i^f* 10 1905 



SCIENCE 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE 

 OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 

 FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



Friday, June 9, 1905. 



CONTENTS. 



Some American Contributions to Technical 

 Chemistry : Dr. Marcus Benjamin 873 



The Physiological Section of the Central 

 Branch of the American Society of Natural- 

 ists: Professor Chas. W. Greene 884 



Scientific Books: — 



Findlay on the Phase Rule and its Applica- 

 tions : Professor Wilder D. Bancroft. 

 Czapek's Biochemie der Pflanzen: Dr. Rod- 

 ney H. True 890 



Scientific Journals and Articles 892 



Societies and Academies: — 



The Michigan Academy of Science: Pro- 

 fessor F. C. Newcombe. The Torrey Bo- 

 tanical Club : L. H. LiGHTHiPE. The Ameri- 

 can Mathematical Society: Professor F. 

 N. Cole 892 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Marine Zoology in the Hawaiian Islands: 

 Professor J. E. Duerden. The Greene Ex- 

 ploring Expedition : Dr. E. O. Hovey. 

 Newspaper Science: Professor Jacques 

 Loeb. a Biographical Directory of Ameri- 

 can Men of Science: Professor J. McICeen 

 Cattell 897 



Special Articles: — 



The Nomenclature of Types in Natural 

 History: Professor Charles Schuchert. 899 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, Summer Meeting of Sec- 

 tion E: Dr. E. 0. Hovey 901 



Prise for a Method of Setting Diamonds for 

 Gutting 901 



Scientific Notes and News 902 



University and Educational News 904 



MSS. Inteuded for publicatiou aud books, etc., intended 

 for review should be sent to the Editor of Science, Garri- 

 Bon-on-Hudson, N. Y. 



SOME AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO 

 TECHNICAL CHEMISTRY * 



The inventive genius of the American 

 people is universally conceded. The neces- 

 sity of accomplishing things quickly, inci- 

 dental to the growth of a new country, 

 such as ours, has naturally led to the in- 

 vention of many forms of labor-saving 

 machinery, and so with improved appli- 

 ances have come improved methods. The 

 technical chemist is, however, less fortunate 

 than his brother in the professorial chair 

 whose merits are made known by his stu- 

 dents, thus attracting an ever-increasing 

 following to his laboratory, and perhaps 

 he is also less fortunate than his associate 

 who devotes himself to research work; for 

 to him are given medals and honorary 

 memberships which are properly the 'blue 

 ribbons' of science; hence it is that the 

 discoveries of the technical chemist, espe- 

 cially where they are commercially meri- 

 torioias, remain too frequently unknown, 

 and the profits of the improvement go to 

 swell the dividends of the corporation to 

 which he owes his allegiance while he re- 

 ceives no public recognition. It naturally 

 follows, therefore, that any summary of 

 the achievements in the development of 

 technical chemistry must be very incom- 

 plete. 



To say when chemistry begins is not gen- 

 erally possible, for its origin wanders back 

 into alchemy and pharmacy on the one side 

 and into physics on the other, and there are 

 no sharp lines of separation among the 



* An address delivered before the Congress of 

 Arts and Science, St. Louis, September, 1904. 



