332 - Scientific Intelligence. 



milk, since the presence of abnormal acidity lowers the freezing- 

 point. The method is practical in milk control work, but it need 

 be applied only in the case of samples of doubtful character.— 

 Jour. Lidust. and Eng. Chem., ix, 862. h. l. w. 



4. The Inadequacy of the Ferric Basic Acetate Tests for Ace- 

 tates. — CuKTMAN and Harris have subjected this old and widely 

 recommended test to a careful quantitative investigation and 

 have found its delicacy to be very unsatisfactor3^ In the pres- 

 ence of 5 mg. of iron as ferric chloride per cc, boiling at a 

 volume of 50 cc. did not yield a brown precipitate until 20 mg. 

 of C^HgO^ in the form of sodium acetate had been added to the 

 neutral liquid, and the sensitiveness of the reaction was much 

 decreased by increasing the amount of ferric chloride as well as 

 by larger dilution. When an effort was made to help the reac- 

 tion by the addition of an electrolyte (sodium chloride), it was 

 found that the boiling, neutral solutions gave precipitates in the 

 absence of acetates, but when sufficient hydrochloric acid was 

 employed to prevent this interfering precipitation the delicacy of 

 the test was no better than before. — Jour. Amer. Chem. Soc, 

 xxxix, 1315. H. L. w. 



5. The Priestley Memorial Coynmittee of the American Chemi- 

 cal Society. — At the Urbana meeting of the American Chemical 

 Society, held in April, 1916, a committee was appointed to devise 

 and carry out a plan for a suitable memorial to Joseph Priestley. 

 This committee consists of fifteen gentlemen with Professor 

 Francis C. Phillips of the University of Pittsburgh as Chairman. 

 After careful consideration of various plans, the following recom- 

 mendations were made to the Society : 



1. That a bust portrait of Joseph Priestley be secured, to be a 

 copy of the best available portrait ; that this be retained as the 

 property of the American Chemical Society, but be deposited as 

 a loan in the National Museum in Washington. Also, 



2. That a gold medal be awarded at intervals of probably more 

 than one year for superior achievement in chemical research ; the 

 award to carry with it the requirement that the recipient shall 

 deliver an address before the General Meeting of the Society at 

 the time of the presentation or at such other time and place as 

 the Council of the Society may direct. 



The Committee further recommends that, in order to carry out 

 these plans, a fund of at least |2000 be secured, and it is requested 

 that subscriptions be sent to the Chairman or to any member of 

 the Committee. Contributions of sums from $1.00 upwards are 

 asked. 



Joseph Priestley was born at Fieldhead in England in 1733, and 

 his contributions to chemistry, and in particular his discovery of 

 oxygen in 1774, are too well known to need to be detailed here. 

 It is greatly to be hoped that the plans of the Committee may 

 meet with full success and an adequate sum be secured to do 

 honor to the memory of this great chemist. 



