Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
lApril,  1909.  j 
A  Piece  of  Pitchblende. 
159 
the  fossil  remains  of  an  extinct  vegetation  touched  a  far  wider 
range  of  interest  than  any  of  the  minerals  yet  mentioned.  After 
giving  a  fascinating  account  of  the  vegetable  and  mineral  history 
of  coal,  he  explained  how  the  sunshine  of  a  remote  geological  age 
had  been  stored  up  in  this  substance,  so  that  it  can  be  conveniently 
tapped  and  utilized  by  man  for  the  production  of  heat  and  cold,  power, 
light  and  electricity,  and  further  how  inventive  genius  and  chemical 
science  had  united  in  wresting  from  the  plain  black  mineral  in- 
numerable substances  that  minister  to  our  wants  and  comfort.  No 
chapter  in  the  entire  realm  of  science,  he  contended,  could  boast  of 
such  a  wealth  of  discoveries  as  the  chemistry  of  coal-tar,  itself  only 
one  of  a  number  of  products  resulting  from  the  destructive  distilla- 
tion of  coal.  There  was  no-  room  for  doubt  in  his  mind  that  this 
substance  easily  takes  the  first  place  in  the  Mineral  Kingdom. 
Only  one  of  the  company  remained  to  set  forth  his  views  on  the 
subject  under  discussion,  and  all  eyes  were  now  turned  upon  the  plain 
science  teacher  at  the  lower  end  of  the  table,  wondering  what  choice 
was  left  for  him  after  such  a  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  coal. 
He  rose  deliberately,  looked  at  his  watch  and  began  with  words 
to  this  effect:  "  One  of  the  most  coveted  trophies  of  scientific 
achievement,  the  Nobel  Prize  in  Chemistry,  has  just  been  bestowed 
upon  Ernest  Rutherford,  whose  brilliant  researches  lie  chiefly  in  the 
domain  of  physics.  As  I  interpret  the  award,  however,  the  Nobel 
commission  intended  it  as  a  recognition  of  the  wonderful  influence 
which  Rutherford's  work  has  had  on  chemical  investigation,  opening 
up  as  it  did  entirely  new  avenues  of  research,  and  stimulating  hosts 
of  experimenters  to  work  in  the  new  field.  It  is  significant,  how- 
ever, that  the  starting  point  of  Rutherford's  work  was  a  chemical 
discovery,  the  most  remarkable  of  our  time ;  I  refer  to  the  discovery 
of  radium  in  a  mineral  which  for  more  than  a  century  has  engaged 
the  attention  of  chemists,  now  proving  a  will-o'-the-wisp,  and  again 
yielding  up  unexpected  finds  to  the  patient  investigator.  If  I  may 
detain  you  for  half  an  hour  longer,  I  shall  endeavor  to  tell,  without 
going  into  unnecessary  detail,  the  '  Story  of  a  Piece  of  Pitchblende.'  " 
His  story  was  listened  to  with  rapt  attention,  and  while  many  of 
the  party  cast  their  votes  in  favor  of  "  coal  "  and  "  carbonate  of 
lime,"  all  agreed  that  at  the  present  time,  at  least,  pitchblende  was 
undoubtedly  in  the  lime-light  of  scientific  interest.  And  it  is  my 
object  here  to-night,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  introduce  this  wonder- 
ful mineral  to  your  acquaintance. 
