

 should be made in laboratory work. Well 

 written accounts of the visit should be made, 

 and finally, analyses should be made of sam- 

 ples obtained on the trip, especially as show- 

 ing the quantitative proportion of material 

 used and produced. In the discussion which 

 followed all were unanimous that there was 

 great necessity for higher chemical training 

 and training in mechanical engineering for 

 technical chemists. 



G. C. Caldwell, Cornell University : ' The 

 Aim of Qualitative Analysis.' It is much 

 more than mere identification of particular 

 substances; it furnishes fine training in 

 careful manipulation and accurate observa- 

 tion ; the student learns the importance of 

 small things, his judgment is trained. It 

 requires a thorough study of wider fields of 

 chemistry and teaches classification. 



A. L. Green, Purdue University : ' The 

 Teaching of Qualitative Analysis.' This 

 was an account of the specific method of 

 teaching quantitative analysis at Purdue. 



Ellen H. Richards : ' Some points in the 

 use of Depth of Color as a measure of 

 Chemical Contents.' This is a continua- 

 tion of the line of work reported on at the 

 Springfield meeting. 



ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. 



J. L. Howe and P. S. Mertins, Wash- 

 ington and Lee University : ' Notes on 

 Eeinsch's test for Arsenic and Antimony.' 

 The work shows that an experienced ob- 

 server will never fail to distinguish arsenic 

 and antimony by this test. 



Erwin E. Ewell, Washington, D. C. : 'A 

 new form of Laboratory Condenser.' 



Erwin E. Ewell: 'A Method of Manip- 



ulation for the Colorimetric Determination 

 of Am-moniacal Nitrous and Nitric Nitro- 

 gen in Bacterial Culture.' 



H. W. Wiley, Washington, D. C: 'A 

 Modified form of the Ebullioscope.' 



TECHNICAL CHEMISTRY. 



A. R. Leeds, Stevens Institute : ' Eecent 

 developments in the Purification and Fil- 

 tration of Water.' This paper was largely 

 historical. The author takes the position 

 that it is better to purify water at hand 

 than go long distances for it. 



F. C. Phillips, Allegheny, Pa.: ' Some 

 Properties and uses of Natural Gas.' From 

 comparison of the composition of natural 

 gas with that of coal gas, the author con- 

 cludes that their methods of formation are 

 not the same. 



F. C. Phillips : 'A new Method for the 

 Determination of Sulphur in White Iron.' 



C. L. Reese, Charleston, S. C. : ' On Re- 

 cent Improvements in the Manufacture of 

 Sulphuric Acid.' 



H. A. Weber, Ohio State University: 

 '■ Use of Coal for Colors in Food.' From ex- 

 periments on four coal-tar colors — methyl^ 

 orange, coraline yellow, safiroline and ma- 

 genta — the author finds that no one of these 

 affects both peptic and pancreatic digestion, 

 but that each afiects seriously one form or 

 the other. In the discussion which fol- 

 lowed it was held that too much impor- 

 tance is attached to such experiments, 

 owing to the extremely small quantities 

 used in food stuffs. 



Erwin E. Ewell: ' The Alkaloids of An- 

 helonium Lewinii (Mescal Buttons).' 



SANITARY CHEMISTRY. 



W. P. Mason: 'Well Water.' The 

 author considers that impurities from the 

 surface may come through soaking, in ad- 

 dition to surface entrance. He considers 

 well-selected water sources much better 

 than domestic wells. It is noticeable that 

 in rural districts farmers are especially 



