344 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



called chromatic scales of seven tones fitted into the diatonic scale, and fron> 

 sensitiveness, one between each of the whole tones, the fifths are impure, being a 

 little too low, but the thirds are much out of time, being considerably too high. 

 Another system is possible of nineteen tones in the octave, thus giving besides, 

 the seven tones of the diatonic scale twelve other tones, of which two fit between 

 each of the five whole tones and one between each of the two semi-tones. This 

 system gives, however, results inferior to that in use by calculation. When,, 

 however, we divide the octave into thirty-one equal parts we obtain four tones 

 between each of the five whole tones and two between each of the two semi-tones, 

 which gives with the seven tones of the diatonic scale thirty- one tones. This, 

 system will give also pure thirds and also fits exactly in the adopted system of 

 rotation. 



CHEMISTRY. 



CHEMICAL LITERATURE. 



Chemical Literature, by Dr. H. C. Bolton. He traced the history of chem- 

 ical literature from the earHest known manuscripts to the beginning of this cen- 

 tury, described the characteristics of minor works at different epochs, the discov- 

 eries they chronicled and their influence on contemporaneous science. 



He dwelt briefly upon the chief works of the Arabians, who a thousand 

 years ago defined chemistry as "the science of combustion, the science of weight 

 and the science of the balance " 



In the middle ages literature and science were cast in an ecclesiastical mould. 

 Scientific treatises were the production of monks, and emanated from cloisters. 

 Among the distinguished philosophers who mastered widely separated branches 

 of learning and wrote treatises which 300 years ago were regarded as masterpieces 

 of science, and formed the text books of students of alchemy, should be named 

 Alain de Little, Roger Bacon, Raymond Lally and Albertus Magnus. The col- 

 lected works of the last named fill twenty-one folio volumes. In the sixteenth 

 century alchemists began to publish the results of their study and industry, with 

 the natural consequence that in the succeeding century a prodigious number of 

 alchemical works were issued in Germany, France and England; some recorded 

 valuable experiments, but the majority contained "a crude mass of incoherent 

 propositions and wild assertions, a mixture of poesy and insanity," all combined 

 to produce Uterary monstrosities as fascinating to the student Of chemical history 

 as they were profitless to the practical worker in modern science. After noticing 

 a large number of works on chemistry and kindred subjects published between 

 the years 1600 and 1700, the opening of a public laboratory for instruction at 

 Altdorf, Bavaria, under the direction of Prof. J. H. Hoffmann, and in the satne 



