Report on the Progress of Chemistry. 151 



science, we pass to notice others which show an equal ac- 

 tivity in the more brilliant work of actual discovery. We 

 find the most remarkable advances in the field of organic 

 chemistry, where the chemists of the whole world seem to 

 have found an abundant fruitage ready to harvest. 



Reference has already been made to the rapid discovery 

 of new organic substances, but the exceeding activity in this 

 direction will be better appreciated if we add, by way of illus- 

 tration, that no less than thirteen of these new substances 

 were formulated and briefly described by Mr. Perkins alone 

 at the meeting of the London Chemical Society, held Dec. 

 15th, 1870. So frequent are such discoveries that, ceasing 

 to excite general interest, they are, for the most part, re- 

 corded and laid aside until the facts of their composition are 

 needed to confirm or refute some new view, of the laws of 

 chemical combination. Sometimes, however, they do rise 

 above this dead level and become subjects of the liveliest in- 

 terest on account of their practical value in the arts. Of this 

 character are the recent discoveries of artificial coloring 

 matters. 



We need only mention here the enormous development 

 of aniline, or coal-tar colors, a wonderful illustration of the 

 value of recent chemical research. Mr. Perkins, quoting 

 the report made by Dr. Hofmann, on the coal-tar colors 

 shown at the Paris Exposition, says that " in 1862 the value 

 of these manufactures had risen from nothing to 10,000,000 

 francs or more than <£400,000 sterling. At the present day 

 this sum is trebled, which would make it about one and a 

 quarter million pounds sterling, although the products are 

 much cheaper than they were before." Mr. Perkins adds : 

 "And now when you hear of those results, do not forget 

 that they are the truly practical fruits of theoretical chem- 

 istry not studied for the purpose of producing commercial 

 products but simply for its own sake." 



