A much higher temperature was used, of course, to melt the residual potassium chloride, but this operation was not necessary until all of the germanium and fluorine had been removed hydrogen chloride. Final Determinations. The general procedure in the dehydration of the potassium fluogermanate was the same in all determinations, and may be outlined as follows. 10:02 the bulb, evaporation was carried to nearly complete dryness at a temperature below 100°. One determination was lost because of the inintroduction of water into the bulb before the most of the germanium had been expelled in dry hydrogen chloride, the trouble being then caused by the sudden elimination of germanium along with water vapour. A deposit of germanium oxychloride was thus produced, which collected upon the upper portions of the neck of the flask and the stopper. As this part of the flask could not be properly heated and was in contact with air at all times, this determination was not carried further. In the other six determinations, the dry fluogermanate was treated with dry hydrogen fluoride at 100° to 150° for some hours before any water was used to decompose the residual chloride and fluoride mixture. The water was added in just about sufficient quantity to dissolve the entire residue in the cold. The empty bulb, protected by the platinum crucible air-bath, was ignited at Soo° for about 20 minutes, and a current of dry air was allowed to pass through tht bulb during the application of heat. It was reweighed to constant weight mg., approximately. The sample of fluogermanate was then introduced through a platinum funnel, the stem of which projected well down into the neck of the flask. The bulb was then connected with the air supply and a slow current of dry air was passed through at 60° to 70° for three hours, then at 150° for two hours, and then the temperature was raised slowly to 400° to 450°, and so maintained for four to six hours. More than three reheatings at 400° were seldom required to give a weight constant to o‘02 or o'03 mg. The weighing bulb was then connected with the supply of hydrogen chloride, and this gas was allowed to act on the dry salt, at 100° to 150° for three hours, during which time the major portion of the germanium passed off. Several cubic centimetres of water was now introduced into the bulb (except in the first determination), and the aqueous mass was then carefully heated to 70° or 80° in the same gas until practically all of the water was removed. The initial partial drying took about six hours. The temperature was then elevated slowly to about 500° for a short period, and finally to the melting point of the residual chloride. The bulb was allowed to cool, water was again introduced, and the process outlined above was repeated. A third introduction of water, and repetition of the drying process was carried out in the last four determinations. The residual chloride was then raised to 600° in the presence of hydrogen chloride, and most of the latter gas was removed in a current of nitrogen at that temperature. The passage of nitrogen was continued for some time, and the chloride was finally brought to fusion. The temperature was then lowered, and the nitrogen swept out of the bulb by passing in a slow current of air for several hours. This gave the first weighing of the chloride. The entire operation described above was then repeated and carried out to obtain a constant weight of the chloride. The long time required for the complete expulsion of all of the hydrogen chloride made it advisable to prolong the first treatment with this gas far in excess of the actual time required for the conversion of the fluoride to chloride. In Determination No. 1 the operation was made entirely in the dry way. Five reheatings in hydrogen chloride were needed to arrive at constant weight within the limit of 0.04 mg. Hence the other determinations were all carried out with the use of the acid gas in the presence of water and the length of time of exposure to the acid was greatly increased to bring about the removal of the added water before high temperature was applied. It need hardly be mentioned that after the introduction of water into The results and conclusions derived from the preceding investigations may be summarised as follows. 1. The processes of purification of the germanium salt used for the determination of the atomic weight of this element embodied a more thorough treatment for the elimination of the known impurities of germanium' than previously reported. 2. The chlorine-hydrochloric-acid distillation process, though adequate for the removal of silica and tin can hardly be accepted as a means of eliminating the last traces of arsenic from germanium compounds. Four redistillations of the chloride from hydrochloric acid solution in a stream of chlorine failed to remove the last of the arsenic. 3. The treatment of the nearly pure germanic oxide with sufficient water to dissolve nearly all of it, and the fractional crystallisation of the hydrated oxide from this solution served a two-fold purpose, to remove the much more soluble arsenic oxide at one end, and to remove any remaining traces of tin and silica in the less soluble fractions at the other. It should be noted that the formation of the potassium fluogermanate was not carried out until the absence of the isomorphous fluostannate and the silicate was insured by complete removal of tin and silica from the original oxide. 4. The stability of the final product, potassium fluogermanate, and the anhydrous nonhygroscopic nature of this salt, together with its complete decomposition in hydrochloric acid seemed to indicate that it was the most favourable compound of germanium for accurate analysis. The complete conversion of the salt to potassium chloride was in every case established by negative tests for both germanium and fluorine. 5. The mean of seven determinations of the ratio of potassium fluogermanate to the potassium chloride equivalent gave 72418 for the atomic weight of germanium, calculations being based on the assumption that chlorine is 35:46, fluorine, 19:00, and potassium, 39' 10. In conclusion, the above investigation suggests that an examination of other double halides of germanium and the alkalies might give desirable compounds for accurate analysis by a similar volatilisation of the germanium content, and thus furnish a check upon the results obtained in this work. IN America there are no recognised safeguards for the professoriate such as exist on the other side of the Atlantic. There are no traditional standards by which the candidate for a professor's chair must qualify. It is not always a question of scientific achievement. Local pull is frequently | in evidence. Executive and committee work within the university and outside activities with an advertising value often receive their reward. Where, too, it is the intention of the appointing power to make the scientific status of a candidate the determining factor the scientific advice invoked is often far from competent. Some years ago the American Mathematical Society, recognising the existing state of affairs, named a committee to consider whether it might not be possible to bring the knowledge and experience of the Society to bear in the making of mathematical appointments in universities and colleges. The committee, however, reported that they were unable to devise any means for attaining the desired end. The material which goes to make up the teaching staff of an American university is most heterogeneous. Not all the young men who enter the academic profession are of the idealistic type to which I have referred a little earlier. Their average, however, would compare favourably, I think, with the average in any other walk of life. They all look forward to professorships, of course, and one or all may ultimately arrive. Promotion in an American university is slow. The gradations leading up to a professorship are more numerous on this side of the Atlantic than in Europe. Though the scientific qualifications in America are on the whole less exacting than in Europe, advancement, for the man of ability at least, is not as rapid. The man of high attainments will find himself a professor at an earlier age in Europe than in America. However it may be in other departments of human activity, America is not the land of the young man in the field of academic work. I have taken occasion to speak of the overloading of members of the American universities' staffs with teaching. This had reference to the professors in general as well as to the junior mem *Reprinted from the Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute February 1921. bers of the staffs. The number of lectures which a professor in an American university is called on to give is much in excess of that demanded of his European compeer. In response to a question of mine as to the number of lectures which he was expected to give in the course of a year, a professor on the staff of Oxford told me that his position required him to lecture 28 hours in the course of the year. As a matter of fact, however, he lectured 56 hours. In France, a professor is expected to lecture three hours a week. This is usually for the academic year of 30 weeks, though some of the professors in Paris are only required to lecture 15 weeks. In Germany it is stipulated that the professor lecture at least two hours a week throughout the academic year. He, usually of his own volition, gives more than the stipulated number of hours. He is not troubled by the limitations of a fixed curriculum, it may be noted. He lectures on subjects of his own choosing, and rarely on more than two at a time. In America it is nothing out of the ordinary for a professor to give 300 to 500 lectures in the course of a year. The layman may fancy that this is not too much, and he is likely to jump to the conclusion that the European professor has a very easy time of it. Let us see, however, how it works out. The European professor is in a position to concentrate on one subject at a time. It may be that the literature on the subject is not organised up to date. For the purpose of his course of lectures it will be necessary to organise it. To digest and collate the scattered material is likely enough to be a task of some magnitude. It will probably be as much as he can handle. It may be that it will take him several years to do the work. Here and there, by the way, he may delay over a point which needs to be cleared up or a problem whose solution would be useful. However that may be, one result of his labours will, as likely as not, be a treatise which will be of service to many more individuals than he could reach by word of mouth in the class-room, These individuals would be located in different countries and distributed over the surface of the civilised earth, including among them seasoned research workers as well as immature students. Occasionally, too, the lectures of a creative thinker will consist largely in the exposition of successive discoveries which he is making in the course of the development of a subject. The lectures of an American university professor will rarely be of the character of the lectures to which we have just referred. They can not have such character if they are to run into the hundreds annually. As a matter of fact, many of the so-called lectures in universities on this continent consist entirely of text-book work, and are purely tutorial in their character. This is necessarily the case in institutions which are half high school and half university. The typical American professor who lectures on a multiplicity of subjects simultaneously can hardly concentrate on any one of them. He certainly cannot concentrate on all. He has to be perpetually changing interest as he jumps from one subject to another. He has to be content with placing himself in position from day to day with regard to the successive parts of the several subjects, and the position in which he places himself is pretty much the same from one year to another so that the same lectures are repeated from year to year and finally become a matter of routine. The lecturer who concentrates on one subject at a time, and changes that subject from year to year or at longer intervals, covers a much larger territory in the end than the man who drives the same half-dozen subjects abreast year after year. Besides this, he has a much better command over his material. The conditions best adapted to the needs of a scientist, the conditions under which he will attain his maximum as a research worker, and prove himself most efficient as a teacher, are not always clearly apprehended by American university administrations. university. The result of a comparison with the best product of the universities on the other side of the Atlantic is, however, not so favourable. The conception of a university at its best is on a somewhat higher plane in Europe than in America. The same is true also of the secondary school. A young man of exceptional ability being trained in Europe is likely to be somewhat in advance of where he would find himself at the same age if he were being trained in America. On entering Oxford or Cambridge, a student specialising in mathematics is about two years ahead of a student entering the University of Toronto in the same department, while he is just one year older. The discrepancy in classics is quite as great. This does not hold in case of the natural sciences, which receive less attention than mathematics and classics in the Public Schools of England. From what we have just said, however, it would appear that it should be possible to so modify the methods of instruction in our Canadian secondary schools as to save a year to our brighter boys by the time they are ready to matriculate. A comparison with results obtained on the continent would lead to the same conclusion. The American university is administered by a Board of Regents composed wholly or almost wholly of business men, There is a President appointed by the Board and appointments to the teaching staff are made by the Board on the recommendation of the President. In general the Faculty has no representation on the Board and its sole connection with the Board is through the President. There is a good deal of dissatisfaction with this arrangement, I was told while on a visit to the United States last summer. A prominent member of the academic staff of one of the principal American universities gave expression to this feeling by stating that the teaching staff was slave to the administration. There have been some experiments in the way of modifying the organisation. Representation of the Faculty on the Board of Regents has been tried. There have also been committees of the Faculty having access to the Board, and committees composed of members of the Board and members of the Faculty. With what success these tentatives have met I do not know. There does not seem to be complete unanimity with regard to the remedy which is needed for the existing state of affairs. I may say that in European universities there is no administrative body of the nature of the Board of Regents of an American University, and there is no office which corresponds to that of the American university President. The principal of a British college or university has nothing like the powers of the university President. The Faculty has far more influence in the conduct of affairs than is the case in America. This is in evidence in the making of appointments. For example, where the system of electors is in operation the Faculty has a voice in choosing the electors. It also has its say in the case of universities where BY MERCHANTS, MANUFACTURERS, AND SHIPOWNERS the system of electors has not been adopted. In our Canadian universities we have the American form of administration. Our curriculum and academic standard, however, have been imported from Great Britain. We have adopted the idea of the honours courses, and these courses at the University of Toronto are probably the heaviest undergraduate courses on the continent. With this foundation one would have said that we should have developed along graduate lines more rapidly than has been the case. Some of the American universities, however, have greatly outdistanced us in the development of graduate and research work. Let us hope that we shall overtake them. Our students who have received their bachelor's degree in one of the honours courses compare more favourably as a rule with those who have completed an undergraduate course in the corresponding department of an American The university attendance in the Province of Ontario in proportion to population compares favourably with that of any other country except Germany, after all due allowance has been made for inequality of university standards in different countries. Nevertheless, six out of seven pupils who pass the High School entrance examination never matriculate. About seven out of nine do not attempt the matriculation examination. (The figures here given are based on the results for the matriculation examinations during the five years 1910-14, and on the results for the High School entrance examinations during the five years 19061910). Among these boys and girls there are sure to be many who would profit by a university course. Much good material must here go to Why should we not have in Ontario, or better still throughout Canada, a system of scholarships which would provide the highest possible education for the exceptionally gifted? Australia makes such provision for her gifted boys and girls. Why should we do less for ours? waste. (To be continued). AN APPEAL OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. We have received from the National Association of Merchants and Manufacturers the following notice, together with a list of over 800 signatures, which appears to include most of the chemical manufacturers in the Kingdom : "We, the undersigned Merchants and Manufacturers of the United Kingdom, desire to endorse the weighty Appeal by leading Bankers issued on May 12, and to insist with them on the need of dealing promptly with the perilous situation in which the country is placed. "The Appeal, which opens by recalling the Petition of the Merchants of the City of London addressed to the House of Commons in 1820, dwells on the parallel between the state of the country then and now. "At the present juncture the following problems seem to call most urgently for attention :— An immediate and drastic reduction of expenditure is of vital importance The freeing of our trade and industry from the trammels imposed by the War is not less essential. The interference with our commerce, whether by Parliament or by the Administration, must be stayed at once. But it is perhaps even more important that the inhabitants of this country should be impressed with the absolute need for greater industry and greater thrift, so that the wealth annihilated by the War may be restored. Such restoration can only be accomplished by earning more and spending less. "By these means alone shall we be able to bear the burdens from which we suffer, to regain the foreign trade essential to our prosperity, and to contribute to the well-being, not only of our own country, but of all other countries on which we are largely dependent. "We invite our fellow-countrymen to join with us in impressing on the Government, on Parliament, and on the nation at large, the paramount importance of these great questions." PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. FARADAY SOCIETY. June 22, 1921. Prof. A. W. PORTER, F.R.S., President, in the Chair. "High Temperature Phenomena of Tungsten Filaments." PART I. By C. J. SMITHELS (for the Research Staff of the General Electric Co). Two types of tungsten wire are in general use for lamp filaments One is composed of pure tungsten, and the other of tungsten containing up to 1 per cent of a refractory oxide such as thoria. The crystal growth during burning has been investigated for both types. It is shown that the deformation of the filament which occurs during life is a function of the crystal growth. Crystal growth, which is suppressed in thoriated filaments occurs when the thoria is reduced. Thoria, and other refractory oxides, can be reduced by phosphorus vapour at a high temperature. PART II. Deals with the chemical reactions which occur in gas-filled tungsten filament lamps when traces of the common gases are present in the filling gas. The types of failure which are produced in each case are described. was illustrated by photomicrographs. The paper "A Simple Apparatus for Determining the Coagulations Velocity of Gold Sols." By EMIL HATSCHEK. The percentage of blue formed in coagulation of red gold sol is taken as a measure of the degree of coagulation. The percentage is determined by comparing the original red sol with a double wedge, one half consisting of the original sol, and the other of the completely coagulated blue sol It is necessary that the latter should be coagulated by the same electrolyte as that used in the sol under examination, as the blues obtained with different electrolytes are not exactly alike. A number of determinations have been compared A determination by electrical conductivity methods of the ionisation of picric and paranitrobenzoic acids in mixtures of acetone and water. From the values obtained at 25° and 35° C., the heats of ionisation are calculated. In the case of picric acid, the heat of ionisation varies largely with the nature of the solvent, passing through a minimum at about 70 per cent acetone. In the case of paranitrobenzoic acid the heat of ionisation is sensibly zero both in water and in 44 per cent acetone, although in the latter solvent the ionisation constant has fallen to one-twentieth of its value in pure water as solvent. "The Potention of the Iodine Electrode and the Activity of the Iodide Ion at 25° C." By A. MCKEOWN. The potential of the saturated iodine electrode in combination with the normal calomel electrode has been measured for various values of the concentration of the iodide ion. The results have been compared with those of other investigators, making use of the concept of activity coefficient, the activities of the iodide and of the tri-iodide ion in the various solutions have been estimated and compared with the values of the concentration of these ions. It is found that the activities of both ions increase less rapidly than their concentrations. From the results the normal potential of the iodine electrode is calculated to be +0 2454 volts, the normal calomel being taken as zero. CORRESPONDENCE. ETHYLSTANNIC ACID. To the Editor of the Chemical News. SIR,-In reply to Mr. Redgrove's letter in your issue of July 15, dealing with the nomenclature of the compound C,H,.SnO. OH, I wish to point out that the name ethylstannic acid is that adopted by the Chemical Society, and it does not meet with my own approval, as the reactions of the substance indicate that it is a compound of bivalent tin. In a paper contributed a short time back to the CHEMICAL NEWS, on the corresponding methyl compound, I termed the substance methylstannic acid, following the nomenclature adopted in the abstracts of the Chemical Society's Journal, 1903, i., 470, and 1903, i, 802. The Chemical Society now favour the nomenclature criticised by Mr. Redgrove, viz., ethylstannic acid for the compound C2H,. SnO.OH; see also Journal Chemical Society, Abstracts, 1910, i., 724. This is to be regretted, since the bivalent nature of the tin in this of class substances is thereby obscured.—I am, &c., GERALD DRUCE. NOTES. INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY.-Pass List.-The following candidates have been successful in the July, 1921, Examinations, and have been duly elected Associates of the Institute :-Examination in General Chemistry Campbell, Alan Newton, B.Sc. (Lond.); Doolan, James Joseph; Evans, Benjamin Beardmore, B.Sc. (Birm.); Hand, George Percy Terry; Jenkin, John Watson; Pugh, William; Ridge, Bert Pusey; Woolf, Sidney Samuel, B.Sc. (Lond.). Examination in Metallurgical Chemistry: Storer, George Paterson. Examination in Organic Chemistry: Kenyon, Frank; Sheldon, Francis Joseph, A R.C.S., B.Sc. (Lond.). Examination in the Chemistry of Foods and Drugs, &c. Martin, Charles William; Mooney, Paul Michael, B.Sc. (Lond.); Woodward, Miss Elsie. Examination in Chemical Technology (Soap, &c.): Smith, David Dow; (Coke Oven Practice, &c.): Whitaker, John Wilfrid, B.Sc. (Lond.). WAGES AND EMPLOYMENT.-The serious nature of the depression and the effect of the coal stoppage which lasted throughout April, May, and June, may be measured by the extent to which employees have been thrown out of work or placed on short time. The following figures, which cover all classes of workpeople, but do not include coal miners, show the number of persons on the Live Registers of the Employment Exchanges on the dates given — December 31 January 28 February 25 March 25 April 29 May 27 June 24 ... ... 756.823 1,065,320 1,218,218 1,413,751 1,854,059 2,122,496 2,178,000 The increase in the March figure over that for February is chiefly due to the re-registration of applicants who became entitled to a further period of benefit under the Unemployment Insurance Act which came into operation on March 3. The number of unemployed persons insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 and 1921, and the number of short-time workers in receipt of benefit on certain dates, together with the corresponding figures for December 31, are given below infectant. The approximate annual requirements of the Council are given as 5,000 Imp. gallons in drums containing 5 Imp. gallons. A copy of the specification, tender form, general and special conditions of tender, is available for inspection by United Kingdom manufacturers and suppliers on application at the Enquiry Room of the Department of Overseas Trade, 35, Old Queen Street, Westminster, S. W. 1.-Department of Overseas Trade. NEW COMPANIES. The under-mentioned particulars of New Con.panies recently registered are taken from the Daily Register compiled by JORDAN & SONS, LIMITED, Company Registration Agents, Chancery Lane, W.C.2. NAGELS & Co. (LONDON), LIMITED.-(175639)-Registered July 9th, 1921. 76a, Chancery Lane, W.C.2. To carry on the business of General Merchants, Chemists, Druggists, Dry salters, etc. Nominal Capital: £1,000 in 1,000 Shares of £1 each. Directors: V. G. Van Waasdyk, Malden Hall, Watford (Chairman and Managing Director), G. C. Gagan, 109, Inville Road, S.E.17. Qualification of Directors: £1. Remuneration of Directors: To be voted by Directors. EGERTON CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED.-(175613)-Registered July 8th, 1921. 19, Brazennose Street, Manchester. To carry on the business of Manufacturing Chemists. Nominal Capital: £1,000 in 1,000 Shares of £1 each. Directors: J. F. Key, 32, Oak Road, Higher Crumpsall, Manchester; A. Ferrie, 122, Lansdowne Road, West Didsbury, Manchester. Qualification of Directors: 1 Share. Remuneration of Directors: To be voted by Company. MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT RADIUM INSTITUTE.- (175725)— Registered July 14th, 1921. Nelson House, Nelson Street, Manchester. To acquire Radio-active Materials whether containing Radium or Mesothorium or other Radio-active Substances of any description. Every Member to contribute a sum not exceeding £1 if necessary. Directors: Sir E. Holt, Woodthorpe, Prestwich; Sir W. Cobbett, Woodlands, Wilmslow; F. P. Nathan, Crumble Lodge, Swinton Park, Pendleton; G. M. Midwood, The Grange, North Road, Congleton; L. Pilkington, Firwood, Alderley Edge; Sir W. Milligan, Westbourne, Rusholme, Manchester; S. H. Renshaw, Beech Grove, Chesham Bury; W. Armitage, Barthomley, Catherine Road, Bowdon, T. H. SMITH (WISBECH), LIMITED. (175644)-Registered July 9th, 1921. 1, Market Chambers, Market Street, Wisbech. To carry on the business of Agrihorticultural Chemists, Manufacturers and Dealers in Pulp, Jam and Preserves. Nominal Capital: £500 in 500 Shares of £1 each. Directors: T. H. Smith, 29, West Street, Wisbech; R. Scrafton, 1, High Street, Wisbech. Qualification of Directors: £1. Remuneration of Directors: To be voted by Company. CATALYTIC CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED.-(175760)-Registered July 16th, 1921. Chemists and Druggists. To carry on the business of Manufacturing Nominal Capital: £10,625 in 10,000 Preference Shares of 1 each and 25,000 Ordinary Shares of 6d. Directors: each. Minimum Subscriptions: 7 Ordinary Shares. W. H. Collbran, Elmley, Park Side, Wimbledon Common; J. Day, Derwent House, Wimbledon Park Road, S.W.19.; W. R. Walkey, 52, Upper Richmond Road, East Sheen. Qualification of Directors: 100 Shares. Remuneration of Directors: £100. Chairman: £200. LEIGHTON LABORATORIES, LIMITED. (175834)-Registered July 20th, 1921. To carry on the business of Manufacturers of Chemicals of all kinds. Nominal Capital: £5,000 in 4,900 Cumulative and Participating Preference Shares of £1 each and 2,000 Ordinary shares of 1/- each. Directors: C. E. Bergin (Managing Director). Qualification of Directors: £100. Remuneration of Directors: To be voted by Company. BARKER BROTHERS (SIMPSON CLOUGH), LIMITED. (175757)— Registered July 16th, 1921. Simpson Clough Mill, Heywood, Lancashire. To acquire and carry on the business of a Bleacher' Dyer and Finisher. Nominal Capital: £70,000 in 70,000 Shares of £1 each. Directors: P. V. Barker, Simpson Clough, Heywood; F. Barker, Simpson Clough, Heywood; E. Barker, 149, William Street, Heywood; H. Barker, Springfield, Hopwood, Heywood. Qualification of Directors: 50 Shares. Remuneration of Directors: To be voted by Company. W. A. WILSON & SONS, LIMITED.—(175870)-Registered July 21st, 1921. To acquire and carry on the business of Chemical and Colour Merchant. Nominal Capital: £4,000 in 4,000 Shares of £1 each. Directors: C. Collins, 36, Leysfield Road, Hammersmith, W; W. A. Wilson, St. Breock, Vicarage Road, Woodford Bridge, Essex; P. Wilson, St. Breock, Vicarage Road, Woodford Bridge, Essex; A. C. Stevens, School Green, Freshwat r, Isle-of-Wight. Qualification of Directors: £500. Remuneration of Directors: £100 each. |