AMALGAMATED SOCIETY OF DRUG AND CHEMICAL WORKERS. THIS Society held a special meeting on Wednesday, July 2, at the White Lion Hotel, Coventry, when the special feature was an address by an Organiser of the Society. Mr. A. Barrett (London) was expected to be the speaker, but he was unable to make the visit, and Mr. A. J. Gillian deputised for him. Mr. G. H. LUSTY presided over a good attendance, which included a number of ladies. Mr. GILLIAN put forward a strong claim for the support of the Society by all drug and chemical workers, as the Society was the only one in the country that was organised for their special benefit. The interests of the Society were also the interests of the members, as their leaders were among the best men in the trade, who could deal with all matters brought to their notice with sympathy and understanding. The Society, in conjunction with four other Organisations, was represented at a conference with the Drug and Fine Chemical Masters' Association last March, when a schedule of rates of wages for the trade was agreed upon and recognised by the Masters' Association. This schedule was now operative in 43 of their business houses, and negotiations were in hand with a good many others. The schedule for men ranged from 50s. to 55s. per week, for women from 328. 6d. to 40s. per week, for male juvenile workers from 163. 6d. tó 478. per week, and for female juveniles from 15s. 6d. to 30s. per week. The adults were graded by their class of employment, and the juveniles by ages; and a working week of forty-eight hours with overtime rates was also stipulated. All firms who were members of the Masters' Association were bound to recognise these rates, and the speaker urged the necessity of his audience to organise in order to protect these rates if they were getting them; and if they were not, then organise to get them. He appealed for a reasonable and square deal on both sides, and he reminded them that the workers could not get round the employers by ignoring their interests or forgetting their existence. On the other hand, cordial relationship should go beyond compliments, otherwise its existence was more visionary than real. His own experience was that firms were always willing to meet the representatives from the Society, and matters that would otherwise be overlooked were righted, especially where the staff of the firm were strongly organised. Mr. Gillian asked that foremen should consider the advisability of joining the Society. They would find it valuable in keeping in touch with their staffs in many matters that would help to promote joint interest, mutual understanding, and free consultation with the heads of the firms and their employees. At the close of the meeting there was a brisk application for membership forms. OBITUARY LORD RAYLEIGH. THE death of Lord Rayleigh, O.M., D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S., which took place on June 30, has removed one more of the prominent men of science from our midst. Lord Rayleigh was seventy-seven years of age, and for the past forty years has been in the forefront of the workers in experimental physics. His name will always be associated with the discoveries of the inert gases of the atmosphere; it was through his announcement of the discrepancies between the density of nitrogen removed from the atmosphere and that obtained from chemical compounds that drew the attention of Prof. Ramsay to the subject and resulted in their combined and successful investigations. Lord Rayleigh received the Order of Merit at its institution in 1902; he was an Officer of the French Legion of Honour; and in 1905 he was appointed a member of the Privy Council. fessor of Physics in the Imperial College of Science and He leaves two sons; the elder, Robert John, is ProTechnology and is distinguished for his researches on radio-activity, and the younger is a naval officer. PROFESSOR ADRIAN BROWN. THE death took place on Wednesday, July 2, at his resi dence at Northfield, near Birmingham, of Prof. Adrian J. Brown, M.Sc., F.R.S., who since 1899 had been Professor of Biology and Chemistry of Fermentation at the University of Birmingham, and Director of the School of Brewing. Born in 1852, and the son of the late Mr. Edwin Brown, F.G.S., of Burton-on-Trent, he was for some time an assistant at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and was later a chemist to Messrs. T. Salt and Co., Burton-on-Trent, and was the author of several works on chemistry. At one time he was examiner in Biological Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry. It was only on the previous Sunday that Prof. Brown's wife died. Husband and wife were interred together at Northfield Cemetery on July 4. NOTES. THE Educational Committee of the Russo-British (1917) Bratstvo (Fraternity) propose to inaugurate a course of Commercial Emergency Lectures, to be delivered by British and Russian experts during the months of July, August, and September, on the various branches of Russian Export and Import Trade and the technicalities of Russian business operations. These lectures will be delivered in English, and are designed to afford those intending to start as commercial travellers and agents the means of acquiring an indispensable elementary knowledge of the conditions and particulars of business operations in Russia. The requirements of the Russian market in every branch will probably prove before long to be enormous, and will open great possibilities for all industrial countries thoughout the world. It would be of great service if information could be obtained from various authoritative quarters as to the most suitable and convenient manner in which such lectures could be arranged so as to meet the wishes of applicants and the needs of the moment. It is proposed to arrange for the following courses: - Russian Economics; Commercial Geography; Legal and Social Conditions; Agrarian Problems-Needs of Agriculture; Textile Industry; Mining, Metallurgy; Chemical Industry; Co-operation; Russian History; Russian Commercial Language; Ethnography. Informal instruction in industry and trade, as mentioned in the scheme above, and such other subjects as may appear of practical importance, will be delivered if found necessary. Further particulars may be obtained from the Secretary, Baron A. F. Meyendorff, 26, Chester Square, S.W. I. THE official opening of the British Scientific Products Exhibition took place on Thursday, July 3, at the Central Hall, Westminster. Lord Sydenham, G.C.S.I., F.R.S., President of the Guild, took the chair, and after a few introductory remarks an opening address was delivered by the Most Hon. the Marquess of Crewe. His Lordship, after explaining the objects of the Exhibition, dwelt upon the part that British scientific application had played in the war, the unpreparedness with which we entered into the conflict, the rapidity with which the knowledge and invention of the scientific technologist was applied to the need of the moment, and to the success that followed. His apparently this is a characteristic reaction of all carbithio Lordship referred to the growing interest in science and | yields benzoic acid and potassium sulphide, and POPULAR CHEMICAL DICTI NARY.-We understand tha Mr. C. T. Kingzett, F.I.C., the Chairman of the "Sanitas" Co., Ltd., and who was one of the original founders of the Institute of Chemistry, is preparing for early publication by Messrs. Ballière, Tindall, and Cox, London, an abridged "Popular Chemical Dictionary " in a single volume. Apart from the educative value of such a production, including its use in schools and public libraries, it should be of great service as a work of reference not only to practical chemists but also to brokers, dealers, and business men generally who are natually interested in the thousand and one articles finding concise description in such a book. MINISTRY OF HEALTH ACT, 1919.-Under the provisions of Section II (1) of the above Act, an Order in Council has been made fixing July 1 as the day upon which the Act is to come into operation. On that day all the powers and duties of the Local Government Board will pass to the Ministry of Health, the question of the transfer to other Government Departments of any existing powers or duties not relating to matters affecting or incidental to the health of the people being reserved for consideration and decision at an early date. All communications on subjects previously within the jurisdiction of the Local Government Board should accordingly, on and after July 1, be addressed to the Secretary, Ministry of Health, Whitehall, S.W. I. WELSH COAL FOR STEAM WAGONS.-The National Council of the Commercial Motor Users Association (Inc.) has for some time been making representations to the Coal Controller in favour of the withdrawal of the present restrictions upon supplies of Welsh Steam Coal in many parts of the country. The Council has now received notification from the Coal Controller that permits may be obtained by owners of steam wagons and tractors for the amount of Welsh steam coal required on making application in writing to Finlay Gibson, Esq., Secretary of the South Wales Coal and Coke Supply Committee, Cardiff. NOTES FROM FOREIGN SOURCES Action of Carbon Disulphide on Nitro-methane. OH is first formed, and is then converted into HC: NO the still neutral true nitro acid CH2.NO When all the Erich Freund. In presence of alcoholic potash carbon Two Long-beam OERTLING BALANCES, disulphide reacts with nitro-methane to give a substance of formula C2HO2NS2K2. The brown colour which appears especially in aqueous solution suggests the formation of a dithio or carbithio acid. If the substance is boiled with strong aqueous potash the colour disappears and on cooling colourless needles crystallise out. These are identical with Steinkopf's potassium nitroacetate; the liquid contains potassium sulphide. It has been shown that dithiobenzoic acid when boiled with alcoholic potash in thorough working condition, with box of gramme Weights, £8 each Address, I. H, Analytical Laboratory, 79, Mark Lane, London, E.C. 3. Wan MACHINE, preferably non jacketted and without tilting If possible, anted, one Pfleiderer type MIXING WHATMAN'S EXTRACTION WHATMAN at free Seamless IN QUALITY TELLS. N experiments, the quality of every detail tells. Filter Papers and Extraction Thimbles are important, therefore get the best-get "Genuine Whatman," manufactured by W. & R. Balston, Ltd., Paper Makers in Britain for over 150 years. Genuine Whatman Filter Papers are made in all grades- Genuine Whatman Extraction Thimbles are Fat-Free and Seamless. 10 x 50 m/m. NOTICES. WHATMAN THERE are a number of schemes in the literature for the detection of the acids of Group I., but very few are given with experimental data or with specific and adequate directions for their proper execution in the laboratory. The distillation method with phosphoric acid devised by A. A. Noyes (Fourn. Am. Chem. Soc., xxxiv., 60g) is supported by experimental data and doubtless gives good results in the bands of experienced chemists; but it seems to us altogether too complicated for students in qualitative analysis. We have therefore attempted in this paper to provide a systematic procedure for the detection of the acids of Group I. which shall be rapid, efficient, and capable of giving good results when used by the inexperienced student. Provision has also been made in this scheme for the rough estimation of each of the acid radicals detected. Outline of the Procedure. Such a Except where special tests are to be made, as in the case of carbonates, the scheme of analysis proposed in this paper is intended for the detection of the acids when they are in solution in the form of their sodium salts. solution known as the "prepared solution" is generally obtained by boiling the original substance with a strong Na2CO3 solution and filtering the mixture. The filtrate is made slightly acid with acetic acid and then slightly alkaline with NaOH. Advantage is now taken of the fact that the acids of Group I. may be precipitated in a slightly alkaline solu tion with a mixture of BaCl2 and CaCl2. Since BaSO4 is insoluble in acids it may be separated from the barium salts of other acids by the addition of HCl (1 : 2), which was found to dissolve the Ba and Ca salts of all the other acids. The filtrate will now contain the following acids: -Sulphite, oxalate, fluoride, borate, tartrate, arsenite, arsenate, and phosphate as Ba and Ca salts dissolved in HCI. By the use of an oxidising agent such as H2O2, the sulphite is oxidised to sulphate, which then separates as BaSO, in consequence of the excess of BaCl2, which is added. At the same time arsenites are oxidised to arsenates. Experiment having shown that 500 mgrms. of most of the acids of Group I. in the form of Ba salts are not held completely in solution by an excess of acetic acid, (NH4)2SO4 is next added to remove the Ba. To the filtrate sufficient NH4Cl is now added to prevent borates and tartrates from precipitating upon making the solution alkaline with NH4OH. The filtrates containing the borate and tartrate is divided into two portions. The former is tested for by means of an alcoholic solution of turmeric after concentration and treatment with concentrated HCl and methyl alcohol. The tartrate is tested for by the formation of the blue copper complex which it forms with copper in NaOH solution, due provision being made for the disturbing influence of ammonium salts and arsenites, both of which give a similar test. The precipitate consisting of oxalate, fluoride, arsenate, phos • Copyright, 1918, by Louis J. Curtman. phate, and sulphate,* in the form of their Ca salts, is acidified with an excess of acetic acid. Phosphate and arsenate go into solution, leaving a residue of CaF2, CaC2O4, and CaSO4 (see ante). The precipitate is divided into two equal portions. The first is treated with H2SO4, and tested for oxalate by the addition of KMnO4. The other portion of the precipitate is dried in a platinum or lead crucible and the etch test then applied. (For roughly estimating the relative amounts of F and C2O4 in this precipitate see Note 18 following scheme). The filtrate consisting of arsenate and phosphate is treated with H2SO3 to reduce the arsenate to arsenite. The latter is then completely precipitated with H2S. The filtrate, after the removal of the H2S, is tested for phosphate by means of (NH4)2M0O4. Special provision is made for the detection of carbonates (see Note 1a), chromates (see Note 1b), as well as for distinguishing between arsenites and arsenates (see Note 9). Notes. 1a. Carbonates are separately tested for and roughly estimated by means of the apparatus shown in the diagram. This consists of a test-tube and a small w.m. bottle connected by a glass tube bent twice at right angles. The short limb passes through a one hole rubber stopper which tightly fits the test-tube. The small wide mouth bottle is fitted with a rubber stopper with two perforations through one of which passes the long limb of the tube and extends to within 4 inch from the bottom of the bottle. To make test, introduce o 5 grm. of the substance into the test-tube. Put 15 cc. of saturated Ba(OH)2 solution into the bottle. Keep away from flame and stopper immediately. Obtain a little absorbent cotton to form a * Some CaSO4 always forms at this point for the reason pointed out in Note 17 following scheme. |