692 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 357. 



determined to within 1 to 3 per cent, by finding 

 its oxidation coefficients and referrin to an em- 

 pirical curve of oxidation coefficients obtained 

 by experiments with artificial mixtures. It was 

 shown that the concretions described by geol- 

 ogists and mineralogists as marcasite are fre- 

 quently pyrite, that the density affords no 

 criterion of the composition, and that the hypoth- 

 esis that most specimens of pyrite and mar- 

 casite, even when well crystallized, are mixtures 

 of the two, or paramorphs, is without founda- 

 tion. It was also shown that their behavior 

 towards cupric sulphate solutions is essentially 

 similar and affords no evidence in support of 

 the hypothesis of Brown that the chemical con- 

 stitution of the two minerals, or the state of 

 valency o the iron is different. The full de- 

 tails are to be found in the recently published 

 Bulletin No. 186 of the United States Geological 

 Survey. 



W. H. Seaman, ' Insolubility of Inorganic 

 Salts in Hydrocarbons ' ; contribution from the 

 laboratory of Howard University Medical Col- 

 lege. The author stated that several years ago 

 he had the pleasure of announcing to the so- 

 ciety a generalization on the insolubility of 

 glycerol ethers in glycerol. Now he is able to 

 make a still more important generalization, 

 that all inorganic salts are insoluble in hydro- 

 carbons of the paraffin series. Fifty-three dif- 

 ferent salts have been kept in contact with 

 benzine, kerosene and soft paraffin for periods 

 varying from two to six months, without taking 

 up a sufficient quantity of any salt to produce 

 any residue on evaporation in a watch glass 

 that is visible by a pocket microscope. 



The writer does not know of a single analysis 

 of petroleum in which the presence of inorganic 

 salts has been reported, and in view of the fact 

 that the petroleum has beta n contact with 

 some kinds of salts since it was formed, the 

 natural conditions go far to support the gener- 

 alization stated. Only in the case of (NH4)jC03 

 was there any marked change ; a brownish color 

 was generally developed when in contact with 

 this salt, the cause of which is not ascertained. 

 At the suggestion of Professor F. W. Clarke, 

 anhydrous FCjCle was prepared and tested, but 

 the result was the same. The following is a 

 list of the salts used : 



Ammonium sulfocyanid, bromid, phosphate, 

 oxalate, carbonate, chlorid, nitrate ; antimony 

 sulfid ; barium chlorid, nitrate, carbonate, di- 

 oxid ; bismuth nitrate ; arsenious acid ; calcium 

 chlorid and nitrate ; ferric chlorid and ferrous 

 sulfate ; ferric ferrocyanid ; magnesium carbon- 

 ate ; potassium bromid, cyanid, carbonate, 

 iodid, bichromate, sulfate, chlorate ; magnesium 

 dioxid ; potassium acetate ; sodium bicarbonate, 

 acetate, nitrate and sulfate ; tartar emetic ; zinc 

 oxid ; potassium ferrocyanid, chromate, hy- 

 drate, picrate, chlorid, nitrate ; sodium borate, 

 carbonate, chlorid, hydrate, nitrite, thiosulfate ; 

 ammonium molybdate, bichromate, sulfate ; 

 ammonia alum ; magnesium sulfate and lithium 

 carbonate. 



L. S. MUNSON, 



Secretary. 



NEW YORK SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEM- 

 ICAL SOCIETY. 



The first meeting of the N. Y. Section of the 

 American Chemical Society, held on Friday 

 evening, October 11, at the Chemist's Club was 

 very largely attended. Professor Marston Tay- 

 lor Bogert, of Columbia University, is the newly 

 elected chairman of this Section, which, on 

 September 30 last, entered upon the second 

 decade of its usefulness with a membership of 

 over four hundred. Upon the recommendation 

 of the Executive Committee, the Section decided 

 to award annually a medal to that member of 

 the Section who shall have presented, during 

 the preceding year, the best paper embodying 

 original chemical research. The minor con- 

 ditions affecting the award and a suitable name 

 for the medal will be decided upon later. 



The program of papers included a report by 

 General Secretary Professor Hale upon ' The 

 Recent Meeting of the American Chemical 

 Society, at Denver.' Dr. McMurtrie gave an 

 interesting account of a 'Short Trip among 

 the Mines, Smelters and Chlorination Works 

 of the West.' Mr. Jacob G. Lipman, of the 

 New Jersey Experiment Station, gave an ac- 

 count of his ' Studies in Nitrification.' 



Professor Edward Hart, of Lafayette Col- 

 lege, and Editor of the Journal of the Amer- 

 ican Chemical Society, read an interesting 

 paper upon 'Technical Chemical Education,' 



