286 Chemical Shams. [May, 
The chemical technologist — or, as he is commonly called, 
the works chemist — is the most down-trodden and injured 
individual in the profession. He is, in other words, treated 
as a mere analytical machine, subje<5t to the control of often 
an ignorant master whose thick intellect cannot grasp the 
simplest rudiments of the science. In fatft the master is a 
“ rule-of-thumb man,” and although his professional man 
makes an improvement it is pooh-poohed at through the 
routinism of his employer. It is the fate of many a sound 
chemist to be thus placed. A sample may be sent up to the 
laboratory, and the result “ wanted without fail in two hours,” 
though the analysis, if carefully done with the utmost expe- 
dition, would, we will say, take six hours. What is the 
result ? Our honest, well-meaning chemist, who hates the 
stain of inaccuracy on his name, and looks to a bona fide 
character, falls into disgrace as an inefficient analyst. Put 
the pseudo chemist in his place, he receives the sample to be 
analysed with the coolest of manners, makes his weighings, 
and proceeds. If it is a mineral phosphate, he does not 
evaporate his acid solution to dryness, to expel hydrofluoric 
acid and render his soluble silica insoluble ; he filters the 
silica off roughly, and, after a slight washing, proceeds to 
precipitate his phosphate of lime with a large excess of 
ammonia, thereby bringing a certain amount of foreign lime 
down mechanically with his precipitate. He does not over- 
wash this precipitate, but places it — still saturated with 
ammonia — on the top of his copper water-bath. When 
nearly dry enough for ignition the filter is found to be dyed 
with a magnificent blue colour, which is neither more nor 
less than the copper dissolved by the ammonia. He ignites 
and weighs as pure tricalcic phosphate. In reality it is 
contaminated, perhaps to a high percentage, with oxide of 
iron and alumina, as well as oxide of copper from the water- 
bath. He draws out his report, and hands it to his employer 
a quarter of an hour before the time specified, and thereby 
gets the fame of an exceedingly clever fellow, because he is 
expeditious, and has given good (high) results which are to 
his employer’s interests. The honest chemist cannot give 
such good results, neither can he do it in the same space of 
time, as his conscience forbids him to report oxide of iron 
and alumina as tricalcic phosphate, the removal of these 
bodies for the determination of phosphoric acid requiring 
some hours standing. 
The reader may ask, what is the way to clear the atmo- 
sphere of our laboratories of the various types of pseudo 
chemists ? Much of the mischief is effected by parents 
