Referred to Reparation Supplies available-16 (all dealt with within 2 days of receipt).

Outstanding on January 30, 1926-18. Of the total of 605 applications received, 513, or 88 per cent., were dealt with within 7 days of receipt.

PROCEEDINGS AND NOTICES OF SOCIETIES.

INSTITUTION OF PETROLEUM
TECHNOLOGISTS.

At a meeting held at the Rooms of the Rayal Society of Arts on February 9, the following paper was read :

The Sulphur Compounds of Kimmeridge Shale Oil. By FREDERICK CHALLENGER, D.Sc., Ph.D., F.I.C., JOHN HASLAM, M.Sc., A.I.C. (late Dalton Scholar of the University of Manchester), RANDLE JAMES BRAMHALL, B.Sc., AND JAMES WALKENDEN, M.Sc.

The technical literature contains many references to the difficulty experienced in removing the sulphur compounds which are present in the crude Kimmeridge shale oil of Dorset.

So far as the authors are aware, the numerous attempts to reduce the percentage of this undesirable element have been made without any knowledge as to the mode of combination of the sulphur. Although there is much to be said in explanation of this mode of procedure, it can hardly be considered as the one most likely to lead to satisfactory results.

The considerable success which was achieved in the removal of sulphur compounds from American petroleum long before their constitution was established is, as is well known, due to two main reasons. First, to the stable, saturated character of most of the hydrocarbons of which American petroleum is composed, and their consequent stability towards sulphuric acid. Second, to the relatively small content of sulphur compounds exhibited by most American oils and by petroleums in general. The sulphur compounds of these oils are acid soluble in concentrated sulphuric probably, as would appear from the work of Mabery and of Thierry, without chemical 66 acid change since on dilution of the sludge " they may be recovered.

In the case of shale oils the high percentage of unsaturated hydrocarbons greatly in

creases the loss during refining, since these compounds are readily soluble in sulphuric acid forming acid sulphuric esters, which are in many cases stable in presence of It has water and are subsequently lost. been shown by Heusler that neutral esters of sulphuric acid SO2 (OCH2n+1)2 may be formed and under certain conditions may remain in the oil, actually causing an increase in its sulphur content. The elimination of sulphur dioxide, which is occasionally observed on distillation of "refined " oils, is probably due to the decomposition of these dialkyl sulphates.

In 1917-18, Meyer and Meyer showed that under conditions possibly comparable with those existing in coal, shale or lignite retorts, the interaction of acetylene and hydrogen sulphide gave rise to many derivatives of thiophen, such as thionaphthen and thiophthen. In the course of a somewhat similar investigation, Steinkopf, from the products of the action of acetylene on various pyrites, isolated thiophen and methyl-, dimethyl- and ethyl-derivatives, several of which have been observed during the course of this research.

This being the case, it was not surprising that between 1915-19 Scheibler came to the conclusion that shale oils from the Tyrol and from the South of France contained derivatives of thiophen. His purification of the oils, involving repeated treatments with sodium or sodamide, and with magnesium methyl iodide seems unnecessarily complex, but he finally obtained fractions rich in sulwith mercuric phur which combined chloride. From one of these fractions by treatment with acetyl chloride and aluminium chloride, he obtained a ketone containing sulphur. Analysis of the semicarbazone indicated the possible presence of a propylthiophen methyl ketone, though analyses agreed equally well with a methyl ketone derived from a trimethyl- or a methylethylthiophen. This established for the first time the presence of a thiophen derivative in a shale oil.

the

SOCIETY OF GLASS TECHNOLOGY.

The January meeting of the Society of Glass Technology was held in Manchester and extended over two days. Two sessions for meetings were held in the College of Technology, the first on Wednesday, January 20, 1926, and the second on January 21. During the morning of January 21,

members of the Society had the privilege of visiting the works of the MetropolitanVickers Electrical Co., Ltd., at Trafford Park, Manchester.

The first session was devoted to a general discussion on "Refractory Materials for Glass Making," introduced by Mr. E. A. Coad-Pryor, with a paper entitled :

The Use of Refractories in the Glass Industry.

He suggested that a meeting of manufacturers might well be held annually to discuss failures and new proposals. He referred to the making and firing of tank blocks which were used in the building of three different furnaces. In two furnaces the blocks were failures, in the third they were quite satisfactory. In other tests, blocks made from mixtures containing widely different percentages of grog, and built into one furnace, exhibited not the slightest difference when a post-morten examination of the tank was made. Great differences were observed in blocks from different makers, but having the same porosity, refractoriness and nearly the same firing temperatures. The mode of operation of a furnace and the kind of clay used seemed to be very important factors in the behaviour of a refractory material. Failures due to underfiring were not so common as formerly, but flaws due to faulty moulding still occurred. The X-ray examination of blocks was advocated as a means of detecting flaws, the cost of a suitable equipment being given as £350 to £500. He thought that users would pay 10s. per ton more for blocks examined in this way, and a central testing station might well be instituted. Mr. Coad-Pryor also suggested that makers of blocks should supply some of a standard size to be built into a number of furnaces for trial runs. Again, a small experimental tank might be built, and when it was put out, a special committee might hold an examination of the various blocks employed in it.

Three other papers were presented, namely :

Some Experiments upon the Development of Sillimanite Refractories for Glass. By W. ANGUS MCINTYRE.

Careful selection of bond clay was necessary, the choice finally resting upon a Stourbridge old mine clay which developed a good crystalline bonding of secondary sillimanite after two hours' firing at 1,420°. Specimens were immersed in soda-ash, saltcake, potash-lead and fluorspar batches,

A

and were seen to be much more resistant than ordinary tank blocks, fine grained sillimanite showing the best results. selected mixture when made up into small pots for melting special soda-lime glasses at temperatures of over 1,500° C., showed very little signs of attack.

The Manufacture of Some Experimental Tank Blocks and their Behaviour in Service. By W. ANGUS MCINTYRE.

The author described experiments with a small tank furnace built entirely of the blocks to be compared. The chief defects. to be overcome were bad size and shape, laminations, feeble bonding, under-firing, and black-coring, suggesting the desirability of using a high grog content, new moulding methods and thoroughly controlled firing. In the author's tests, two fireclays wers used, and two groups of blocks were made, siliceous and sillimanite, the former being further subdivided into two series with graded and ungraded grog. The furnace was run on an ordinary sodalime batch for about six weeks. The sillimanite blocks were practically unattacked, whilst the remainder, the more siliceous blocks were generally superior to

others.

the

Note on a Design for a Glass Pot-Board. By F. WINKS, M.Sc.Tech.

The author described an arrangement designed by him to prevent the cracking of closed pots across the hood.

At the second session, two papers were presented :

Some Tests on Bottle Glasses with the View to Prescribing Standards of Composition.

By H. S. BLACKMORE, B.Sc.,Tech., AND PROFESSOR W. E. S. TURNER, D.Sc. In presenting this paper, Professor Turner observed that it was desirable to fix upon a rapid test which could be applied under works conditions by a person not particularly expert. The present paper was an interim report on the results of tests of 5 sets of bottles of different compositions. Three tests were employed.

(a) Boiling in the bottle a 0.1 per cent. solution in pure water of narcotine hydrochloride, and examining the solution every two or three minutes to ascertain if there was deposit of narcotine.

(b) Boiling the bottle for six hours and noting

1. The amount of alkali extracted; 2. The appearance of the bottle,

with a coloured indicator such as phenol red or bromo1thymol blue, was added to the bottle and boiled.

In the case of bottles containing less than 8 per cent. of lime, test (a) definitely picked out unsatisfactory bottles. In the case of the boiling water tests there appeared to be some differences in the results obtained. The importance of temperature in carrying out durability tests was emphasised, and it was remarked that individual bottles,

though treated in the same, way, appeared often to have characteristics of their own. Examination of the bottles after boiling for six hours was suggested as a rapid works test, those which were satisfactory developing no pittings, the unsatisfactory ones showing such pittings more or less extensively.

The Homogeneity of Glasses Melted in Pots under Manufacturing Conditions. By EDITH M. FIRTH, B.Sc., AND PROFESSOR W. E. S. TURNER, D. Sc.

Professor Turner, who presented this paper, directed attention at the outset to several factors which operated against homogeneity, e.g., the varying grain size of the raw materials used, their different melting points and their varying decomposition temperatures. Reference was made to Faraday's observation in 1829 that there was a noteworthy difference in density between the top and bottom layers in a pot. Again in 1900, Jackson and Rich concluded that there were lighter and denser parts to all glasses. The present investigation was concerned with test on glasses melted under fairly well specified commercial conditions, without stirring. Several types of glasses were obtained from a number of factories and were tested, namely, (1) alkali-lead oxide glasses; (2) soda-lime-silica glasses; (3) Potash-lime-silica glasses; (4) Potashlime-baryta-alumina boric oxide glass. Of these glasses, samples were taken as follows, (a) From the top of the pot when the glass was just ready for working; (b) from the middle of the pot; (c) from the bottom layer worked, i.e., about 4 inches from the bottom of the pot. The general conclusion reached was that non-stirred commercially produced glass had a surprising homogenity of composition throughout the pot in which it was melted.

Mr. Luddington reported his election as chairman for the year. A list of samples received during the months of December, 1925, and January, 1926, had been subDr. mitted by the Consulting Chemist. Voelcker had reported on the present position of the Fertilisers and Feedings Stuffs Draft Bill, and that he had received a memorandum embracing the proposals on which a Bill to be shortly introduced would probably proceed. In his opinion these adequately reflected the views of the Departmental Committee on which he had represented the Society.

Various matters arising out of his correspondence had been submitted to the Committee by Dr. Voelcker.

Sir Douglas Newton said that he would like to testify to the great value of the work which was being done by Dr. Voelcker in analysing fertilisers and feeding stuffs. A case came to his notice a few days previously in which £30 had been recovered as a result of an analysis undertaken by Dr. Voelcker. It would be well if more members of the Society could be induced to consult Dr. Voelcker when they were purchasHe was ing fertiliesrs and feeding stuffs. sure that it would be a great financial advantage to them to do so.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE.

That

A Research Committee was formed for the recording each year in a concise form, and in language easily understood by the non-scientific but practical man, of all results of agricultural research work carried out in any part of the world, either defin'itely negative, of present importance, or likely to be of value in the future. we wished the volume also to contain information of value to county agricultural organisers, professors of colleges and others engaged in lecturing. And that in order that the publication might be of value as a reference book to scientists in future years, ample references should be given and indices supplied showing from what journals, bulletins, etc., the information had been drawn.

SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS AND OTHER ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS. The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held at the Chemical Society's Rooms, Burlington House, on Wednesday, February 3, when the President, Mr. G. Rudd Thompson, delivered his annual address.

The following were elected as Officers and Council for the year 1926 :

President-E. Richards Bolton; PastPresidents, serving on the Council-Leonard Archbutt, A. Chaston Chapman, Bernard Dyer, P. A. Ellis Richards, Alfred Smetham, G. Rudd Thompson, E. W. Voelcker, J. Augustus Voelcker; VicePresidents-R. L. Collett, C. H. Cribb, E. M. Hawkins; Hon. Treasurer-Edward Hinks; Hon. Secretary-F. W. F. Arnaud; Members of Council-L. K. Boseley, H. E. Cox, John Evans, C. A. Hill, L. H. Lampitt, H. T. Lea, T. Macara, S. E. Melling, E. H. Merritt, W. H. Simmons, J. Sorley, J. White.

An Ordinary Meeting of the Society then followed, the President, Mr. E. R. Bolton, being in the chair.

Certificates were read for the first time in favour of Messrs. Sydney Back, B.Sc., A.I.C.; Howard Henry Bagnall, B.Sc., F.I.C.; William Percival Crocker; Bernard William Alfred Crutchlow, B.Sc., A.I.C., Alec Munro Ferguson, M.A., B.Sc., A.I.C.; Ralph Henry Klein, A.I.C.; Oswald James Napier, M.A., A.I.C.; George Stubbs, C.B.E., F.I.C.; Joseph Hughes Williams, Alan B.Sc., F.I.C., F.C.S.; Kenneth Williams, B.Sc., A.I.C.

Certificates were read for the second time in favour of Messrs. Guy Chignell, B.Sc., A.I.C.; Hugh Gower Watts, B.Sc., A.R.C.S., A.I.C.; and Dr. K. Saito.

The following were elected Members of the Society Messrs. John Douglas Barrett, B.Sc., A.I.C.; Arthur Lerrigo, B.Sc., F.I.C.; Oscar Adolf Mendelsohn, B.Sc.; Harold Edward Monk, B.Sc., A.I.C.; Eric Voelcker, A.R.C.S.

The following papers were read and discussed :

The Determination of Copper in Foodstuffs. By L. H. LAMPITT, D.Sc., F.I.C., C. H F. E. B. HUGHES, M.Sc., F.I.C., FULLER, AND P. BILHAM.

The colorimetric method of determining copper as ferro-cyanide has been found more suitable than any of the other colorimetric methods tried. It is accurate to

within about 5 per cent. A more exact method has been based on the fact that quinosol in neutral solution gives a quantitative precipitate with copper (Cu = 18.55 per cent.), in which one atom of copper appears to replace two atoms of hydrogen. in the quinosol molecule. Metals not precipitated by ammonia in excess do not give a precipitate with quinosol. The precipitated copper determined by drying and weighing the precipitate or by an electrolytic method.

The Occurrence of Arsenic in Apples. By H. E. Cox, M.Sc., Ph.D., F.I.C.

Attention was first directed to the recent outbreak of arsenical poisoning of apples, due to spraying with lead arsenate, as the result of two cases of illness. Only 5 out of 39 samples of Jonathan, King David and Newtown apples were found to be free from arsenic. and 11 contained more than the statutory limit. The contamination is mainly, but not entirely, confined to the skin, arsenic having been found in the flesh of the fruit to the extent of about 3 per cent. of that on the skin. Notwithstanding statements to the contrary, it appears that rain does not remove all the arsenic. Washing under the tap and even scrubbing was found to leave appreciable amounts of arsenic on the fruit; presumably owing to combination of the arsenic with the proteins of the skin.

The Direct Titration of Thallous Salts reith Potassium Iodate. By A. J. BERRY, M.A.

Thallous salts are quantitively oxidised to the thallic condition by potassium iodate in presence of a sufficient concentration of hydrochloric acid. The iodine liberated is oxidised to iodine monochloride, the hydrolysis of which is prevented by the hydrochloric acid. The end-point is found by frequently shaking the liquid with chloroform, the violet colour of the dissolved iodine disappearing when the reaction is complete. The presence of bromides does not interfere, the oxidisation of the iodine being complete before any liberation of bromine occurs.

The Hot Springs at Nasavusavu. By C. H. WRIGHT, M.A., F.I.C.

of The water from the hot springs Nasavusavu in Fiji contains mainly the chlorides of calcium and sodium, with smaller quantities of magnesium, potassium, sulphate and silica. It has maintained this general composition since 1876.

The Determination of Ascaridole in Chenopodium. By H. PAGET, B.A.

error

The usual methods of determining ascaridole by physical tests are liable to owing to the presence of physiologically inactive products of ascaridole, and they may fail to detect certain adulterants. A method has been based on the reduction of ascaridolo, which is an organic peroxide, by a standard solution of titanous chloride. Two samples of chonopodium oil thus examined contained 72 per cent., and 80 per cent. of ascaridole, whilst a third, which answered the requirements of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, contained only 48 per cent., and was found to be adulterated with cineole.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

The Basis of Modern Atomic Theory. By C. H. DOUGLAS CLARK, B.Sc., D.I.C., Assistant Lecturer at the University of Leeds. XIX + 292 pp. Price 8s. 6d. net. London: Methuen and Co., Ltd.

This work is, for the size, comprehensive and readable. It comprises the salient features of atomic theories recently enunciated. Clearness is successfully aimed at by the author, and his ambition is aided by many excellent illustrations and tables. The Bibliography list is generous and the indices of authors and subjects are full.

The Use of Solvents in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. By DONALD W. MACARDle. VIII + 218. Price 15s. net. London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd.

Following the lead of Lassar-Cohn and Wehl, the well-known German writers. the author has produced a work or compiliation which merits a place in the scientific man's library. The author confesses that he was at one time tempted to confine his labours to a translation of the German works referred to above, but a work of that kind would not be satisfactory without many alterations and revisions to bring it up to date, and a work of that nature would not, probably, prove so satisfactory as the present work, in the writing of which the author has placed under generous tribute the German authors Lessar-Cohn and Wehl. The author has also been materially helped by several librarians, who assisted him in locating many helpful publications. Very naturally in a work of this kind, the Bibliography and index of authors are exhaustive.

ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 20, Hanover Square, London, W.1. The section of the Society which has been formed to deal with the "Industrial Applications of the Microscope," and to assist in the development of Scientific Research in British Industries, will hold its next meeting at 20, Hanover Square, W.1., on Wednesday, February 24, 1926, at 7 p.m., for 7.30 p.m. Professor H. E. Armstrong, Ph.D., LL.D., D.Sc., F.R.S., will preside.

7.30 p.m.-Messrs. Kodak, Ltd., will give a practical demonstration of the Eastman Colorimeter.

8 p.m.-Mr. C. A. Klein will read a communication : "The Application of the Microscope to the Examination of Pigments and Paints.'

ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS. Monday, February 22, at 8 p.m. (Cantor Lecture). G. W. C. Kaye, O.B.E., D.Sc., Superintendent, Physics Department, National Physical Laboratory, "The Production and Measurement of High Vacua (Lecture II.).

Wednesday, February 24, at 8 p.m. (Ordinary meeting). Mrs. Mary Fishenden, Fuel Research Board, "Domestic Heating."

On Thursday next, February 25, at a quarter past five, Dr. C. D. Ellis will begin a course of three lectures at the Royal Institution on the "Atom of Light and the Atom of Electricity," and on Saturday,